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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

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Powells.com Staff Pick

"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

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

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

From Powells.com:

"In Chicago at the end of the nineteenth century amid the smoke of industry and the clatter of trains there lived two men, both handsome, both blue-eyed, and both unusually adept at their chosen skills." So begins The Devil in the White City. And there ends all similarity between those two men. Daniel Burnham, architect of some of America's most famous structures — the Flatiron Building in New York City and Union Station in Washington, D.C., to name two — would, as director of works for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, organize a six-month fair on the shore of Lake Michigan that attracted 27.5 million visitors during one of the worst depressions in American history. Dr. H. H. Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, a physician and hotelier, was meanwhile living and working in Englewood, only a short "L" ride from the fairgrounds at Jackson Park. Although no one would know it until long after Burnham's fair closed its gates, during the great event Holmes was nearby developing his enterprise as America's first urban serial killer. "You've got to respect a book that makes you keep flipping to the back cover, double-checking that it is nonfiction," Adrienne Miller admitted in Esquire. "[T]he heart of the story is so good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." Dave, Powells.com

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.

To find out more about this book, go to http://www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com.

Review:

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

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

Synopsis:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [423]-429) and index.

Synopsis:

In a thrilling narrative showcasing his gifts as storyteller and researcher, Erik Larson recounts the spellbinding tale of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

The White City — as it became known — was a magical creation constructed upon Chicago's swampy Jackson Park by Daniel H. Burnham, the famed architect who coordinated the talents of Frederick Olmsted, Louis Sullivan, and others to build it. Dr. Henry H. Holmes combined the fair's appeal with his own fatal charms to lure scores of women to their deaths. Whereas the fair marked the birth of a new epoch in American history, Holmes marked the emergence of a new American archetype, the serial killer, who thrived on the very forces then transforming the country.

In deft prose, Larson conveys Burnham's herculean challenge to build the White City in less than 18 months. At the same time, he describes how, in a malign parody of the achievements of the fair's builders, Holmes built his own World's Fair Hotel — a torture palace complete with a gas chamber and crematorium. Throughout the book, tension mounts on two fronts: Will Burnham complete the White City before the millions of visitors arrive at its gates? Will anyone stop Holmes as he ensnares his victims?

A nonfiction blend of Ragtime and Silence of the Lambs, The Devil in the White City is Erik Larson at his best.

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About the Author

Erik Larson lives in Seattle with his wife, three daughters, a Chinese fighting fish, a dwarf hamster, and a golden retriever named Molly.

From the Hardcover edition.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
misszombie22, April 26, 2007 (view all comments by misszombie22)
i like how he explianed how the fair would become to other as in only poe could dream of such an event that is about to happen. its aslo very interesting.
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TanithFirst&Only, August 12, 2006 (view all comments by TanithFirst&Only)
As much as I wanted to like the book, I found it immensly plodding and highly differing towards unneccessary plot. With that, I feel the need to let other people know before they spend more than the book deserves.
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chrmd06, May 3, 2006 (view all comments by chrmd06)
This was an absolutely amazing book!! It kept my attention from the flip of the very first page, until the turn of the very last. This book is a must-read!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780609608449
Subtitle:
Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Author:
Larson, Erik
Author:
Larson, Erik
Publisher:
Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Location:
New York
Subject:
Murder
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 - General
Subject:
Murder - General
Subject:
United States - State & Local - Midwest
Subject:
Murder - Serial Killers
Copyright:
2003
Edition Number:
1st ed.
Series:
Illinois
Series Volume:
GTR-547
Publication Date:
February 2003
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
464
Dimensions:
954x646x143 167
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