Slaughterhouse: Chicago's Union Stock Yard and the World It Made

Slaughterhouse: Chicago's Union Stock Yard and the World It Made by Dominic Pacyga.  256 pages.

Yes, this is just what it says: a nonfiction book about the Chicago slaughterhouses and industry.  Maybe you don't think that would make for an interesting book, but I have an interest in Chicago history (and am from the Chicago area), and I'm also a fan of this author's work, so when I saw he had a new book out, I jumped at a chance to read it.

Pacyga has written several books on the history of Chicago and currently a professor at Columbia College in Chicago.  It's the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Chicago stockyards, so the book is timely.  Pacyga focuses on the Union Stock Yard, but also chronicles the packing industry in relation to the rest of what was happening in not only Chicago, but the outside world.  When the Union Stock Yard opened on Christmas Day in 1865, it was a must-see tourist attraction.  Innovations made here affected other industries, and also affected Chicago as a whole.  " At their height, the kill floors employed 50,000 workers and processed six hundred animals an hour, an astonishing spectacle of industrialized death."

Pacyga covers the start of the stock yards, chronicles the rise and fall of the industry, but also writes about how the yards shaped the surrounding neighborhoods.  He goes into detail about the Union Stock Yard's political and economic power, and how it affected labor relations.  Admittedly, a few times, I felt like I was getting a little overloaded with facts, especially when in the sections that focused on labor relations.  Admittedly, I would have liked a little more of the human factor, and more stories from people who worked in the yards.  However, overall, I enjoyed this book and wouldn't mind adding it to my personal collection of Chicago history books.

In case you think Pacyga only looks to the past, he also writes about the current-day state of the stockyard properties, which are now home to some of Chicago's most successful green agriculture companies.   If your only exposure to the packing industry is The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (which is mentioned in this book), and you're curious and want to know more, this might be the book you're looking for.