The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America | 
| Author: Erik Larson
Publisher: Vintage
Category: EBooks
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $4.91
You Save: $5.04 (51%)
Rating:  774 reviews
Sales Rank: 207
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 447
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.15230977311
ASIN: B000FC0ZIA
Publication Date: February 10, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
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
Product Description
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 fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.
The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.
Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.
To find out more about this book, go to http://www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 769 more reviews...
 Worth the read, fascinating non-fiction, uneven storytelling December 3, 2008
This is an engrossing non-fiction book that tells two stories in parallel - the development of Chicago's World Fair and the criminal life of Dr. Holmes (aka Mudgett). If you're interested in history, architecture, project management, or Chicago, this book is full of fascinating tid-bits & facts. If you're interested in serial killers and crime details, this book will leave you looking for more. What I like is that it's a non-fiction book with a great author writing as though it's fiction. Larson includes descriptions of the "characters'" appearances and mannerisms and ends chapters with cliff hangers and foreshadowing.
It's probably unfair to criticize a non-fiction writer for the outcome of the story, but I was disappointed with conclusion of Holmes' tale. The story of the World Fair is interesting and very detailed, and having Holmes' story told in parallel did make the book more worthwhile and nicely broke up monotony of one subject. The World Fair's development was built up quite thoroughly, and as a reward, the details of the Fair in motion and the life of its stakeholders after the fact were satisfying. But Holmes' side of the story was lacking. While his life during the Fair was strange and interesting, the book seemed to be building up to a climax that never occurs. The conclusion of Holmes' story seemed hasty compared to the thoroughness of the first three quarters of the book, especially when it appears there are more details and accounts of his criminal activities during this period of his life than any other.
Again, it's a true story, but the build up and pay off of each story is uneven. In the end, although I was not totally satisfied, it was a worthwhile and enjoyable read and I took away several interesting facts about Chicago and the 1893 World Fair that are meaningful even 115 years later.
 Many interesting bits, but bogs down at times November 26, 2008
For a native Chicagoan, I found the descriptions of the city in the late 1800's fascinating. The grit and crime juxtaposed with wealth and luxury was especially compelling. The narrative style was very enjoyable, but I was rather disappointed that the murder-mystery element (the "Devil" from the title) went relatively undeveloped until the closing chapters. As a result, the story seemed to drag at times, spending a bit too much time on less interesting details.
 this book was a bestseller for good reason November 20, 2008
This is an excellent book which stands out amongst true crime books as one of the best. The author handles a gruesome topic without making the reader feel depressed. Every aspect of the crime is examined while the writer illuminates an historical perspective which is fascinating.
Devil in the White City November 19, 2008
Great historical prosective of a wonderful city everyone claims to know..but doesn't know that much history about!
The Chicago World's Fair Era November 10, 2008
This book is about two subjects: the 1892 Chicago World's Fair, and the murderer who killed scores of young women while operating a rooming house. [What a combination!] There is no Index, the Bibliography lists many old books that few can easily reference. I wonder how many readers know anything about the 1890s? They were not "The Good Old Days"; they had the worst depression of the 19th century. The first error is "a young woman named Borden killed her parents". Surely not the exonerated Lizzie? Larson describes colorful events, and shows his skill in creating a popular history. You will learn how they were able to build skyscrapers on the gumbo of Chicago soil. This non-fiction book lacks any photographs of the people and places described there!
Either the 1893 Columbian Exposition or the career of Herman Webster Mudgett would make an interesting book. Combining the two stories could create a wider audience, or, hinder a person without any interest in one of these stories. Both stories coincided, but there must have been other events at that time that were more appropriate for this book. There was a lot of things happening politically and economically, but its mostly been censored. Some true crime stories tell a lot about the era, like Curt Gentry's "Frame-Up". Linking a serial killer with this World's Fair is certainly unusual.
Is this book padded out with inconsequential details, like the hiring of Frederick Law Olmsted? The running together of many separate lives only to bring them together is found in fiction. I think true crime should proceed more linearly. The chapters are not listed in the `Contents'. I was happy to read about the otherwise forgotten Daniel H. Burnham and his life, and the Chicago World's Fair of 1892. There should have been more on the other events of that era. The story about crimes should also be included, but not over-emphasized.
I once read that the Ferris Wheel was invented for this World's Fair. Larson fills in the details about this historic event. Larson mentions "strikers at coalfields and steel mills" but few other details. 1890 saw the last of the Indian Wars, the "Closing of the Frontiers", and other significant events in politics (tariffs and income tax). Is there any good popular history about the 1890s, or is that still too controversial? Larson describes H.H. Holmes: "handsome and clean and dressed well and spoke in fine sentences", "far too smooth and self-assured for a man of so few years". Was this too good to be true? Have you ever met anyone like this? Beware of any seemingly rich person who wants to borrow money from you or asks you for an investment. You will learn the meaning of a "Cleckley psychopath" or "moral imbecile", and the investigations of insurance companies.
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