An account of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 relates the stories of two men who shaped the history of the event–architect Daniel H. Burnham, who coordinated its construction, and serial killer Herman Mudgett.
The Devil in the White City
By eriklarson
not my cup of tea – I found it too scary to continue, but I know a lot of people who thought it was fabulous.
Absolutely mesmerizing.
This book, and its Villain Holmes, stays with you! Brilliant.
This was an excellent read. Larsen is a wonderful writer, especially of a true story (which this is). This is a page turner, one that you don’t want to end.
Just could not get into it.
You can almost imagine yourself in Chicago at the dawn of the World’s Fair. The details make you feel as if you are walking down the streets of Chicago. With the excitement of the time, it is no wonder that HH Holmes got away with so many murders. The book also paints a very detailed portrait of Holmes, much more comprehensive than other works …
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Worth my time and I’ll probably read it again. it was nice to read about the positive and negative parts of such an important event in US history that were happening simultaneously.
A very readable mix of history (the 1893 world’s fair) and speculation pretending to be history (the actions of H.H. Holmes).
Any book written by Erik Larson is worth reading. What is scary is that they are non-fiction. He is an extremely good at setting scenes and blending facts into a book that you cannot put down and cannot forget.
The first Erik Larson book that I ever read, about the Chicago Word’s Fair at the turn of the 19th to 20th Century. Since then I have read every Erik Larson book I can get my hands on.
Takes forever to get to the action. Way too many details that were dragged out and boring
The new architecture and world’s fair phenomenon wrapped around a macabre serial killer. Lived in Chicago, but found out about this book when I visited and took an architecture tour. Became a EL fan after this.
It was hard to put down. very engaging.
Yikes! A true-crime saga.
I liked learning about the Chicago World’s Fair through the eyes of the criminal villain and the architectural team.
Larson is the master of narrative nonfiction. His storytelling really brings history to life like no other.
Love this author. He always twist two related tales together and feeds you oodles of facts along the way. Great way to learn about odd things, in this case Chicago’s World’s Fair and a serial killer.
This book is very different’ I am still not sure how I feel about it. It has 2 separate stories throughout that run parallel. I am pretty sure one is all true and the other is historical fiction, although, even after reading it, I am not sure.
I learned a lot of facts related to the World’s Fair, though, and I do like to learn new things. This …
I am from Chicago and I learned a lot of history about the city and especially the World Fair held here.
I really enjoyed this book. I read it with my cell phone logged to google. There was so much historical information I kept looking up to pursue further.