A scholarly, award-winning and influential history of 19th-century Chicago and its growth as a commercial center. Cronon, a historian with an interest in the environment, focuses on the development of railroads, stockyards, commodities and trade in the transformation of the city from lakeside backwater to economic powerhouse. Chosen as one of 13 enduringly significant books by Audubon Magazine.  (USM17, $19.95)