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by John Gurda (Author)
Paddle through the watery history of the Midwest's Cream City.
The success and survival of Milwaukee lies in the rivers that meander through its streets and the great lake at its eastern boundary. The Indigenous peoples of the region recognized the value of an abundant, clean water supply for food and transportation. Generations of immigrants, entrepreneurs, innovators, and recreationists used the same waters to travel greater distances, power million-dollar industries, and even have a bit of fun. In Milwaukee: A City Built on Water, celebrated historian John Gurda relates the history of the waters that gave Milwaukee life--and occasionally threatened the city through erosion, invasive species, and water-borne diseases. Telling tales of brewers, brickmakers, ecologists, and engineers, Gurda explores the city's complicated connections with its most precious resource and greatest challenge. You'll meet the generations of people, from a Potawatomi chief to fur traders and fishermen, who settled on the small spit of land known as Jones Island; learn how Milwaukee's unique water composition creates its distinct cream-colored bricks; visit Wisconsin's first waterparks; and see how city leaders transformed the Milwaukee River--once described as a "vast sewer" with an "odorous tide"--into today's lively and lovely Riverwalk. Now available in paperback, Milwaukee: A City Built on Water is the sweeping chronicle of a critical natural resource that has weathered heavy use and flagrant abuse to emerge as a focal point of both celebration and concern in the twenty-first century.Author Biography
John Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. He is the author of twenty-three books, including Brewtown Tales, The Making of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods. In addition to his work as an author, Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide, and local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The common thread in all of his work is an understanding of history as "why things are the way they are."
Number of Pages: 232
Publication Date: December 23, 2025
