Reddit mentions of The Making of Milwaukee

Second this as well. John Gurda is one of the most well-known Milwaukee Historians.

For a college class focused on Milwaukee we read John Gurda's The Making of Milwaukee and Patrick Jones' The Selma of the North, which as you guest it, talks about the civil rights movement here in Milwaukee.

Both are quick reads that are easily available and relatively inexpensive. If you live in this city and want to know more these are two great places to learn about the history.

I highly recommend Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas by the Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild and The Making of Milwaukee by historian John Gurda. The antiquities of Wisconsin: As Surveyed and Described by scientist Increase Lapham is also interesting.