"Hahn tells the story of the city from its founding to the present day by interweaving 40 maps along with short essays, detailed views, and captioned illustrations that provide stories and history that are only hinted at on each map. Tales of St. Louis's colonial days, the Revolutionary and Civil wars, systematic segregation, the World's Fair, and our greatest cultural institutions ... are all told through the lens of detailed and colorful maps. The featured maps are reproduced as large as each page will allow, and many have rarely been published"--Back cover.