Chicago: City on the Make

Nelson Algren's Chicago is a profile of the city from the point of view of its down-and-out — the hustlers, gangsters, bar fighters, ex-cons, crippled newsies, and "backslum loudmouths." The book is hagiographic and sometimes sentimental, but it is also a loving tribute to a violent and corrupt city: “Once you've come to be part of this particular patch, you'll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real.”