The Devil in the White City

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

De: Erik Larson

Narrado por: Scott Brick

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 listener 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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

Entrancing historical thriller

In reading some of the lower rated reviews, I was hesitant to make this pick but now
I cannot think of a better way to tell the two intertwined stories presented here. They are the yin and yang of the event, and with the wonderful narration, and engrossing detail, the story flew along.....well, as fast as you can listen to those 14+ hours. Unlike other long downloads, this one kept me in the story, and I did not have to 'back-up' to remember the place....
The amazing scope of this Fair is awesome, and for the time history-making on so many fronts, from the Labor movement, to engineering, and sanitation, we can still see this Fair's footprint on our daily lives! Concurrently,
the gruesome serial-killer who took advantage of the circumstances is a potent reminder that there is always evil lurking just under the beautiful surface, and we cannot be too vigilant.
The narration was perfect, and this story will please the history buff, mystery or thriller reader in you.

Keeping Readers Off Balanced and Entertained

First, I love the diverse architecture of Chicago and I grew up just North of the White City site. We could smell the stockyards whenever there was a South breeze (stinky on a hot evening). This is the first book I have read that brought this back to life for me. The interweaving of the three story lines (reviewers forget the 3rd story about the assassination of Mayor Carter Henry Harrison Sr and the hints sprinkled through the book about this). There is the design and building of White City for the World Columbian Exposition, one of the first and perhaps most prolific serial killers and a political assassination.
The latter two story lines serve to keep the primary story from becoming too dry for those who are not as enthusiastic as I may be about architecture and the Exposition's mark upon history.
One of my favorite places as a child and even now as I grow old and grey is the Museum of Science and Industry. This magnificent structure was built originally as the Palace of Fine Arts for the Exposition and designed by Charles Atwood. Though the original plaster material has been replaced by limestone and marble, the building is just as it was designed in 1893. That is just one small part of the living history told in this story.
I am amazed at how my own life weaves with this story in that I worked in the Rookery Building (Burnham and Root's office) for three years, I enjoy visiting what was the Palace of Fine Arts, my doctor is about 3 blocks from H.H.Holmes' second bulding on 63rd St so I am sure I have been past its location and then the La Rabida Children's Hospital which was the Columbus Memorial Building at the Exposition. Also what is now Osaka Gardens in Jackson Park was the building from Japan's 1893 Wooded Island exhibit.
My only complaint is the narrator. He kept pronouncing the name of the city where Mudgett's In-Laws lived, Wilmette, as 'Will-meet'. It is pronounced 'Will-met'. It was like fingernails on a chalkboard every time he said it!

Good Book, Good Listen

This was a very entertaining and informative audiobook. The reader is excellent and the prose as read very entertaining. The best characteristic of this book is the gradual and deliberate development of the parallel stories the author is telling. The plots are interesting and the author interrelates them well. There is one potential fault. The author went into considerable detail in developing the story of the Columbian Exposition and I suppose he felt he needed to add a lot of detail concerning the activities of the fiend Holmes as well. Since I can do without the gruesome details of the murders (particularly the way he dealt with the bodies), I simply tune out that part of the book. These portions are really very short and those who want to listen to those parts will probably find them interesting. I judge audiobooks as good or excellent when I look forward to continuing my listening and when I am sure that I am following the book over the period of time it takes to finish the book. This one meets those criteria and therefore it is a "5."

Interesting history

The book in set in Chicago during the late 1800's and covers the World's Fair, politics of the day, architecture and murder. Overall I rated the book as three stars. At times it is very, very slow (I have listened to The History of Rome Vol I and II and believe me when I say I know slow). However the author has done a good job of describing the events of the day and I believe the actual book has photos that would help the reader get a sense of what he's talking about (which is of no use in an audio format).

If you are looking for a suspense novel this one isn't for you. If you want a book with history and a little intrigue then I would recommend it. Happy Listening

It's not the gripping, but it's still good

If you could sum up The Devil in the White City in three words, what would they be?

I initially wanted to read this book because I have a fascination with HH Holmes and the year that the World's Fair descended upon Chicago. The book can get a bit bogged down in unnecessary details, while tending to give a lackluster focus on the actual man himself. I was hoping for more of a narrative on the extremely strange and rare set of circumstances that birthed America's first recorded serial killer, but instead, I got extremely detailed information of building specs for the hotel and an unusually large amount of data on the area at the time. It got a bit boring.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I was hoping for more of a narrative on the extremely strange and rare set of circumstances that birthed America's first recorded serial killer

If you could give The Devil in the White City a new subtitle, what would it be?

Building America's first serial killer

yes, YES!

About the best audible book I've ever read. Really looked forward to getting back on the road to hear more. Don't be thrown by what the book's about....It's as good as they come.

Would Not Let Go

This story grabbed me and would not let me go. I took a lot of walks and sat in the car in the driveway a lot so that I could listen to it. Learning about the work that went into creating the White City, the personalities involved, and the problems that they faced along with the horrible crimes of a 19th century serial killer held my attention to the very end.

As Good As It Gets

The story was captivating, the reading was spot on; the writing was terrific. I wish I had better adjectives to describe the work. I resisted buying it - Historical? ugh. World's Fair?? Come on! Of course there is murder and mayhem...As it turned out, the M & M was the least interesting aspect. I found myself thinking about that damn fair for WEEKS afterwards(!) - spouting details and trivia about its creation to anyone who would listen (the pool of which became smaller and smaller). An absolutely fabulous book. Most highly recommended.

A FASCINATING BOOK!!

I loved listening to this book. The narrator was perfect, and the story itself reads like best-selling page-turner, rather than a non-fiction. I had never learned much about the Chicago World's Fair and this book had me searching the internet for pictures, etc. The parallel story of the serial killer was creepy and hard to believe all of this was happening in one city during one time period. Something so wonderful and something so horrible both at the same time. You will not want to stop listening to this book to find out how it all turns out.

Loved it!

The juxtaposition of the murder stories and the history of the Chicago Worlds Fair. I love history, but prefer it in a story format so this was right up my alley.