• 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
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (30,132 ratings)

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The Devil in the White City  By  cover art

The Devil in the White City

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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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

Featured Article: The Best Nonfiction Audiobooks to Jump into Right Now


The best nonfiction audiobooks take involved, often intimidating subjects and reinvigorate them with sharp narration so you can stay focused and on track. In this list, we’ll share our picks for some of the best nonfiction audio out there, encompassing a wide array of topics—from the entire history of humanity to astrophysics to the American prison system. Engage with some of the most fascinating, deeply human real-life stories our catalog has to offer.

What listeners say about The Devil in the White City

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • mm
  • 03-03-09

Learned details of Chicago Worlds Fair

If you are just interested in detailed history of the people who developed the Chicago Worlds Fair, then you may like this audiobook. I thought that the characaters were quite boring. Even the serial killer's story was quite ho hum to me.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

FASCINATING!

As with most of the online reviews, I concur that this is a tale of two tales ... either one of which stands on its own --- and COULD be published separately. The story of murder surrounded by the world's fair ... utterly fascinating. I want to find out more about HH Holmes AND the fair ... and after reading this complete account on both ... that is saying something. Highly recommended! And the narration is just right. Scott Brick sounds very much like Edward Hermann and has the same enjoyable tones and inflections in his reading.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Read!

I normally don't read non-fiction. I listen to books on tape (or electronic format) while I drive, and I prefer mindless entertainment. I'm a fan of mysteries. I got this book because my husband (we commute together) really wanted to read it. I was surprised to find that I loved it! There was a great mystery/thriller "plot" alongside a fascinating historical account of the Chicago World's Fair. It made our most recent trip to Chicago much more meaningful to know so much of the history of the city.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story. Ends weak.

What a terrific story. The story was so captivating that I kept forgetting this was a true story. If you have any interest in architecture, landscape, pop culture, history, or crime, this book will grab you and you won't want to hit the stop button.

My only complaint is that the ending seemed forced and didn't quite fit with the flow of the rest of the book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read...

For those who gave this book one star...I don't get how they could. Over 1500 people gave rave reviews, so how could so many be wrong. This is a very well written and well read book. I love Scott Brick and I have yet to hear a bad narration from him. This book is an education as well as entertainment. Worth every one of its five stars.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book!

I bought the book for my daughter for her school project and decided to listen to it to help quiz her if needed. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It amazed me how many "modern" things tied in or came out of this world's fair. Tieing the killer and the fair together didn't always work out and I'd have liked to hear more about both seperately, but the book was really good. It worked on the historical and crime aspects and was an enjoyable listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous book!

The narrator showed just the right modulation in his voice, and the story was enthralling. I definitely would recommend this book for anyone interested in history, true crime, or both.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW!

Best audiobook ever. I didn't want it to end. Great characters, pacing, complex storyline. Who would have known it's a true story. Non-fiction that reads like great fiction. Highly entertaining and highly informative.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating!

I absolutely was enthralled in this book! It captivated my interest so much that I purchased a couple of more books on the Chicago World's Fair. An absolute must read for anyone who appreciates history!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

More about the world fair

I decided to listen to this after they used it for research on last podcast on the left. I was expecting a lot more about Holmes and lots of gore and murder. There is very little of that but it is still incredibly interesting. I particularly liked the parts about the world's fair being open and the amazement people had seeing things like the first ferris wheel. overall I'd recommend but if you're looking for gore maybe try something else.

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1 person found this helpful