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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
by Erik Larson

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America Cover

Awards

2004 Edgar Award Winner for Best Fact Crime
2003 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction
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Powells.com Staff Pick

An amazing history that recounts the inconceivable events surrounding the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, Larson's tale captures a time and place that vividly come to life. The central characters in this tale are Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the construction of the fair, and H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the popularity of the fair for his own nefarious ends. Burnham's work at overcoming the insurmountable obstacles before completing this awe inspiring project is interwoven with chapters relating to the maniacal Holmes, whose person will keep you both captivated and haunted. Breathtakingly written, this almost unbelievable history reads like the work of a highly inventive novelist. Michal Drannen, Powells.com

"I was mesmerized by this book. It was a deliciously creepy read, made more creepy for being true. Several times in the course of reading it, I had to keep reminding myself that the events really happened." Beth, Powells.com

Review-a-Day   (What is Review-a-Day?)

"You've got to respect a book that makes you keep flipping to the back cover, double-checking that it is nonfiction. Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City seems like something from the mind of, say, Thomas Harris. But it is, in fact, true. A gruesome and gripping book....[T]he heart of the story is so good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." Adrienne Miller, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review)

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Review:

"Engrossing...exceedingly well documented...utterly fascinating." Chicago Tribune

Review:

"A wonderfully unexpected book....Larson is a historian...with a novelist's soul." Chicago Sun-Times

Review:

"Another successful exploration of American history....Larson skillfully balances the grisly details with the far-reaching implications of the World's Fair." USA Today

Review:

"Vivid history of the glittering Chicago World?s Fair and its dark side." New York Magazine

Review:

"[Larson] uses language well, but has little sense of pacing or focus, perhaps because of the huge amount of material available on the fair....There is much less material available on H. H. Holmes, and Larson tells that part of the story economically." David Traxel, The New York Times Book Review

Synopsis:

The story of two men's obsessions with the Chicago World's Fair — one its architect, the other a murderer. 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.

Synopsis:

The story of two men's obsessions with the White City Fair, one its architect, the other a murderer.

Synopsis:

Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. 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.
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About the Author

Erik Larson, author of the international bestseller Isaac’s Storm, has written for Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and Time, where he is a contributing writer. He is a former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Seattle with his wife, three daughters, and assorted pets, including a golden retriever named Molly.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 8 comments:
Krystal, May 13, 2008 (view all comments by Krystal)
This book is full of information, history, suspense, and murder. It is made even more intriguing knowing that it is solidly based on fact. The plot jumps back and forth between a story about the World Fair and a heart wrenching murder mystery. The World Fair is important contextual information under which the murders took place and the murderer got away with it, but the amazing level of detail depicted in this book should really have been its own book. Having the two stories running concurrently in this book took away some of the magic of each story. While I enjoyed the overall book, I think both stories would have been done more justice to be their own individual story.
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khfanatic7, July 26, 2007 (view all comments by khfanatic7)
At the end of my last school year i found out i had to do this summer reading stuff.

i wasnt too happy. ANYWAY i went to the store and got this book just because it looked better than all the other books. well.. turns out it WAS. this book was awesome. it kept me reading the whole way through.
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kristenxwentz, July 25, 2007 (view all comments by kristenxwentz)
Originally I had picked up this book because it was about murder, which I am thoroughly enthralled in. This was my summer reading book for school, and overall I thought it was a very interesting book. At points I thought it was boring, partially because I could care less about architecture, but it was a very good historical read, if you are looking for information.
I am 15 years old, and this wasn't the most exciting books I have read, but it was informative.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780375725609
Subtitle:
Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Author:
Larson, Erik
Publisher:
Vintage Books USA
Location:
New York
Subject:
United States - 20th Century
Subject:
United States - 19th Century/Turn of the Century
Subject:
Serial murders
Subject:
Serial murderers
Subject:
United States - State & Local - Midwest
Subject:
Murder - Serial Killers
Copyright:
2004
Edition Number:
1st paperback ed.
Edition Description:
1st Vintage Books ed.
Series Volume:
34/2003
Publication Date:
February 10, 2004
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
464
Dimensions:
7.93x5.25x.94 in. 1.01 lbs.
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