Chicago’s Great Fire

Author Carl Smith
Narrator David de Vries
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Run Time 10 hours and 38 minutes
Format Audio
Genre History of the Americas.

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What to expect

From an acclaimed historian, the full and authoritative story of one of the most iconic disasters in American history, told through the vivid memories of those who experienced it.

Between October 8–10, 1871, much of the city of Chicago was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in barely three decades, from just over 4,000 in 1840 to greater than 330,000 at the time of the fire. Built hastily, the city was largely made of wood. Once it began in the barn of Catherine and Patrick O’Leary, the fire quickly grew out of control, twice jumping branches of the Chicago River on its relentless northeastward path through the city’s three divisions. Close to one of every three Chicago residents was left homeless and more were instantly unemployed, though the death toll was miraculously low.

Remarkably, no carefully researched popular history of the Great Chicago Fire has been written until now, despite it being one of the most cataclysmic disasters in US history. Building the story around memorable characters, both known to history and unknown, including the likes of General Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln, eminent Chicago historian Carl Smith chronicles the city’s rapid growth and place in America’s post-Civil War expansion. The dramatic story of the fire—revealing human nature in all its guises—became one of equally remarkable renewal, as Chicago quickly rose back up from the ashes thanks to local determination and the world’s generosity and faith in Chicago’s future.

As we approach the fire’s 150th anniversary, Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle.

Critics Review

“A notable history, rich in detail, and powered by a narrative that moves at the speed of the galloping flames.”
Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Smith drops readers right into the action, transforming us into virtual citizens caught up in the conflagration and its aftermath…and the incredible energy and drive that enabled Chicagoans to rebuild.”
Booklist (starred review)
“Stunningly well-researched, this book fully examines a pivotal moment in Chicago’s history.”
Library Journal (starred review)
“A definitive retelling of one of America’s ‘most fabled disasters.’”
Publishers Weekly
“A vivid history revealing hidden aspects of supposedly well-known events.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Carl Smith has written the definitive work on the Great Chicago Fire—the context, the stories, and the aftermath.”
Gary T. Johnson, president, Chicago History Museum
“Bracing and impeccably written…Smith captures beautifully Chicagoans’ hubris in building their great flammable city and their resilience as they survived the unthinkable.”
Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an Empire
“A gripping description…filled with the recollections of men, women, and children…Smith is a master at taking well-known events and making them new.”
Ann Keating, author of Rising Up from Indian Country
“In a somber voice, David DeVries narrates this authoritative and informative history…DeVries’s steady, no-nonsense delivery explains the growth of this city, the minute details of the fire, the subsequent feeding and rehousing of survivors, and the extensive rebuilding…DeVries denotes newspaper reports by shifting his tone, contrasting that part of the account.”
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