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Search - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Audio CD (Unabridged), Audio CD (Abridged), Audio Cassette (Abridged), Hardcover
Book Description:
The 1893 Chicago World's Fair is the setting for this true account of two very different men: the celebrated architect Daniel H. Burnham who designed and supervised the construction of the "White City" around which the fair was built, and H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett), a fiendishly clever serial killer posing as a doctor who murdered scores of people, mostly young women, in his World's Fair Hotel, which contained a gas chamber and a handy crematorium for disposing of his victims. Telling their entwined stories in alternating points of view, Erik Larson illuminates the lives of these two men, but provides insightful commentary on the changes that were taking place in American society that allowed both phenomena--a grandiose World's Fair and a string of unsolved murders--to take place. The book contains cameo appearances by such late-19th-century celebrities as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.
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Top Member Book Reviews
22 member(s) found this review helpful.
I requested this book because I was intrigued by the fact that it had received 70+ essentially positive reviews! I don't think I have ever seen that before!
This was a good read. The information about the Fair was fascinating. I was glad to be spared the horrid details of the serial murders. The book was very well written, not sensationalistic and truly interesting.
I am re-listing so someone else can enoy.
15 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a great read. I had no idea the Chicago World's Fair had such a huge impact on the U.S. The crime story is amazing. Very interesting.
Kerry B. (
12 member(s) found this review helpful.
History with suspense of a murder mystery. Larson ties events surrounding early 1890's Chicago World Fair in to a non-fiction page turner. The story will remain with you long after book goes to a dusty corner of your bookshelf. Highly recommended.
11 member(s) found this review helpful.
Erik Larson has been able to take historical events and mold a very readable non-fiction book. It looks into the events of the Chicago's World's Fair by telling the story of two masterminds. One a mastermind of architecture and the world's fair and another a mastermind of using charm and murder. Although I am usually interested in history books, I did enjoy as well as appreciate this book and in the end still can not believe the events in this book are real and factual at times and have to remind myself that this was not a novel.
9 member(s) found this review helpful.
I thought the book seemed interesting,from the synopsis on the best sellers list - I like a good "true story". This book mixes history, with a few madmen moving in tandem through the book. Slow to get moving, but by the middle of the book - I had to know how it all ended and stayed up way too late to finish!
9 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book, the descriptions of the fair made it come alive in my mind, thoroughly enjoyed the story as well.
9 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fabulous combination of historical research and fiction. I didn't know much about the Chicago's World Fair going into the story, but found myself not only drawn into an engrossing story but, surprisingly, learned a lot about our country's popular history in the process.
Brandy S. (
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
Loved this book SO much, especially since I grew up in Chicago, where some of the places in the book took place still exist! Loved that it reads like a novel, though is a true story of how the World's Fair was put on while a mad serial killer used the fair to lure his victims.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a TERIFIC book! It's one of the very few that my husband & I both read and both LOVED! One of the best books that I have EVER read!!!!!!!!!
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
One of the finest books I have ever read. Captivating, informative, great style .... I could go on and on....
Please Rate these Book Reviews
I'm still thinking about this book a month later. I'm a history geek and a psychologist so the combination of historically fascinating facts and a psychological examination of a period of time (and a madman) combined together was riveting. I felt like I was taken back in time, could feel the scratchy natural fibers people had to wear, could smell the polluted blood-soaked air of Chicago's stockyards. The first cracker jacks? The first electric lights? so many firsts; I can't spill all the beans, but this is a must read.
Excellent book for lovers of American History, Cultural History, Mysteries and ARCHITECTURE.
Excellent look into the minds of some fascinating people from the past. I couldn't put it down.
One of my favorite books - totally fascinating and have recommended it numerous times. Isaac's Storm by the same author is also excellent.
Barbara N. - Des Plaines, IL wrote on 8/1/2009...Being that I am from Chicago, I found this book really interesting. It started out slow and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read it at first. But, after I got into it I really liked it. I'm glad I kept reading. I would recommend it to others to read.
Sharon G. (Book Wiki
Common Title
Series
Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
People/Characters
Daniel Hudson Burnham (Primary Character)
Dr. Herman W. Mudgett (Primary Character)
H.H. Holmes (Primary Character)
Frederick Law Olmstead (Average Character)
Patrick Eugene Joseph Prendergast (Average Character)
(Show all 16 People/Characters)
Real Places
Fictional Places
Important Events
Awards and Honors