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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic,…
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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that… (2003)

by Erik Larson

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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11,833387191 (4.01)586
19th century (167) America (55) American (68) American History (239) architecture (364) biography (86) book club (84) Chicago (1,054) chicago history (42) Chicago World's Fair (236) crime (325) fiction (202) H.H. Holmes (44) historical (98) historical fiction (117) history (1,323) Illinois (49) murder (338) mystery (161) non-fiction (1,354) own (53) read (178) serial killer (447) to-read (126) true crime (472) unread (75) US History (77) USA (72) World Fair 1893 (72) World's Fair (473)
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    thatwordnerd: Both books tell a true story, with a multitude of sources, but are written in a way that makes the reader feel as if it is almost fiction. The reader (see more) is not hit over the head with facts and is able to get sucked into the story and the era.
  3. 40
    American Gothic by Robert Bloch (CarlT)
    CarlT: Though AMERICAN GOTHIC is fiction and THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY is non-fiction, both books are based on the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 (nicknamed "The White City") and the horrific murders committed by serial killer Henry H. Holmes.
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    Depraved: The Definitive True Story of H.H. Holmes, Whose Grotesque Crimes Shattered Turn-of-the-Century Chicago by Harold Schechter (jseger9000)
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    browner56: Two fascinating looks at murder and mayhem in the Windy City at the turn of the last century.
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Showing 1-5 of 381 (next | show all)
The fascinating history of the Chicago World's Fair is the gem of this book, and if you're interested in reading about the fair and the main architect behind it, you could do worse. The problem with the book is everything else. Based on a false premise that there was a serial killer at the World's Fair, the author splits his time between the struggle to build the fair (which seems to be well-documented and researched) and the day-to-day goings on of a man whose criminal undertakings happened to have occurred in the same city of the fair. This "devil" can only be tied to the "white city" because he was one of the millions of visitors there, and possibly only for one day.

I would not be as hard on the book if it were marketed as historical fiction. The book is shelved in non-fiction, though, and the H. H. Holmes story stretches the meaning of the term, even going so far as to suggest that the facts that the author has gleaned about Holmes' childhood must be wrong because they do not fit the author's narrative. Holmes' story of being forced, scared and overpowered by older children, to come face-to-face with skeletons at the doctor's office provides some insight in to how a person can be so damaged that they are drawn to kill and dismember bodies themselves. Holmes' diary admits of his fear of the doctor's office, which he had to pass alone at 5 years old on the way to school. One day, older boys discovered his fear, captured him, and dragged him into the office, pressing him close to the face of the articulated skeleton. Modern social science gives us many possible narratives that would explain how a small, bullied five-year-old child can grow into a killer. The author ignores any such narrative, instead hypothesizing that this own research is wrong and that the 5 year old must have been so evil that he scared the older boys, and "it was they who fled."

The non-novel uses clunky shifts between the sensationalized killer tale and the story of the creation of the fair. The portions about the fair, however, do not need the Holmes story to drive the plot.

I'm sure there are better books about the World's Fair, but if you want to read this one, skip the serial killer part. ( )
  breakerfallen | May 15, 2013 |
Should have been more about H.H.Holmes and less about the Chicago Fair...though by the end I found myself getting sucked in to the fair drama ( )
  crazyjster | May 9, 2013 |
This book is about America's first serial killer and the Chicago Worlds Fair. This book is very well written. It jumps back and forth between the building of the Fair and the escalation of H.H.Holmes in his killing spree. It keeps the reader engaged and interested in what will happen next. I had no idea about this killer and was surprised to find out that he did his killing around the same time as 'Jack the Ripper' in London who only killed 5 women. H.H.Holmes killed dozens, yet most people have never heard of him. This book was creepy and I found that if I read it at night, I'd have to put it down. I did enjoy this book enough to give it to a friend of mine to read. ( )
  sadiekaycarver | May 7, 2013 |
Half about H.H.Holmes and half about the World's Fair, this is a rich, far-reaching book filled with fascinating information about Chicago at the turn of the century. Larson masterfully toggles back and forth between the two focuses of the book (Holmes and the fair), leaving the reader torn between which he finds more exciting. A handsome, charismatic murderer certainly catches interest, but the struggles behind the fair are just as interesting. If you expect this to simply be about one of America's most enigmatic and ingenious serial killers, you are in for a surprise. There is so much more here, and for that, I am thankful to Larson. ( )
  JacobSeifert | Apr 27, 2013 |
I would have given this book more stars, but the similes were grating like ball bearings on cracked teeth. (Ha!) The foreshadowing would prove to be more annoying than this reader had initially assumed. (Ha, again!) ( )
  AQuilling | Apr 26, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 381 (next | show all)
it could nearly be Broadway, but Larson - who might be the last living writer still to use the word "harbinger" - does not successfully resolve an interesting idea into a wholly cohesive narrative. Evoke as he might, Larson's pre-emptive declaration early in the book that, while both "handsome and blue eyed", the "two never met" undermines the plot of a history book that reads like fiction.
added by mikeg2 | editThe Guardian, Stephen Bayley (Jul 26, 2003)
 
In ''The Devil in the White City,'' Erik Larson, the author of ''Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History,'' wants to tell the whole story, both the glory of Burnham's creation and the sordid details of the first known urban psychopath in American history. It is not a comfortable fit. He uses language well, but has little sense of pacing or focus, perhaps because of the huge amount of material available on the fair.
 
Mr. Larson has written a dynamic, enveloping book filled with haunting, closely annotated information. And it doesn't hurt that this truth really is stranger than fiction.
 

» Add other authors (10 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Erik Larsonprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.
Daniel H. Burnham
Director of Works
World's Columbian Exposition, 1893
I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.
Dr. H. H. Holmes
Confession
1896
Dedication
To Chris, Kristen, Lauren, and Erin,
for making it all worthwhile

—and to Molly, whose lust for socks
kept us all on our toes
First words
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.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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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

Ar 9.2, 23 Pts
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0375725601, Paperback)

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

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:29:07 -0500)

(see all 7 descriptions)

While Daniel H. Burnham builds the glittering 1893 Chicago World's Fair, a serial killer lures young women to a torture chamber.

» see all 8 descriptions

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