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

great research

gruesome story of human nature. this book intrigued me. A masterful undertaking. well researched by author.

Riveting and informative

This book is more than just the tale of Americas first serial killer. It also delves deeply into the Worlds Columbian Exposition, which I found to be as interesting as the story about Holmes. If you like history intermixed with dark, murderous action, this books for you. The narrator, Scott Brick, is fantastic as always.

A trip in time to an age of the possible.

The story itself is enthralling and poignant. A bittersweet tale of the resolve and vision possessed by true American pioneers in the realms of engineering, architecture, landscaping and murder, that captured the spirit of a nation and the world's imagination. Centered around the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, The Devil In The White City mainly focuses on the moment in time of three individuals; Frederick Law Olmsted (landscape architect), Daniel H. Burnham (architect), and H.H. Holmes (serial killer) as they navigate the innovative possibilities of a post industrial revolution USA. A fleeting moment of immense optimism that resonates as an aphorism of humanities brief, albeit spectacular time upon this earth.

Great informative book about Vhicago

This is a fantastic book. Lots of historic info about Chicago, The Worlds Fair (Columbian Exposition) of 1893 along with the designers and how it got done. This along with the story of a sick murderer of the same time makes for a riveting read.

Gripping

I love the Gilded Age era and once again Erik Larson weaves a compelling story of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago with the haunting story of H.H. Holmes, an American serial killer. I've read 4 of Erik Larson's books and I have loved all of them! Scott Brick is an excellent narrator and helps to bring this eerie tale alive. FYI - there's nothing really graphic described when telling the story of H.H. Holmes so don't let that keep you from this book. Larson does a good job keeping those parts dark & sinister without making it a horror novel.

More about the fair than the serial killer

Good story, slow at times, more about the fair and its construction than anything else. If you are looking for purely a serial killer book this might not be for you. However, the dive into HH Holmes was very interesting and fun to listen to. It gave me a better understanding of what happened and how everything was intertwined.

Missed the Mark

This book is marketed as a true crime novel with a little bit of historical architecture; it’s the opposite. True crime fans are better off looking elsewhere. The book dragged on for me, waiting for the next bit about Holmes, but the majority of the content is about the World’s Fair, it’s construction, and overseeing men.

Insight into True Evil and True Beauty

The juxtaposition of the brutality and cruelty of Holmes' murders with the beauty and hope of Chicago's World Fair is masterful. If you like any genre of non-fiction, you'll find something in this book that will interest you. Despite familiarity with the overall chain of events, this book still felt suspenseful to me. However, I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who's squeamish or sensitive to violence. For everyone else though, it's a great listen/read.

Book Brings Fair History to Life

Amazingly detailed and performed! This book brought the era to life! The length of time needed to listen is worth it. You feel as though you were there the further into the novel you go!

Very interesting and thought-provoking

I enjoyed listening to this book. In fact, it kept me up late more than one night because I wanted to hear what happened next!