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.
     
 

Lois A. Carrier, a freelance writer and native Midwesterner who lives in Carbondale, Illinois, is coauthor of Strategies for Success. She has taught elementary school and served as a children's librarian.