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

Never a boring moment

Loved learning about the Chicago World's Fair. Liked how the author intertwined the murders. Have a lot of respect for the designers and builders for the Fair. I am going to "read" this once again to pick up the details that I may have missed.

greatest

A great history of Chicago now I have to buy a book with pictures. The author lets you paint pictures in your mind but it probably as and enough for someone is to enthusiastic about the world's fair as I am. Well worth a listen

Not what I was hoping for

This book was incredibly well written, but it felt as though it was a sort of bait and switch - I came to read about HH Holmes, the devil, but instead most of the novel is spent discussion the intricacies and tribulations of building the White City. It wasn’t that this information wasn’t interesting - I just wanted more focus to be paid to the true crime. If you’re a fan of architecture and design as well as true crime, then this is certainly the book for you!

outstanding read

this book is rich with story, horror, and history. a real page turner, hard to put down

Captivating Read. Well worth a listen.

Excellent story, rich history, narrated well. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in true crime, Chicago history, or America's Gilded Age

fantastic

well written and intriguing mystery and detailed facts about the Chicago worlds Fair. I loved the narration

Good, but didn't need two stories

I loved every but about the worlds fair, but when Holmes came up I just hoped it would hurry. This would've still been a great book if it was only about the fair.

“Will-Meet”?

I know it’s a petty detail of a city name said less than a dozen times in the book but Wilmette, IL isn’t pronounced “Will-Meet”. It rhymes with omelette.

Dark and Enchanting

This is one of those books that can leave wanting more but at the same time more can be overwhelming, the way that Erik Larson was able to interconnect two different stories happening at the same time was just amazing.
... second time reading/hearing it makes it a whole lot more intense. I was able to pay close attention to little details and subtleties.

A Five-Star Rating For Research!!

This was a tremendous accomplishment, but a hefty portion of my five-star rating goes to the research effort put in by Mr. Larson. What a story! That it is based on fact, makes it even more of a triumph. I’ve been wanting to read this for years, but just never had the time to delve into it on a consistent basis. Expect to be dazzled and horrified-those were my running emotions throughout the entire book. Not sure whether the screen adaptation will ever be realized, but the book is a winner!