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

Should have been 2 books

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book should have actually been 2 books. One book about the architecture and building of the World's Fair. One book about the serial killer. There was not enough detail about the murders or suspected murders. I with the book was more of a thriller than a biography of the people who built the World's Fair.

exceptional

Exceptional telling of history. It weaves together contemporary accounts of a fascinating time and brings to light the time and culture of Chicago, the USA, and as it relates to this story, to the world. Though I'm not one for history, this telling is exceptional.
Exceptional reading performance. I highly recommend this book.

Important engaging history

Fascinating detail, fine narrative. Amazing insight into culture shaping events. Don't miss this great book.

A bit to long

You must have a special interesst in the world fair or HHHolmes to really like the book - for the rest of us I think it can drag out a bit...

A bit disjointed

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the two stories being told in this book but it was two separate stories. They did not come together. The only thing that brought the two together was the years they took place. There was no connection in the tales being told.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the building and functioning of the Chicago Fair but not if you are looking for a story of a serial killer intertwined WITH the fair.

Surprised by what I liked about this book.

Any additional comments?

I had wanted to learn more about Holmes, though there really wasn't anything new in this book that I hadn't seen in various documentaries. I was very surprised that I enjoyed the progression and development of the fair itself so much,even though I had a hard time separating or caring to separate any of the persons involved. The story was very well researched and didn't feel at all contrived. I shall be experimenting more with this writer.

Extremely well written and well read.

Great insight into an era I know so little about. A timeframe that brought all four of my grandparents into the world.
At least three times the recording repeats for about 15 seconds. Not enough to dampen the listening. Overall an extremely good book!!

Great Read

What an interesting and well written book. I was thoroughly intrigued through the entire thing.

expertly narrated and a gripping tale.

expertly narrated and a gripping tale. riveting and d tailed the narrator transports you into the story.b

Holmes not the detective

One couldn't have even imagined what went on behind the curtains. If we even knew.