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

Fairly Dull

Audible did not bother to get a reader who knew how to pronounce any of the place names - pretty sad. Apparently many famous architects were lonely and misunderstood which seems odd as they ran successful businesses? Also the emphasis on how alone the victims were is super contrived- they would have boarded with other young women and not been able to afford to be alone. Just a complete lack of cultural understanding.

Kept me intrigued

Not usually a fan of nonfiction but have this a shot and I’m glad I did… kept my interest and desire for more!

Fascinating Story, Well researched and Written.

The author brought to life, the Chicago of the late 1800’s. He linked the famous and infamous into a story both fascinating and macabre.

Fascinating!

A great read…the story is like nothing I’ve ever read before. I had no idea this history existed. I highly recommend!

More of the Fair than murders

I knew a little of the premise but I thought it would focus more on the murders. This is more about the Fair, it’s construction and the politics. I enjoyed it but was disappointed in its focus that I was not prepared for. Looking forward to the Hulu show!

wow!

I don't recall being overly impressed or unimpressed with the narrator but it was fine

the overall book was great and I learned a lot about the city and its history! So interesting. I had no idea about the physical architecture etc. of the world's fair. It was described in such a way that I could visualize it so well. And the HH Holmes tie-in was neat because he also built these weirdly complex death trap architectural creations. It really showed how the time allowed Holmes to operate...chilling

amazing story I never knew about

this title left me wondering how many people like this went undetected prior to this case. we didn't know anything about the evil that is a serial killer. this was a great history of something so dark in America

Excellent Book

This is a great listen and a very interesting detail of people & events surrounding the city of Chicago in the late 1890’s.

Fascinating Journey through Time

This is a must read. The time of the Chicago Worlds fair entwined with a serial killer. It truly doesn't get better than this.

It’s fine

This book just really drags. There is nothing conceptually wrong with it, but I really had to force myself to finish it.