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

Leaves you wanting more Holmes.

I hoped for more about H.H. Holmes but the work on the World's Fair was informative and surprisingly interesting. Everything was well written and we'll researched.

A fascinating contrast of good and evil.

The story is first rate! Contrasting two men, obsessed with their passions at the same time in history, one good and one evil. The backdrop of the evolving city of Chicago only adds to the mystery and the shocking differences between there quests.

Not nearly as enthralling as I had hoped

Devil in the White City was not an enjoyable Audible book for me. While I commend Mr. Larson on his seemingly tireless research and dedication to authenticity, it was a dreadful listen. To me it sounded like Kevin Spacey reading a textbook, but without the verve. No offense intended toward the narrator, but he sounded disingenuous and disconnected. The story was very difficult for me to follow, and I basically finished it out of spite and morbid curiosity. Larson jumps from character to character, as he obviously needed to in doing an historical account, but in listening to it, I found it very difficult to follow and even more difficult to become mentally and emotionally involved. Out of the 200+ chapters, the last two were the most captivating.
Being a resident of a Chicago suburb, I did find some details interesting to learn, and I enjoyed being taken to a time that was pivotal to our history, so all was not lost.

Lovely narration and dynamic and interesting read

The HH Holmes case and a side by side exploration with the World's Fair created such an interesting context for this story. I really enjoyed it.

H.H. Holmes and the Chicago World's Fair

Erik Larson succeeds once again in making history and eras gone by into stories both fascinating and enlightening. I read 'The Devil in the White City' three or four times before listening to the Audible version, and can honestly say it is a book that I enjoyed greatly.
The narration/performance of Scott Brick is well done and professional. Something about his style of reading bothered me, in his dramatized delivery, and emphasizing each detail with nary a break in the tone. The urgency given to each word ended up being tiring to listen to for long stretches of time, but this may not be the effect for others. He does an excellent job with superb material, but it wore me out listening frankly.
Still I highly recommend this Audible book, and also highly suggest you read the hard copy too. You can't go wrong with an Erik Larson creation.

Wonderful!

Great research. Just wonderful connecting historical events with names. Can’t believe HH Holmes hasn’t gone down of one of the most notorious serial killers! Nonfiction that reads like fiction, enjoy!

Know yourself and enjoy!

Are you intested in solving problems? Can you handle a little gore? Do you want to know how great minds (sane and otherwise) solved problems. This is a great listen but be sure that you are OK with lots of detail about building challenges and detailed solutions. I enjoyed this thoroughly as an eye opener to another age that led to so many of the things that we are familiar with today. However those of you not keen on building detail might find it dry.

Because I had to.

I read it because everyone in the world had read it and it takes place in my hometown almost near my house. And I don't regret it! wonderful from start to finish. I was inspired to read about other darkly historic books on Chicago during this time period. I love it when I read a good historical fiction novel then delves me even further into history. I say give it a try if you haven't because I promise you..... you won't be disappointed either.

Not quite a mystery

I enjoyed this book but it is not a mystery, it is more of a historical novel of the Columbia exposition and as a side note an early serial killer. No mystery there. I am not quite sure how this book won an award.

I can't believe how much I loved this book

so engaging on so many levels.
every time I got interrupted I was eager to get back into it again.
The narrator did a great job as well.