One of the best books that I have read in a long time

books:

	• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America Erik Larson Vintage, 2004 - 447 pages average customer review:based on 775 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

One of the best books that I have read in a long time

Having grown up in the Chicagoland area, I always detected echoes of the great 1893 World's Columbian Exposition/Chicago's World Fair. There was the Museum of Science and Industry, housed in what had been the Fair's Palace of Fine Arts, and there were so many references to the grandeur of the White City and the huge success of the Fair. But, there was something else that occurred at the same time, something so monstrous that the city chose to block out of its collective memory.

This fascinating book tells the story of the White City and the devil that lurked just outside of it, by concurrently giving the biographies of two men - Daniel Burnham, one of America's greatest architects and urban planners, and Herman Webster Mudgett (alias H.H. Holmes), one of America's most infamous serial killers, who might have killed hundreds during the great Fair. Along the way, we see the rise of Mr. Burnham to being a celebrated architect, while we see the descent of Mr. Mudgett as he learns the ropes in his new "hobby." We see the rise of the White City, while we see the rise of Mudgett's "Murder Castle." And strangely, we see the fall of the White City to arson, and the bringing of Mudgett/Holmes to justice.

Overall, I thought that this is one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I loved the way that the author succeeded in giving the story of the Exposition the grandeur that it deserved, while at the same time giving the story of Dr. Holmes the feeling of horror that his crimes must have engendered at the time; weaving the two seemingly incompatible strands into a an excellent whole. Also, I liked the many other stories that he told along the way - the story of Frederick Olmstead the great landscape architect, the story of George Ferris and his marvelous invention, and so much more.

I must say that this is a great book, one that I think that everyone should read. I don't say this about many books, but I really do believe that this one is destined to be considered a classic piece of literature by future generations!

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Great story, a little long through the middle...

This is a great story with great Chicago/U.S. history mixed in. It gets a little long through the middle with descriptions of the building, but overall a great book.

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Very Interesting book

This book is about the 1892 Worlds Fair in Chicago and the man H.H. Holmes who used the fair to murder many people.

The part of the book detailing the life of H.H. Holmes is fascinating. The author tells about his exploits leading from New York and elsewhere before settling in Chicago and building a castle that he used in the systematic murder of many (at least 30) people many of whom where young woman (an some of whom had been romantically involved with him) The author also details his life after the fair when he took three children of his former friend and took them and their mother on a wild goose chase before murdering the children like he had their father. The murders of the three children lead a detective to try to find out what happened to them, and ultimately for H.H. Holmes being hanged for his crimes.

The part that dealt with the fair while informative I found to be very boring compared to the other part of the book. After about 100 pages trying to read about the fair I gave up trying to figure out how all the people the author mentions fit into the story and ultimately found myself just reading the part about H.H. Holmes.

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A great mix of history and narration

Having read Issac's storm, I had great hopes for this book. I was not disappointed. Larson writes well and keeps the history and the intrigue moving effectively. Chicago is my favorite big city and I learned a great deal about it and the Exposition from this book.. An engaging story and a fine history lesson is the product of reading this book

Multiple Murders at the World's Fair

This is a chilling and engrossing account of one of history's most fiendish and depraved serial killers committing a host of unspeakable murders juxtaposed against the race to create the White City of the 1893 Columbia Exposition. There is a significant amount of detail provided to the political maneuvering and scheming to have the World's Fair Committee and the US Congress select Chicago as the host city for the event and the hugely complicated task of creating the fair grounds within a short period of time. There were casualties: Architect John Wellborn Root exhausted himself and died of pneumonia, his partner, Daniel Burnham, coordinated the remainder of the project in conjunction with a host of other talents; Mayor Carter Harrison was assassinated on the day of the closing ceremonies by a disappointed and unbalanced adherent seeking a political patronage appointment to an important city office.

Erik Larson adopts the methods employed by the late Truman Capote in the book "In Cold Blood" to recreate some of the murders committed by the infamous Dr. H. H. Holmes. Be forewarned, some of these dramatized descriptions are quite disturbing. Equally gruesome are the descriptions of the relative ease in which the villain disposed of his victims and escaped detection.

Suprisingly, most of the murders committed by Holmes (an alias adopted by H. W. Mudgett) have been largely forgotten and obscured in the succeeding century. The officials of the Chicago Police Department were the last to learn, or so it seemed, of his despicable acts. An intrepid and indefatiguable detective retained by an insurance company traced the criminal down long after he departed from Chicago as a fugitive from justice. He was eventually tried, convicted and executed elsewhere.

The White City was not built to remain on permanent display and most of the buildings (with the notable exception of the exhibition building which now serves as the home of the Museum of Science and Industry) were razed after the exposition closed. Nonetheless, the World's Fair was immensely influential and secured international recognition for Chicago. Many beautiful parks on the South Side date from the fair. It was a singular event in Chicago's history and far more important than the Depression Era Century of Progress World's Fair which occurred four decades later.

The actual site of Holmes' sinister "Murder Castle" no longer exists. The exact street address and intersection have been eliminated from the Englewood neighborhood. Few residents of the now impoverished ghetto that occupies the now vacant site would know of its horrific past now.

Larson has written several other books, but none of these titles have combined architectural, political, cultural, economic and criminal events so effectively. If you have rode a Ferris Wheel, drank Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, or eaten Shredded Wheat cereal or Aunt Jemima Pancakes, you are enjoying some of the products popularized after making their debuts at the Columbian Exposition.

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reviews: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, page 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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