Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(132)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is an exceptionally well written, well-researched book about two events that were intertwined, the Chicago World's Fair and the crimes of a serial killer in late nineteenth century Chicago. The book is rife with period detail and highly descriptive passages that give the reader a taste of what living in Chicago was like at that time.

The book provides a fascinating look at the enormous work and planning that went into creating the Chicago World's Fair, making it into one that was truly remarkable for its time, given some of the problems that the architects had to overcome. It also provides a fascinating look into the lives of some of the key players involved in its creation.

Meanwhile, an enterprising and charismatic killer was also at work, his story being tied into that of the creation of the Chicago World's Fair itself. His story, however, is the weaker part of the book, as it lacks the detail that is evident in the other segment of the book. Still, it provides an interesting look into the life of a serial killer who seemed to go about his grisly business with impunity, as well as a look at crime, law enforcement, and the state of criminal justice in late nineteenth century Chicago.

The photographs that were included in the book are excellent and illustrative. The only problem is that there are not enough of them, as the few that are included simply make the reader desire more of them. Still, those with an appreciation of history will enjoy this work of non-fiction and look forward to reading more by this author.

In 1890 Chicago had a justly earned reputation for filth, squalor, crime and violence; its biggest tourist attractions were its vast stock yards and slaughterhouses. But that year, having just edged out Philadelphia as the second most populous city in the U.S., Chicagoans had the audacity to dream of being something greater than hog-butchers as they won the bid to host the 1893 World Exposition.
This book is about the struggle to realize that dream, the building of the "White City" on a barren tract of lakefront swampland. Interwoven with the main story is the darker one of the charming serial killer, Henry Holmes, who built his World's Fair Hotel just down the street & to which he lured uncounted numbers of young women.

The book is a fascinating page-turner, all the more remarkable for being true - I raced through it in a day & a half. But even more remarkable is Erik Larson's writing style; there were many instances where I slowed down just to savor his turn of phrase. Here are some examples:

"Every day he saw (women) stepping from trains and... hansom cabs, inevitably frowning at some piece of paper that was supposed to tell them where they belonged. The city's madams understood this and were known to meet inbound trains with promises of warmth and friendship, saving the important news for later."

"Homes adored Chicago... in particular how the smoke and din could envelop a woman and leave no hint that she had ever existed."

In a Minneapolis shop Holmes has just met Myrta whom he would later bigamously marry: "When he left the store that first day, as motes of dust filled the space he had left behind, her own life seemed drab beyond endurance. A clock ticked. Something had to change."
(Myrta was luckier than his other wives; at least 2 of them Holmes seduced, murdered, dissected & sold their articulated skeletons to medical schools.)

The book seems to get off to a slow start, mired in biographical details of a host of characters whose importance we do not yet know but this mirrors the slow start to the building of the Fair itself as months are spent in frustrating waits for committee meetings, approvals, budgets & minutiae before construction can begin. Despite setbacks, strikes and storms, the pace & the suspense pick up speed; events unfold faster & faster; thousands of workmen, tons of dirt, trainloads of materials and exhibits, hordes of visitors pass before our eyes as the book and the Fair hurtle to conclusion. In parallel, as more women go missing inquiries are begun; Holmes becomes more brazen and more careless; bodies found beneath a house in downtown Toronto are traced to Holmes; he is arrested, tried and hanged.

Who knew Chicago isn't called The Windy City because of its strong gusts? Who knew anything about the Chicago World's Fair, or the murderous doctor who plagued the fairgoers? And, finally, who knew reading about a painfully slow architectural process could be so riveting? Larson's nonfiction reads like a novel, leading the reader through the carcass-ridden streets of 19th century Chicago right up to its linen-lined parlours of prestige. A tale of psychopathic darkness, and a tale of heroic intellectual success; The Devil in the White City is an enriching experience.

At first I was very excited to read this book. The author did a book signing in the area, and everyone was mentioning how great the novel was. As a result, I bought the book and struggled through boring chapter after boring chapter.

Larson tells the stories of Burnham and Holmes in a series of alternating chapters. These stories are totally unrelated except for the fact that they share the same time and place. All the chapters are full of pointless details and "fun facts" that drag on the already slow pace of the book.

You will love this book if you are riveted by disagreements over using steamboats instead of electric vessels, or if you are mesmerized by how foundations are constructed in the soft ground in Chicago.

If you are looking for historical minutia, this is the book for you; however, if you want a thriller, read something else.

What strikes me most about this book is the detailed research that went into the parallel story about the Chicago World's Fair and how it's woven around the story of the murders. Larson's book is a pure enjoyment--a historical journey into the history of Chicago, warts and all. The reader not only learns about Daniel Burnham's amazing feat pulling together the Columbia Exposition of 1893 and the ways it changed the nation, but he contrasts this event with America's first serial killer, ironically steps away from the fair. The reader is tugged from good to evil, from risk to murder, from heaven to hell. Enjoy the ride and thanks Mr. Larson for allowing us to take that ride!

Whether you've been to Chicago or not, you'll find this book captivating. It's fact-packed but written in such a wonderful, readable style that you have to remind yourself it's non fiction. It paints a detailed picture of the era and gives you insights into so many now commonplace fixtures of our world, such as electric lighting and the Ferris Wheel. The parallel story of the serial killer is so bizarre and skillfully intertwined. Well worth reading - a perfect balance of entertainment and learning.

The devil was H.H. Holmes, a serial killer, who designed a rooming house that provided gas outlets to kill guests in their rooms and an incinerator to dispose of their bodies. The White City was the 1893 Chicago World's Fair also known as the World's Columbian Exhibition. Daniel H. Barnham was the primary organizer of the exhibition who recruited the help of all the greatest architects of the time to create a dream of neoclassical architecture. In place of stone, the alabaster covered the buildings situated around lagoons and parks. It would eventually inspire Walt Disney, whose father was a builder at the park, to build his own, more permanent theme part in California. The previous World Fair had taken place in Paris where the iconic Eiffel Tower was built and people around the world came to marvel at its sight. Chicago wanted to equal or exceed that accomplishment. Mr. Larson described the life of Mr. Burnham in detail from his beginnings as a draftsman to his accomplishments as an architect and his successful partnership with John Root. The lives of other contributors to the fair such as George Ferris, Frederick Olmsted, the landscape architect to the fair, Carter Harrison, mayor of Chicago at the time, Patrick Prendergast, Harrison's murderer, are expounded in the book so we get a very detailed account of the White City from its beginnings to its eventual demise. Mr. Larson describes the devil in considerably less detail for good reason. I could see little connection between the devil and the White City which is why I picked up the book. Mr. Holmes' murderous behavior could have occurred in any large city in America and for that matter and it did. He was charged with the murders both in Toronto and Philadelphia where he was convicted and hanged. Despite this drawback, the book is enjoyable read and provides insight into an event that helped mark the U.S. as the emerging power of at the turn of the twentieth century.

This was a fascinating book, filled with information about the origin of the Chicago World's Fair, the people that worked on it, the problems and personalities of the Architects and a lot of little bits of info that I didn't know before, such as the Ferris wheel and the fact that Walt Disney's Father was a part of the Fair. The serial killer and his victims were woven into the story which made for suspense. It was time well spent reading it.

Erik Larson's juxtaposition of the development of the Chicago "Columbian Exposition" and the capture of a prolfic serial murderer who benefitted from the fair makes for an exciting read. It's hard to believe how the fair was conceived and funded, and how it was so quickly put together, despite warring architects, the depression, and various misfortunes. Imagine these days being able to suddenly increase a workforce 4-fold, reducing it just as quickly. Imagine constructing a whole city in a few fevered months, facing bad weather and supply shortages. And yet, they managed. The story is a cliffhanger and gives appreciation of what used to be the American spirit of can-do. The aftereffects of the fair and the glories thereof are visible throughout the country. Unfortunately, that spirit seems to be smaller now - there isn't that feeling of collaborating on something bigger, grander, more wonderful than anything ever done before...
The story of the serial killer is less gripping. I wanted more details about his life - instead it was more of he met this person, poof, they were no more. Of course, this is a factual book, and the author would be limited by what was proven, but the story would make a wonderful novel based on the facts and I felt myself longing for that. His eventual come-uppance is well-described and believable. In a way, Larson shows the good and the bad that can come from obsession.
Overall, the book was surprisingly gripping, and I am eager to go to Chicago again and see it with new eyes. I didn't know about this part of US History and I am amazed by it. Highly recommended.

Erik Larson shows how Chicago managed to build an extraordinary World's Fair despite all odds in the 1890s. That alone would have made a great book, but he intertwines a tale of how a man took advantage of the fair to set up what seemed to be a hotel but was actually a murder house. Larson's research wows the reader. All sorts of small details, like a coincidence involving the Titanic, and the launch of Shredded Wheat and Aunt Jemima pancakes. And he includes the menus when various committees met. He even knows which of his people had sore teeth. Loved it.