Chicago-based CityFiles Press, run by the team of Richard Cahan and Michael Williams, has published a number of fantastic photo collections that delve into the city's history: like Edgar Miller and the Handmade Home, for instance.

Their latest offering, The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed Its River and the Land Beyond, documents the reversal of the Chicago River, aka "the eighth wonder of the world." The photos included were culled from thousands of glass-plate negatives discovered by chance in the basement of the James C. Kirie Water Reclamation Plant in Des Plaines.

From Cahan and Williams's author's note: "This is the story of how a big city alienated its neighbors and sacrificed the natural world in order to grow and prosper. Chicago never looked back. Until now."

A video about the book after the jump:

Cahan and Williams sign the book on Saturday, December 17, at 11 AM at the Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka.