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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (Paperback)

by Erik Larson (Author)

Textbook Details
* Paperback: 447 pages
* Publisher: Vintage (February 10, 2004)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0375725601
* ISBN-13: 978-0375725609
* Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
* Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
* Rating:

Textbook Description
Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson’s spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men–the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World’s Fair, striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining 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.

The Devil in the White City Review
Larson has created the first must-read nonfiction title of the year, an assured and satisfying work which vividly portrays the one of the last grand gasps of the nineteenth century, the World’s Fair of 1893. Daniel Hudson Burnham, architect and overseer of the fair, builds the White City itself, while Henry H. Holmes is the titular devil, a charismatic young doctor with blood-curdling obsessions. The British of the period may have dealt with Jack the Ripper, but our ever-expanding country weaned its own monster, whose house of horrors stood in the shadows of the great architectural triumphs of the Fair. This compelling book moves with the relentlessness of the greatest novels of our time. The supporting cast includes such luminaries as Edison, Archduke Ferdinand, Buffalo Bill, and Susan B. Anthony; the ill-fated Titanic even makes an appearance in the books opening pages. Larson’s evocative prose fully engulfs the viewer in the period, and the dark and dreadful scenes with Henry H. Holmes are given welcome respite by the tales of Burnham’s amazing accomplishment. The enjoyment of this stunning work is only heightened by the knowledge that the story is true.

The Devil in the White City seems like a funny name for a book. The White City is the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1892 to honor the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America. It was called White City because the major exhibition buildings were painted white. To contrast this Herman Mudgett who called himself H H Holmes after the famous fictional detective was the devil. He was a mass murderer with 9 documented killings and likely many more. This book brings to life both events that have mostly been forgotten now but were very important at the time. The book is both interesting and entertaining and kept me reading late into the night. The murders were described with detail but not any of the gore that might turn a reader off. The building and execution of the fair was also detailed but was informative without a dry and textbook sound. Even though this book reads like fiction it has been well researched and contains many direct quotes from letters and articles of the times. One of the best parts of this book was to come away with a real feel of how it was to live in a large city in the 1900′s. That alone was worth the price of the book.

In brief, I think this book is fantastic. The author beautifully weaves together historical context, psychological insight, and compelling characters into a book that I couldn’t put down. As an admirer of both architecture and landscape architecture, I found the Olmstead and Burnham characters to be compelling. This book is perfect if you’d like to know a little about what Chicago was like, a bit about some of the main characters, the history of the fair and how it came about, and the Holmes murders, but wouldn’t want to read a full-length book about each. As someone who knows relatively little about that period in our history, I was delighted by all the surprises on each page, no matter how trivial. For instance, have you ever wondered how and why the Ferris wheel was invented? When and why the Pledge of Allegiance was written? The legacy of the 1890s Columbian Exposition is still with us today, in ways I hadn’t even imagined, and the author does a masterful job of bringing this to light in the context of a rich, engaging story.

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The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America (Kindle Edition)

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