The Devil in the White City

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

By: Erik Larson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death.

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. 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.

©2003 Erik Larson (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

National Book Awards, Short-listed

Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner, Fact Crime, 2004

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

“A dynamic, enveloping book. . . . Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel. . . . It doesn’t hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction.” —The New York Times

“A wonderfully unexpected book. . . Larson is a historian . . . with a novelist’s soul.” —Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago's World Fair

I'm not from Chicago. I never talked to anyone who relayed any story about the Fair. I listened to this book because of the reviews. The worst thing about the experience is that when you are done, it is very difficult to talk to anyone who hasn't read it--about it. Its hard to make a World's Fair interesting that closed its doors before the memory of any living person. But Erik Larson accomplishes this. And does it very well.
Scott Brick makes any book better and he is at his best transporting us across the country to another place--forgetting for awhile that it was also another time. I don't know if I would call it riveting--but close---and I will never look on a Ferris Wheel again and not think of this book.

Excellent book full of unexpected facts!

Do you know how and why the Ferris Wheel was made? That is just one of the interesting questions this book will answer for you. The book almost sounded like a work of fiction. The author was quite adept with the story by keeping multiple plots in the air while having them all make sense and keeping congruity intact. Great book if you want to learn a lot and have a few good plots included!

FANTASTIC!!!

It doesn't get much better than this, whether you're a fan of historical non-fiction or not. This is simply an incredible story, proving the old adage that truth really IS stranger than fiction.
The unmatched Scott Brick is brilliant once again, narrating this tale about the World's Fair in turn-of-the-(20th) century Chicago in such a way that you can see, taste, even smell the city as if you were actually there.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a connection to Chicago and/or architecture, but the real guilty pleasure in this book is the life of H. H. Holmes, one of America's first serial killers. The way the author details his escapades leaving your imagination to fill in the gory details is wonderfully creepy and deliciously eerie.
The World's Fair of 1893 put Chicago on the map and this book has put Erik Larson in my top-five authors of the genre.

Interesting but the reader was over dramatic

Enjoyed the history and commingling of historical events surrounding the fair. There is so much I didn't know or realize about the time, especially in Chicago, and I must visit Jackson Park next time I'm there.

At times the architecture bits got draggy but Holmes bits were always interesting in a macabre way. The reader's over dramatic style of voicing the text was the only real draw back.

Extremely well written and fascinating history!

This is one of those books I base my future reads on. My only critism is the link between the 2 stories is a little weak, time and place only. I would have preferred even more of his great writing be put to better use with a longer account of the independant stroylines into 2 separate books.

An intoxicating tale

The author engages true scholarly research into an engaging tale. At times the descriptions of the World's Fair seems like a dramatic pause between the more captivating story of "The Devil." The writing, however, is superb, and the minor historical details--shredded wheat, alternating current, and more--make the story fascinating.

Phenomenal

I found this book so interesting that I listened to many of the chapters 2 and 3 times.

This book is really two complete stories, both fascinating and the narration was perfect!

It was a treat to learn about the many things (eg, shredded wheat, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and Juicy Fruit) that are now so familiar that we’re introduced during the World’s Fair.

I was delightfully surprised by mentions of Frank Lloyd Wright, Annie Oakley, Susan B Anthony, Buffalo Bill and many others.

Bottom line: fascinating story presented by excellent storyteller!

Great book

I’m from Chicago and loved listening about the history of the city. I thought the author wrote a great book by weaving two stories seamlessly together. It kept my interest from start to finish and I looked up info on the people in the book to get even more. As many times as I went to the Science and Industry Museum as a child, I never knew it was built for the World’s Fair

One of the Best

Where does The Devil in the White City rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Number One

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Devil in the White City?

The construction of the World's Fair was one of the greatest feats of mankind ever performed.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Made it so much more enjoyable with his clarity, pace, and tone.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Just realizing that we shouldn't automatically give up because a task seems enormous. They got started even though it seemed impossible and once the momentum kicked in the end got more and more clear.

Any additional comments?

If I were to list the top ten books people should read or listen to, this book would be on my list.

Fascinating!

Fascinating accounting of the history surrounding Chicago at the time of the 1893 World’s Fair as well as the conditions which created the perfect hunting ground for America’s first “serial killer.” Riveting account of Holmes inlaid in detailed constructive plans of Fair from ground up in both its fleeting fancy and eternal glory and sorrow.