With a major port on the Great Lakes, an extensive network of railroads and canals, and a river system including the Mississippi, the Illinois, and the Ohio, Illinois has long played a critical role in linking East Coast industrial cities, the agricultural heartland, and the Gulf Coast. Writing in a fast-paced, down-to-earth style, Lois Carrier introduces a host of innovations and innovators associated with Illinois: Jane Addams and Louis Armstrong, Frank Lloyd Wright and Walt Disney, Cracker Jack and the Ferris wheel. From the Cahokia Mounds to Chicago, Illinois: Crossroads of a Continent provides a panoramic history for students and general readers.''Lucid, highly readable, and well crafted. . . . A valuable introduction to the state's history.''--Edward L. Schapsmeier, Illinois Historical Journal
