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

amazing

This book gives a wonderful insight into Chicago's light and dark history. As a native of Chicago and one that historically architect, I would recommend this book.

Another home run.

I really enjoyed this title. Although it was difficult to follow in the beginning I quickly caught up and it ended up being another great book. I recommend it.

Fantastic Writing of a Horror Story.

This is a jaw dropping, drag you in by the shirt tail Story telling of True Life. It's written in a way that makes the horror of what happened as exciting as the World Fair itself. Perfectly balanced between the Black and White City.

A must read.

I absolutely loved this book

A coworker mentioned that he listened to this book in Audible, and I thought I would give it a try. I loved this book and Scott Brick is now one of my favorites to hear bring stories to life. My favorite part I think, is how the two stories are told intertwined. I would recommend this to anyone.

Don't quit too soon

I almost quit about a third of the way into the book. I felt like at that point the book spent too much time talking about the architects. However as I went on through the book I begin to appreciate the details of the Columbian exposition as well as the story of HH Holmes. I think it is helpful to google the Columbian exposition of 1893 and look at pictures of the exposition (something you miss with an audible book).It is easy to understand why people were overwhelmed with the beauty of this exposition. I will usually skip the epilogue and notes at the end of a book. However I am glad I listened all the way through those also. It gave me a perspective on the book I hadn't considered. I like the writing and I like the narrator of this book.

note to editor

I counted more than four instances where a sentence was repeated. Please go back and edit these out. otherwise a thoroughly fascinating book that is well performed.

Two topics with not much in common

This book was recommended and since it deals with actually events in history I figured why not. Where this book goes wrong is that it takes two separate topics which are barely connected by location and a specific point in history and attempts to mesh them together. The telling of both events are always separate and the author seems to be connecting them by a thin thread much like a conspiracy theorist would on a white board. Even though the book is based on actual events it is written in the same way that a non-fiction book would be written. These two reasons made it hard to get through this title. Each topic could've made better stand alone books.

This book is a lie

The book says it's about H. H. Holmes but he is only the subject about a quarter it. It's mostly about rich jerk architects. They are very boring subjects.

Amazing!

I loved every second of this. My new favorite narrator. I cannot wait for the Scorsese movie!

An Exceptional Read!

I loved the diversity of this book. The story of the killer competes nicely with the story of the World's Fair. Both story lines are exceptional and create a riveting book I couldn't put down.