The Devil in the White City- Murder, Magic, and Madness At The Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death. Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel It doesn't hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction. The New York TimesCombining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction. Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his World's Fair Hotel just west of the fairgroundsa torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium.
- Author- Erik Larson
- Publisher- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Publication Date- 02-10-2004
- Page Count- 464
- Hardcover
- Adult
- U.S. History
- Dimension- 5 H x 7.88 W x 0.96 D
- ISBN-13- 9780375725609
Web ID: 14388820
Draws you in while teaching bits of history
The author has a great way of drawing you into the story about the building of the World's Fair in Chicago while also talking about the doctor. I enjoyed his ability to speak in first person, and depict the setting so eloquently. The only downside is I wish he talked more about the doctor. The book leads you in to read about America's first serial killer, but only about 30% actually spoke about him.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Evil Amidst Beauty
I read “The Devil In The White City” in preparation for a book club meeting. I found two intertwined stories, one of The White City, the 1893 Chicago Worlds’ Fair and the other of the Devil, serial killer H. H. Holmes. I found the story of the building and operation of the Fair and the saga of its principal architect, Daniel Hudson Burnham, to be interesting. Striving to better Paris’ 1893 Exposition Universelle, Chicago and Burnham had standards against which their efforts were measured. Enjoying history as I do, the Fair’s tale was fascinating. To the contrary, the H. H. Holmes story was depressing and disgusting. He charmed those he deceived, defrauded and murdered. He purchased items and disappeared before payment, misrepresented his occupational credentials and, ultimately turned to a sordid tale of murder that put detectives on his trail. The book club discussion followed largely followed my impressions, interest in the fair, disgust with the murders. We compared the gullibility of those who fatally who entrusted themselves and their children to Holmes with contemporary scam victims. The discussion ultimately reached the realization of the presence of evil amidst the beauty of the fair. I will leave it at that to maintain the suspense. In my opinion, “The Devil In the White City would be a better book if it has limited itself to the White City and exorcised the Devil.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Interesting Read
I had heard about this book for awhile but am not one who is in to murder mysteries and yet I did still enjoy this book. I learned a lot of the Chicago World's Fair and Larson gives a lot of inside information on the struggle to pull it off and its cultural impact at the time and later. Based on the book....the struggle was real! So many pitfalls, missed opportunities, behind the scenes showmanship and ego and a lot of financial challenges. This story is overlaid with that of one of the most disturbing individuals I've ever read about who is easily one of the most notorious and sick murderers to ever have been on US soil. His story was interesting because of the lengths he would go through to try to cover up his misdeeds and it illustrated human nature at its very worst. Overall, an informative and interesting read!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Classic
Truly a classic read
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Devil is In The Drying Cement
What claims to be a novell account of America's first serial killer in the backdrop of the Chicago World Fair is nothing more than the dry ramblings of the architects arguing over paint samples. The initial synopsis combines two dissimilar topics, the Chicago World Fair architecture, and the H.H. Holmes murder hotel, and weaves an intricate tapestry that blends into a singular image. Combining two vastly different topics was the initial interest that drove me to pick up the book after watching it gather dust for many years on my shelves. However, my interest began to dwindle when the focus was on the dry ramblings of the architectural planning going into the Chicago World Fair rather than the devious minds of H.H. Holmes. Within the first 23% of the book, the balance of the two topics was off-kilter and ultimately led to the toppling of my interest and a DNF. Perhaps reading further would have restored the balance. However, the reader should have a strong interest in both topics. It is important to note that Erik Larson is a well-known author, especially for his ability to weave tales into historical accounts. As someone more interested in true crime rather than historical accounts, the book grew dry before the two worlds could collide. Therefore, the loss of interest in the book comes from the reader’s lack of interest in the material rather than a fault in the author’s writing. If this book is on your TBR or sounds interesting, note that Larson provides well-researched accounts of both topics that read more like a novel than a historical text. However, I would recommend having an interest in architecture and true crime to see the balance in both subjects. Without it, the topic of architecture becomes dry and crumbling like the cement they debate over in one of the chapters.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Chicago Fair Gone Wrong
This creative non-fiction book, "The Devil in White City," starts out with a brief history of the City of Chicago. Add to that Chicago being the host the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 following their fabulous presention of that event in Paris. Winning the competiion, Chicago, the "second city" assembled the best of American architects led by Daniel Burnham. The book captures the grandeur of the times and serves as a historical reference for Architectural Masters of America. The crime story appeals to the age old good versus evil narrative and does a good job of displaying the sinister mind and behaviors of Holmes. Enjoyable read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Review
I have been reading this book since January 2022 and I am writing this to express my thoughts. Overall, this book is a solid piece by Erik Larson. In the book, you explore the lives of Daniel Burnham and H. H. Holmes, two characters who both live different lives. Burnham is a famous architect, while Holmes is a conman and serial killer who defrauded many insurance companies and killed many people, his victims being mostly women. As I read the story, I have been very thrilled looking through the stories about Holmes’ victims and what Holmes causes to them. I also was very excited with the chapters about the construction of the world’s fair as I was wanting to see what the final picture of the fair could be. However, this book does not come without one major issue. The issue with this story has filler to meet the length of the book. While filler is not necessarily a bad thing for a book, it does take some of the excitement and thriller out of the story. A reader could be thrilled in seeing what Holmes does to Julia and Cuckoldry, but then get back to Burnham and the crew still attempting to build the fair. As a result, the reader becomes bored and starts to skip through the story to get to Holmes. Despite this issue, the book still holds strong as Burnham and the crew are eventually finished and although the fair at first wasn’t successful, it eventually became successful for Chicago. It also holds strong with the end of the book, the investigation and conviction of H. H. Holmes. As a result, I really like this book and I heavily recommend it to any reader who is interested in mystery or crime.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fantastic
"The Devil in the White City" takes readers back in time to 1893 when Chicago was dazzling its visitors at the World's Fair. Two men, central to these events are discussed in Erik Larson's novel - Daniel H. Burnham and H. H. Holmes. One responsible for creating the beauty and marvel that was the World's Fair the other one of history's most notorious serial killers. One would think that these two seemingly opposite stories wouldn't create a seamless, creative book but Larson weaves the two narratives with alternating chapters effortlessly showing readers how Holmes and Burnham's lives existed in parallel. If you are like me and have interest in true crime you most certainly have heard of H. H. Holmes and his World's Fair Hotel that he built with nefarious intentions but I wasn't aware of the history around the World's Fair and all of the things created for the exhibition that we still use to this day. I would highly recommend checking out the audiobook version of "The Devil in the White City".
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com