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{{Short description|1894 book by Aleko Konstantinov}}
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'''''To Chicago and Back''''' ({{langx|bg|До Чикаго и назад|Do Chikago i nazad}}) is a [[travel book]] written by [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] writer [[Aleko Konstantinov]] in 1894, describing his visit to the [[United States]] in order to see the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in 1893. It was the first major book by the author, and together with ''[[Bay Ganyo]]'' they are considered to be his most notable works. A lot of the book is written in a humorous, satirical tone, with occasional more sober reflections.

==Context and Contents==

Konstantinov had previous experience with travel abroad – he had visited the [[Exposition Universelle (1889)|Exposition Universelle]] in [[Paris]] in 1889 and the [[General Land Centennial Exhibition (1891)|General Land Centennial Exhibition]] in [[Prague]] in 1891. At the time, the [[Principality of Bulgaria]] had been free from the [[Ottoman Empire]] for less than 20 years, the country was still less developed than Western Europe and relatively few Bulgarians had had the chance to travel abroad.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The book starts in Paris, with the author and the group of friends who accompany him on the journey, taking a train to the port of [[Le Havre]], where they board [[SS La Touraine]] to cross the Atlantic on board. On arriving in [[New York City|New York]], he describes being underwhelmed by spotting the [[Statue of Liberty]] from the steamship. A customs clerk fails to understand the group's nationality, and when Bulgaria is pointed out to him on a map, he writes it down as [[Ottoman Empire|Turkey]], causing amusement and derision among the Bulgarians. They find accommodation in [[Broadway Central Hotel]].

Most of the book describes his stay in the United States, especially [[Chicago]], ⁣⁣but also talks about other sites such as [[Niagara Falls]].

== Legacy ==

The title page of the book's first edition is depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the Bulgarian 100 [[Bulgarian lev|levs]] banknote, issued in 2003.<ref>[http://www.bnb.bg Bulgarian National Bank]. Notes and Coins in Circulation: [http://www.bnb.bg/bnb/notes_coins.nsf/vNotesCoins/2E00AF20045F3204C2256DF2005135E0?OpenDocument&EN 100 levs]. – Retrieved on 26 March 2009.</ref>

== Bibliography ==
* Konstantinov, Aleko. ''To Chicago and Back'', Sofia: National Museum of Bulgarian Books and Polygraphy 2004 (in English). {{ISBN|954-9308-24-3}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.slovo.bg/showwork.php3?AuID=169&WorkID=4668&Level=1 Full text in Bulgarian]

[[Category:Travel books]]
[[Category:Bulgarian-American history]]
[[Category:Bulgarian books]]
[[Category:Books about the United States written by foreigners]]
[[Category:1894 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books about Chicago]]
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