People to See is an irreverent and revealing portrait of the merchant princes and magnates Marshall Field, William Randolph Hearst, P.K. Wrigley, George Pullman; crime kings Roger Plant, Al Capone, Arnold Rothestein, who fixed the 1919 World Series and "Shoeless Hoe" Jackson who played it that way; Richard J. Daley and the long line of his predecessors who insisted Chicago was not ready for reform; the proud pioneers of journalism and literature, Ben Hecht, Carl Sandburg, Nelson Algren, Saul Bellwo, Gwendolyn Brooks; and the rich heritage of Chicago sports.
This is social history dominated by vivid personalities—regal and raffish characters with a talent for making out, moving up, and having their own way. They lived and often died with old-style flair and flamboyance and Jay Robert Nash presents their stories with exactly the right flavor.
All the scattered fragments of the record of these originals have been searched and woven into the fabric of Chicago history. Here are zesty chronicles of those who imposed their wills in pursuit of power, profit, and pleasure int he great inland city that yields only to the bold.
