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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" by Erik Larson delves into two parallel stories set during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. One storyline follows the ambitious architect Daniel Burnham as he strives to create the greatest World's Fair ever seen, while the other narrative focuses on Dr. H.H. Holmes, who becomes the first mass murderer in U.S. history. intricately weaves together the challenges of organizing the fair with the chilling crimes committed by Holmes, creating a captivating blend of history and true crime. Readers are taken on a journey through the bustling city of Chicago, where the grandeur of the fair contrasts with the darkness of Holmes' actions, all presented in a narrative that reads like a suspense novel.

Writing/Prose:

The author's narrative style combines detailed research with a compelling prose that reads like a novel, creating an immersive experience for the reader.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative explores the contrasting tales of the 1893 Chicago World s Fair and H H Holmes's sinister activities during its run, showcasing both the heights of human achievement and depths of depravity.

Setting:

The late 19th century Chicago serves as a vivid and dynamic setting, contrasting the beauty of the fair with the dark undertones of the city.

Pacing:

The book has a varied pacing, with more detailed descriptions of the fair's construction interspersed with the faster-moving story of Holmes's crimes.
THE DATE WAS APRIL 14, 1912, a sinister day in maritime history, but of course the man in suite 63–65, shelter deck C, did not yet know it. What he did know was that his foot hurt badly, more than he ...

Notes:

The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 was intended to surpass the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Chicago won the bid to host the fair in a surprising victory over New York and St. Louis, which were expected to win.
The nickname 'The Windy City' originated from Chicago's excessive verbiage during the bidding process, not from its weather.
The fair featured a complex of Neoclassical buildings made from a material called staff, which is a blend of plaster and jute.
The White City was so named because the buildings were whitewashed, creating a stunning visual contrast.
The Ferris Wheel, designed by George Washington Ferris, debuted at the fair, which was a major attraction and contributed to its financial success.
The Chicago World's Fair introduced several products and brands to the market, including Cracker Jack, Juicy Fruit gum, Cream of Wheat, and Aunt Jemima pancake mix.
The Midway Plaisance became famous for its authentic villages from around the world, showcasing different cultures.
The fair is credited with popularizing the 'Midway' concept in subsequent fairs and carnivals across the United States.
H H Holmes, one of America's first serial killers, is estimated to have murdered between 27 to possibly 200 individuals, primarily young women.
Holmes used charm and deception to lure victims into his custom-built hotel, which contained secret rooms, gas chambers, and a crematorium.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include descriptions of violence, murder, and psychological manipulation, particularly related to the crimes of H.H. Holmes.

From The Publisher:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death.

"Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel .... It doesn't hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction." -The New York Times

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.

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 the enchantment of the Guilded Age, 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. 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.

Ratings (174)

Incredible (32)
Loved It (62)
Liked It (54)
It Was OK (17)
Did Not Like (9)

Reader Stats (330):

Read It (176)
Currently Reading (3)
Want To Read (110)
Did Not Finish (12)
Not Interested (29)

4 comment(s)

Incredible
2 weeks

Brings together the Ferris wheel, Disney, snake charmers music, and a serial killer.

 
It Was OK
2 months

Hard to choose between three and four stars.

Reasons for four stars:

A great read. Larson alternates between telling the story of the Chicago World's Fair and the architects who built it, and the story of H.H. Holmes, one of America's earliest serial killers. The Fair chapters make the political, social, and architectural history of Chicago fascinating, and the Holmes chapters are subtly terrifying, almost novelistic.

Reasons for three stars:

The Holmes chapters are subtly terrifying because they're almost novelistic because Larson chose a version of events and went with it. He describes murders that were only witnessed by Holmes, who was a notorious liar (he claimed to have killed people who were still alive and changed his story multiple times (of course, I only know that from reading Larson's book)). All of Larson's notes about his sources are in the back of the book in fine print. I don't find that intellectually dishonest, but it seems a bit self-serving. It allows the Holmes chapters to read like a serial killer novel.

 
Loved It
4 months

Incredible on two levels. A fascinating description of the 1893 World’s Fair. Then a gripping true story of a demonic mass murderer.

 
Liked It
5 months

Well researched but started to bore me towards the middle with details of the construction of the worlds fair. I wish there was more on the trial instead of the details of the fair. Overall I did love this book as a whole. I’m excited for Scorsese and DiCaprio to bring this story to life in the future Hulu series. DiCaprio is going to make a PERFECT H. H. Holmes

 

About the Author:

ERIK LARSON is the author of four national bestsellers: In the Garden of Beasts, Thunderstruck, The Devil in the White City, and Isaac's Storm, which have collectively sold more than 5.5 million copies. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and other publications and his books have been published in fourteen countries.

 
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