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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Unavailable
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Unavailable
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Written by Erik Larson

Narrated by Tony Goldwyn

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.

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.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 11, 2003
ISBN9780739302095
Unavailable
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Author

Erik Larson

A Seattle7Writers project for literacy, this novel was written by Kathleen Alcalá, Matthew Amster-Burton, Kit Bakke, Erica Bauermeister, Sean Beaudoin, Dave Boling, Deb Caletti, Carol Cassella, William Dietrich, Robert Dugoni, Kevin Emerson, Karen Finneyfrock, Clyde Ford, Jamie Ford, Elizabeth George, Mary Guterson, Maria Dahvana Headley, Teri Hein, Stephanie Kallos, Erik Larson, David Lasky, Stacey Levine, Frances McCue, Jarret Middleton, Peter Mountford, Kevin O'Brien, Julia Quinn, Nancy Rawles, Suzanne Selfors, Jennie Shortridge, Ed Skoog, Garth Stein, Greg Stump, Indu Sundaresan, Craig Welch and Susan Wiggs. Foreword by Nancy Pearl. Introduction by Garth Stein.

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Reviews for The Devil in the White City

Rating: 4.007654488170713 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Possibly the best of Larson's books; this follows his general format of rapidly shifting "camera angles" to tell two intertwined stories, that of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and the mass-murderer H.H. Holmes, who operated (in part) during the Fair. Some of what he writes about is speculation, though he does flag these areas and discusses the issues in the notes. The great flaw in Larson's books is that for some odd reason, there are very few maps and photographs. The book could have used quite a bit more. But the story is engagingly told, so he earns the full five stars. Recommended, though be forewarned that certain bits require a strong stomach.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    There was nothing wrong with this book. He found two great stories and a bunch of juicy peripherals. He wrote it up entertainingly enough and... that's it. It's all a bit "written". It has none of the shocking immediacy of In Cold Blood and none of the charm of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It's serviceable. Competently delivered but serviceable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a very good book. I was so interested in this topic that it prompted me to do more research on this subject. H H Holmes was a very disturbed individual. Similar to Jack The Ripper, could they be the same person?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is so Chicago.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Interesting, fun read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have been wanting to read this for awhile. The story of building the World's Fair in Chicago is fascinating. At times I felt it got a little bogged down in the politics of the story, but overall a fascinating look at the times and history of the event. It is truly amazing that this even got built, let alone how impressive it was. And the fair was the introduction of the Ferris Wheel. How cool!

    The concurrent story of Mister H. H. Holmes and the murder hotel he built was intriguing. The things he got away with, I can't even imagine. From the way he swindled everyone he did business with, to the amount of murders he committed. Just unreal.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've had several people recommend this book to me, but I'd forgotten the title, so by the time I realized this was the book about the Chicago Fair serial killer, I was already deep into enjoying it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Before starting this I had heard of H.H. Holmes and the night I started reading it there was a programme on the crime channel about him.

    I really enjoyed this book, thought it was very well written and researched. Before reading this I knew nothing about Chicago's world fair and I found the whole process of them getting the fair and then actually making it happen and be successful very interesting.
    My only complaint and the reason the book is getting four stars instead of five is that for me it doesn't go into enough detail about the crimes that Holmes commits after he leaves Chicago and how he ends up being caught by the Pinkerton detectives. I know the book is drawing comparisons between the architect and the murderer, and this is why the focus is on the actions of Holmes in the build up to and during the Fair but for me it makes the book feel incomplete.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Reads like a novel, but based on detailed research. I read it because of a visit to Chicago. Two stories in parallel makes for a slightly jerky journey. The psychopathic murderer and the making of the Chicago World Fair don't really sit together very easily and don't really have much to do with each other, except for a coincidence of time and location. Nonetheless, the writing is so smooth and lively I got taken along and enjoyed the second half very much. The World Fair was aptly named: the launch pad for a string of decisive innovations from AC current to ferris wheels and an early marker of the US taking over leadership of the world.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Devil in the White City was one of the reasons I dropped some of the challenges. It has been on the pile for awhile, and I really wanted to read it after my visit to Chicago last summer. And, I was rewarded by a great read. Erik Larson captures the grandeur of the age as America completes with Paris to create an amazing, unparalleled experience for fair attendees. The stories wind together: Ferris and his wheel, the assassination of the mayor, and, the "devil" of the title, a cruel murderer who took advantage of the fair to attract victims.It was an against all odds kind of story: the opening of the fair coincided with the panic of 1893, which began just days after its opening. The weather itself seemed to hold a grudge against the fair, with rain and unprecedented storms wreaking havoc several times. But the fair organizers, a list that included Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmstead, persevered and created a fantasy world for the public, including soaring sculptures, neo classical buildings, and an exotic village that became the first fair midway.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoy reading a book that teaches me about something I didn't know, and while I had heard of the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, I didn't know the details. I found it a fascinating read, for the most part. I also had not heard of H. H. Holmes and his sordid story. I looked up pictures and additional information on the internet as I read. The only complaint I have is that during the chapters on the construction of the fair, I often got bogged down in names and what the role of the people mentioned was. It was a tad tedious reading about all the complaints and the prediction that the Fair would not be ready in time over and over again. Once the fair opened, however, these chapters became more interesting. I can't say that "enjoyed" is the right word when it came to reading about someone as sick as Holmes, but his chapters were interesting in their own way.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Non-fiction book that tells two stories at the same time, serial killer HH Holmes and the construction and run of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It tells of the architects and how the fair was constructed from when the fair grounds was nothing but marshy land at the edge of Lake Michigan. Also the story of HH Holmes who buys a pharmacy from an elderly women in Chicago. Holmes goes on to build another building of his own across the street later to be known as "the Castle" for his own nefarious needs. We learn much about the architects of the fair, Burnham being the one in charge of it all. With Olmstead being in charge of the landscapes and waterways. Very very detailed and although it is non-fiction it reads very much like a work of fiction. The author notes that it is non-fiction and that the any part in quotation marks is in fact taken from new, books or personal correspondence of the time. Very well written and interesting read for anyone interested in the gilded age, the world fairs, Chicago or the serial killer Holmes.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book started off great, but never really colluded its plotting together with the emotional effects that would have cemented my interest in it. Although there were good parts, mostly in the first 1/3, it was a little disappointing. Worth the read, but you may be disillusioned when you are finished.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is a mix of history and true crime. Part of the book focuses on serial killer, H. H. Holmes, who was active in Chicago at the time of the World’s Fair in 1893. Other parts of the book focus on the architecture as the city builds and prepares for the coming World’s Fair. Larson is very good at bringing the two storylines together and he makes nonfiction read like fiction.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I couldn't finish it :( such a slow book! And so tedious! The subject was kind of interesting on and off but the writing style was just slow and unengaging. Disappointing!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Erik Larson's writing. His non-fiction books read like fiction, but they are really and truly non-fiction, and he spends hours researching his topics and the people he writes about. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 19th century American architecture, the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, or Gilded Age anecdotes. This is the fair that shaped America and put it on the world map. The exposition covered 690 acres with nearly 200 new, but definitely temporary buildings. The fair was called The White City because of all the beautifully white buildings. It was a magical place. More than 27 million people attended the fair during its six-month run. It is a story about the chief architect of the fair - Daniel H. Burnham and the fleet of architects and specialists he recruited to help design his monumental accomplishment. There are so many well-known historical figures in the book, such as Susan B. Anthony, Frank Lloyd Wright, Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill and many others. There is also a parallel story in the book that follows another person of infamy who was connected with the fair - H. H. Holmes, an American serial killer who was responsible for an untold number of deaths. His victims were mostly young women who were unaccompanied as they came to Chicago to visit the fair. Why Holmes was allowed to continue the macabre torture and murder of so many poor souls without even being suspected is hard to imagine. He was a particularly charming sociopath, who was very attractive to young women. I loved the juxtaposition of this particularly sadistic murderer and the beautiful, magical White City of the World's Fair. Larson's talent is that he makes history come alive and he has done that with this book. Well worth the time to read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The late 1800's was a time of immense progress and innovation, and nothing embodied that sense of change and growth quite like Chicago at the behest of The World's Fair. A feat of architectural and scientific genius, it put the young architect, Daniel Burham on the map as one of the most well known architects of his time, possibly in history. While Chicago grew by leaps and bounds another, more sinister force was at work. HH Holmes, the handsome, young doctor, put down roots in Chicago and used its booming population as a hunting ground to satisfy his deepest fantasies; torture, murder, and human dissection. Two men, one city, during the turn of the century making Chicago (in)famous for two very different reasons.  I'll just start off with the negatives here. I didn't realize there would be SO MUCH about Burnham and the planning, building, and running of The Worlds Fair. While some parts were interesting and engaging, on the whole, it was dull, lengthy, and not so much fun to read. I had assumed the book would primarily focus on the life and crimes of HH Holmes (known as Americas first serial killer) which was a far more fascinating story in my opinion. If you are a fan of non-fiction- the Burnham story-line may be the thing for you, but for me, I could have done without. That being said, I gobbled up all the chapters about HH Holmes. It was a really comprehensive look into his life and day to day goings on. His level of psychopathy was chilling while at the same time fascinating. I would have much preferred the book to solely focus on his story line. Overall I would still consider this a good read and recommend it to all my fans of true crime and nonfiction alike. 
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    From my Cannonball Read V review...

    y boss actually recommended this book to me a few months ago. I downloaded it but didn’t get around to reading it until I went on vacation this last week. It seemed right up my alley – it’s about a time period I find fascinating (urban U.S. in the late 1800s/early 1900s) and two I find interesting (urban development/architecture and, well, true crime). The book certainly delivered on the time period and the urban development side; the story about the serial killer H.H. Holmes less so.

    Larsen employs some interesting writing devices to tell these intertwining stories. On one track, he follows Daniel Burnham on his quest to not just bring the World’s Fair – known afterwards as the “White City” to Chicago (planned as a celebration – blech – of Columbus ‘discovering’ the ‘New World’) but to try to create all the buildings, the expositions, and promote the fair in an effort to beat Paris’ exposition from a couple of years prior. It also follows Olmstead (of Central Park fame) in his quest to have quality landscape architecture. That story alone was fascinating, set against the “Black City” of crime and slaughterhouses of the rest of Chicago.

    The other component of the story – the ‘Devil’ – follows H.H. Holmes, a man in his 20s who uses his charm and wiles to defraud creditors, build businesses, and ultimately kill many people. It’s also a very interesting tale, although the book spends far more time on the World’s Fair than on Holmes’ story, possibly because not nearly as much is known about him. It’s definitely still interesting, but it’s not exactly what I was expecting from this book.

    One thing I appreciated from the book was what felt like really meticulous research. His claim that everything in quotes comes from real sources – no reconstructed conversations – is fascinating. The book is non-fiction, filed under true crime, but it certainly feel like a piece of literature because the writing is quite good and it reads rather quickly given its length. I enjoyed it, and will likely check out his other books as well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a crazy and beautifully written book. It gave me chills. You'd think a book about a fair in the 1890s would be boring af, but it's not! Even when you take out the serial killer parts, the development of the White City is filled with drama and great descriptions. The main focus is on Burnham, the main architect to build a fair in Chicago. He has to overcome bureaucrat mess, a strict timeline, growing unions, and various obstacles. But while all this is coming together there's a sick serial killer out there that the cops have no idea about and he's taking full advantage of the extra visitors of the fair, H. H. Holmes. He poisons women and children and does some horrible things to them. His set up is a few streets away from the White City, people have no idea what kind of person he really is. Holmes comes off friendly and manipulates people to his will. He was a true psychopath. It's sad that something so tragic was going on while Chicago was enchanted by the White City.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent! I'd no interest in or real knowledge about Chicago's 1893 World's Fair but the story of how it came to be is fascinating. Couple that with a truly evil character in its midst and you've got the makings of a great story. But it takes an exceptional writer to bring it all together and Erik Larson does this with aplomb. The massive undertaking required to make the Fair happen, in an astounding short amount of time, was fun to learn about. And there are some real luminaries sprinkled throughout the book to support how truly earth-shattering the Fair's importance and eventual success was.But it's the story of H.H. Holmes, a charismatic, wicked psychopath that's truly amazing. How he swindles pretty much everyone (and has them walk away smiling) is stunning. What he does in his hotel of horrors is terrifying.This is a book not to be missed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a gem of a book dealing with the World Fair in Chicago in 1893. This book reads like a novel and focuses on the many aspects of that World Fair that amazed people then and became a part of our world (Ferris Wheel, alternating current electricity, shredded wheat to name a few). It also tells the story of a serial killer who operated in and around the Fair. After reading this story, I have the feeling that I would have loved to have been there at the time of the fair to be a part of the magic. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the time period, or anyone who thinks that history is boring.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is more about The White City than the Devil in it, but it is appreciated all the same. However, the passages about H.H Holmes were added almost as a footnote, instead of being the primary source of contension, and could have been left out and not have changed the storyline at all, and the title would have only minor changes.

    And while the story was factual, I have no doubt, The narrative prose seemed a little overdramatic in parts where simple factual explanations could have stood on their own, or embellished (but still within the realm of 'true') for dramatic overtones when simple statement and yielding to the reader's eye and immagination would have been equally effective.

    I would have appreciated a bit more about Holmes and his interactions within The White City. Because in earnest I thought this book was supposed to be more about Holmes than The World Fair.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    What did I just read? I picked it up expecting a true crime story that happened at the World's Fair in Chicago. That story is there, but is just a small part of this rambling work. I enjoyed the lush, engaging writing. The narration was beautiful, just perfect for the text.

    The text though... I now know a whole lot about the architects involved in the fair, the building of the fair, the lives of some of the people involved in the fair, and a bit about the late Victorian politics of Chicago. I've learned a lot about late 19th century police investigations. Mr. Larson has done a lot of excellent primary source research and presented the information remarkably well. The book has citations to his sources, a feature that always endears me to an author.

    I've also learned that an author, at least this author, can get away with constructing a whole lot of artificial cliff hangers. It's one thing to end a chapter at a tense point in the action. It's quite another to leave a gaping hole in the information presented for no reason beyond making the reader keep going to find the missing piece.

    From the author's afterward it seems that Mr. Larson sees some kind of cohesion in this book. I cannot tell you what that is. I hesitate to even refer to this book as a "narrative". While there is excellent storytelling, the stories sometimes have very tenuous connections. Facts are arranged prettily, often (but not always) chronologically, but I have no idea what this book is really about. The architects were not the only creative force at work in making the fair happen - why focus on them? If the serial killer was the center of the book, why did the minutia of building the fair get so much more page time?

    I want to like this work more than I actually do - it has so much going for it. I can't get past the lack of narrative or thematic through-line.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book was not at all what I expected. I think the entire title - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America - encapsulates what the problem is. Some chapters are very detailed accounts of the planning and building of the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. There are endless descriptions of the buildings, the landscape, the scabbling between the organizers, and so on. The second story is about H.H. Holmes and his murder spree in his hotel in Chicago. There are some accounts of his crimes included, but details are more sparse. There's also a third story about the assassination of the mayor of Chicago by a lunatic. The author has melded these three stories into one book and not very successfully in my opinion. All three stories are only peripherally related, bookended by another unrelated story about the Titanic. I had obtained the book to learn more about Holmes, so I ended up skipping most of the other two stories. I might be interested in the story of the Exposition, but I was annoyed to find it shoehorned in here. The petty squabbles and namedropping behind the Fair just weren't that interesting to me.The story of the murders was treated as secondary to the Fair story. I've read books about Jack the Ripper or the Boston Strangler that had more information and description of the psychology of the murderer. Maybe it would have been better if treated like The Alienist, but I found it a big disappointment after it was recommended to me so highly.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing story that simultaneously shows America at its best and its worst. The author describes how the Fair came together and some of its notable attractions, such as the first Ferris Wheel. At the same time, the notorious and fiendishly methodical killer H.H. Holmes--a true psychopath if there ever was one--takes advantage of the Fair to lure his unsuspecting victims. Very well done and unforgettable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Engrossing & informative.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fascinating parallel stories of the fair and murders. Larson's prose can get a little purple.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This nonfiction history of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 kept me engrossed. It is written in a novelized manner that I found entertaining and easy to read. The dual narratives of architect Daniel Burnham's harried overseeing of the Fair's production and serial murderer H. H. Holmes nefarious deeds worked well together. I was wrapped up in both storylines and even amazed by how fascinating I found the portions about the set up of the Fair, the obstacles and trials faced in getting it open and the numerous characters involved in its operation. Extremely well researched and written in prose befitting the Gilded Age. Some readers may find The Devil in the White City lengthy and over detailed, but it really satisfied this reader.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very impressive read. This nonfiction was so easy to read and was such a page-turner! Larson's writing style reads just like fiction. He even builds suspense and succeeds at surprising the reader. I love the parts where he identifies certain inventions and people impacted by the events in the book. I was never really interested in Chicago before...but now, I want to go visit the city. This book piqued my interest in other events as well and really highlighted how a world event can be a catalyst for so much change.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very interesting book. I like books by Eric Larson. He makes history very exciting. I do have some reservations about this one. This is really two books. Each could stand alone: One is the amazing history of the Chicago Worlds Fair and the people who made it happen. What a story! If you want to know about America at the end of the 19th century this book is great.The second story is about one of America's worst serial killers and his horrible deeds. They just happen to take place at the same time and same city as the World's Fair. If you like grim tales of real death then this is the book for you.I would have been just as happy to leave the killer's story out and just cover an amazing event and time in America.