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

If you love Chicago and it's history, then gear up

Thoughtful, factual, and entrancing. I lost myself daily while listening to this. I can almost picture it.

history as multifaceted prose

the author, using physical sources, put together two major simultaneous historical events as well as several other simultaneous storylines that was facinating and deep.

Well narrated, but structure is dry

Fully enjoyed the detailed non-fiction telling of events. However, the narrative style is there but a little lacking, albeit this is done to retain the factual accuracy of the story. Nonetheless, it has an effect on the reader. Narration was overall very good.

Well-researched account of Chicago's World Fair

Any additional comments?

I'm a huge fan of historical fiction (and nonfiction) and tthis book came highly recommended to me. Most poignantly, kudos to Eric Larson for an exceptional body of research on this project; however, I became lost in the sheer number of characters introduced throughout this book. There must be over 100 names. Just when you start getting into the story of one person, there is a shift to another and so on. You don't feel like you ever get to know anyone well and, quite frankly, H.H. Holmes' story feel like an afterthought. Narration was fantastic.

good read for a history buff

What did you like best about this story?

If I grew up in Chicago, I would probably have been mesmerized from the start. As it was, it took me a while to slide in to the flow...the early part to me stretched details that seemed excessive. However, once comfortable with the characters and narrative, I enjoyed the read (the "listen") very much. I had read Larsen's Hitler book which was a page turner. The subject matter here was less compelling, but I am a New Yorker by birth and don't know a lot about Chicago. Now I know more. Other history books I have read touched on the Columbian Exposition of 1893, so I got a great appreciation from this book about why it left it's mark on the American story, and how several elements of our culture, both words and phrases, as well as consumer products, the Ferris Wheel, and even alternating current, were first introduced at the fair. Frederick Law Olmstead final days sound remarkably like Alzheimer's disease -- even back then. Good narrator here.

Far too much City not enough devil

this book has been suggested to me for years. finally I had the time to listen to the audiobook and well it was a real struggle to get through. it is 263 chapters long with such things covered as, menus in French for rich snooty people and what constitutes a good gravel path. all the while we just skim over Homes and his murders. There are some very interesting and funny stories in this book, but for me most of it was just nap inducing. I am happy I have finally got this book off my to read list, but I don't think I will be revisiting it again.

Fantastic story with so many details that shaped our country

I loved hearing all the details about the architects and all the great works they contributed to that we still love today. And the story of Holmes was chilling...when I ask people about him it’s amazing how little he is known. There are slow parts but I never wanted to skip ahead because you never know when you’ll learn a really intriguing nugget.

Very well done juxtaposition.

I enjoyed this book very much. The study of Holmes his killings and fraudulent career is fascinating as a stand alone story. Against the story of the fair and it's foundation in aesthetics and patriotism the two lenses bring turn of the century Chicago into beautiful focus.

Incredible work of Literature

Erik Larson does an incredible job of making the history come alive. This book was well written, well researched, and well read. Highly recommended!

Most excellent and informative narrative

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This is yet another non-fiction thriller by Erik Larson; well researched, well written, suspenseful, informative, and an eye-opening narrative on a moment in history that has long been neglected and often misrepresented. This book is simply outstanding. The listener knows that the Lusitania is sunk, yet the suspense that is built-up and the listener's interest that is garnered is astonishing. An amazing literary feat.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

I think the clarity of the story, the players, and the events enriched my feeble knowledge of the sinking of the Lusitania. High School and College textbooks of my time did not dwell on these events with more than a page or two in rather dully presented scholarly tomes.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

I don't know that there was a specific character. Scott Brick's talented narration of non-fiction is legion. His voice is moderated throughout so that my mind does not wander off, nor does it annoy the listener. He has a great medium voice that resonates well, not too fast, not boring.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It is a long narrative and I planned on a number of sessions to complete my listening. I chose to listen to this book while on a 2-week cruise around New Zealand and Australia; it lent an edginess to the cruise for sure.

Any additional comments?

This is my third, and so far, the best of the Erik Larson books. Usually he does a two-layer narrative that alternatively builds in excitement. In Dead Wake, there are really three layers - the sinking of the Lusitania and what led up to it, the emerging war in Europe exposing the German aggression, and lastly, President Wilson, recently widowed, who finds a new love - distracting him from his real role as the leader of the country.

There are many interesting tidbits about leaders such as Churchill, who probably ignored the dangers to the Lusitania hoping to get America into the war. Then Churchill set out to blame the captain of the ship rather than reveal the secret maneuvering by him and his council that assisted in the sinking and high level of fatalities. Lots of feet of clay out there.