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| The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (Vintage)
Paperback
Author: Erik Larson
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: 2004-02-10
ISBN-10: 0375725601
ISBN-13: 9780375725609
List Price: $14.95
Average Customer Rating:
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. --John Moe
Creepy-cool slasher history
| Customer Rating: | Creepy-cool history of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, intertwined with the history of the serial killer H. H. Holmes who was operating at and around the Fair and may have accounted for anywhere from 9 (confirmed) to 50 (suspected) to even 200 (conjectured) murders.
Reads like an atmospheric slasher novel, except it is history, and thoroughly footnoted from contemporary accounts as well as secondary sources. The couple of scenes where Larson assumes an omniscient authorial viewpoint are noted and his historical sources for the conjectural fiction are noted and explained.
Oh, yes, and there was a World's Fair going on at the same time, and that story fascinates as well, with the conflicts of personalities and politics that plague every large public project. These interactions result in sometimes bizarre, sometimes postmodernicly hip juxtapositions of buildings, events, and landscapes where millions would celebrate the latest of everything in their world. |
A Must Read for Anyone Living in Chicago
| Customer Rating: | If you live in Chicago or have lived in Chicago or just love Chicago you must read this book. My appreciation of the city, especially the architecture, is greater. And my knowledge of the city's history (an incredibly fascinating history) grew as well. I am a much better tour guide of Chicago to friends and family because of this book!
The book has a quick pace and reads like fiction. And there are sections, such as the ones regarding Holmes, that you wish were fiction. The writing style is uncluttered and straightforward. And the story progresses smoothly. It is a wonderful read. |
Educational AND fun
| Customer Rating:  | As an urban planner, I found the history of the 1893 World's Fair fascinating, but what was great is that this book was a good beach read. So the other plot of a Jack-the-Ripper (true story) murderer spiced things up.
It's amazing what a huge effect that World's Fair had on our lives even 110 years later. |
Devil in the White City
| Customer Rating: | I enjoyed this book because I just returned from Chicago and heard rave reviews about it from city tour guides etc. The book is a fascinating look back on the Worlds Fair in Chicago plus serial killings going on at the same time.
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Excellent Book
| Customer Rating: | | The Chicago World's Fair at the turn of the century and a gruesome serial killer. The 1891 World's Fair was America's coming out party... |
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