Laura P. (hemmputnam) reviewed on 6/18/2010 + 1114 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

There were many fascinating bits of trivia that I enjoyed in this book (Do you know the connection between the World's Fair and the Pledge of Allegiance? How about the making of the ferris wheel?) I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and enjoyed hearing about the buildings that remain. (I don't know if I'm extra clueless or it isn't talked about much today or both, but I really didn't know the museums I've been inside of were from this fair.)

Sometimes I had to force myself to pick the book up again because the fact that the murders were true creeped me out in a way that Cornwell's or Reich's more graphic stuff never has.

The author did a good job of portraying how everyday life was for people in this time period (hot train rides, smelly cities, the new practice of women being on their own in a city). It's not fully clear in my mind why I'm not giving more than 3 stars. Maybe I like my reading to take me on a happy escape, and so much of this was disturbing (killing women and children and disposing of them in nasty ways) even when it was about the building of the glorious fair (many workers died during the construction, there was lots of anxiety about whether it would be finished on time). Still very well written, and if you are interested in architecture, landscape architecture, world's fairs, or true crime I think you'll enjoy this book very much.

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