A renaissance in Illinois history scholarship has sparked renewed interest in the Prairie State's storied past. Students, meanwhile, continue to pursue coursework in Illinois history to fulfill degree requirements and for their own edification. This Common Threads collection offers important articles from the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Organized as an approachable survey of state history, the book offers chapters that cover the colonial era, early statehood, the Civil War years, the Gilded Age and Progressive eras, World War II, and postwar Illinois. The essays reflect the wide range of experiences lived by Illinoisans engaging in causes like temperance and women's struggle for a shorter workday; facing challenges that range from the rise of street gangs to Decatur's urban decline; and navigating historic issues like the 1822-24 constitutional crisis and the Alton School Case. Contributors: Roger Biles, Lilia Fernandez, Paul Finkelman, Raymond E. Hauser, Reginald Horsman, Suellen Hoy, Judson Jeffries, Lionel Kimble Jr., Thomas E. Pegram, Shirley Portwood, Robert D. Sampson, Ronald E. Shaw, and Robert M. Sutton.

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile comes the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death. “As absorbing a piece of popular history as one will ever hope to find.” —San Francisco Chronicle Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction. Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake. The Devil in the White City draws the reader into the enchantment of the Guilded Age, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.

ILLINOIS ENCYCLOPEDIA is the definitive reference work on Illinois ever published. The noted Illinois historian, Michael Meagher has written articles on Introduction to Illinois History, Early History of Illinois, and Illinois History. These articles cover the history of Illinois, from the early explorers to twenty-first century events. Other major sections in this reference work are Illinois Symbols and Designations, Geography and Topography of Illinois, Profiles of Illinois Governors, Chronology of Illinois Historic Events, Dictionary of Illinois Places, Illinois Constitution, Bibliography of Illinois Books, Pictorial Scenes of Illinois, State Executive Offices, State Agencies, Departments and Offices, Illinois Senators, Illinois Assembly Members, U.S. Senators and U.S. Congress members from Illinois, Directory of Illinois Historic Places and Index.ILLINOIS ENCYCLOPEDIA contains stunning photographs and portraits to compliment the expertly written text. Population charts are arranged alphabetically by city or town name, and by county. This allows students easy access to find population figures for their area of interest. Other population charts list all places in Illinois by largest populated places to least populated places by city or county. Directories contain information on elected state and federal officials along with their contact information including mail and email addresses, phone and fax numbers. Easy to use reference maps are included to find your elected state or federal officials. The Directory of State Services lists the head officials and full contact information on state agencies and departments, some of which were just newly created by the legislature. The Directory of Illinois Historic Places contains all the latest up to date information on every Illinois historic place. The Bibliography includes that latest books published on Illinois. A detailed Index makes the work thoroughly referential. ILLINOIS ENCYCLCOPEDIA offers librarians, teachers and students a single source reference work that provides the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Illinois and its history.

Beginning in 1924, Proceedings are incorporated into the Apr. number.