Business and the Making of Kansas City

Produced by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in celebration of its 125th anniversary, this is the story of metropolitan Kansas City and the people and businesses that built it. In the early days, the leaders of Kansas City strove to get the attention of any railroad that would lay tracks to their tiny town. When its first big heyday arrived in 1887, business leaders formed the predecessor of today's Chamber of Commerce. They worked to keep their booming city growing and to improve the quality of its peoples' lives. As the years rolled on, Greater Kansas City grew in size and changed in shape. Along the way, Greater Kansas City - its businesses and its people - faced strife and storm, fire and flood, panic and depression. Every time, those same businesses and people picked themselves up and kept their hometown moving and growing and changing. Written by Kansas City historian Monroe Dodd and designed by Jean Dodd, this 300-page book includes this fascinating history, plus profiles from 45 Chamber members detailing each of their own pasts.