Oreos deep fried in pancake batter…Erik Larson’s writing, like novelty food updated from the Chicago World’s Fair (Cracker Jack, Shredded Wheat and Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Gum) sparkles with new tastes and delights. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed the World features intertwining stories of the creation of the world’s fair and the serial killer H.H. Holmes. Of particular interest is how the fair shows the changing character of America at the turn of the century. At the same time, the transformation of Chicago into the fair site (with attractions such as the first Ferris Wheel with a capacity of 2,000 riders and attendance on some days of 750K) turned the streets of Chicago into an opportunistic killing ground. The account of Holmes’s killings and how he turns his ‘castle’ into an instrument in the deaths (and how his crimes were overlooked because of the market for cadavers and articulated skeletons) is truly compelling. I enjoyed the book and the time period Larson covers in the book. Especially in the portrayal of the fair’s architect, Burnham, I thought there were just too many details which didn't contribute to the overall narrative. How many deep fried Oreos can you eat and still recognize each bite as a new sensation?

The architect Daniel Hudson Burnham directed the building of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The neoclassical buildings were transformed into a White City after they were spray painted white and illuminated with 200,000 incandescent bulbs. Burnham used the skills of the best architects in the country, along with the work of Frederick Law Olmstead for the landscape, in the creation of the World's Fair. Geroge Washington Gale Ferris developed the first "Ferris Wheel"--a huge wheel that would carry 2,160 people at a time into the Chicago sky overlooking the fair and Lake Michigan.

In contrast to the beauty of the White City, a psychopath was building the World's Fair Hotel nearby. It was fitted with soundproof rooms with gas lines, a hidden chute that led to a dissection area in the basement, and a coffin-sized kiln. Herman Webster Mudgett, who went by the alias Dr H.H. Holmes in honor of the detective Sherlock Holmes, was a handsome, charming man who lured his victims to the hotel. He often employed them in his pharmacy downstairs. Most of his victims were beautiful women traveling alone from small towns, looking for excitement and employment in the big city.

Another contrast to the magical quality of the White City was the economic downturn at that time. After the fair closed, thousands of people were left homeless and unemployed on the streets of Chicago.

This was a well-written non-fiction book that read like a novel. Larson knows how to end his chapters on a note of suspense. Between the many setbacks in the building of the fair, and the horrible events involving Holmes, the story always had something happening to keep my interest. A movie is in the planning stages with Leonardo Di Caprio playing Dr H.H. Holmes, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Fascinating look back in time to the World's Fair in Chicago, where H. H. Holmes wreaked silent havoc on an unknown number of victims. I loved the way this was written, where the author alternated talking about the process of designing and building the fair, and then would switch to talk about what sinister actions Holmes was up to. His victims were so amazingly naive! But, then again, that was the culture, unfortunately. I cannot wait to watch Leonardo DiCaprio portray him in the upcoming movie of this book!

I started reading this book thinking I would not like it . I could not stop reading this compelling and intriguing book. A history I had never heard of until now.

I love a book that makes me want to go to google to find out more about the story. This book was like that. I went to google images to see more pictures of the world's fair which there are many. I love looking at old pictures. This book was excellent and I highly recommend it if you like non-fiction although,this one reads like a mystery/thriller. I don't recommend going to google to look at pictures of Holmes because it also brings up pictures of his "castle", which I thought were creepy!
A great book to start my year and I look forward to reading more by this writer.

So, there’s this scene in David Fincher's Zodiac in which Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Robert Graysmith, visits the home of someone he believes to be the famed Zodiac killer. As Graysmith ventures down in the suspect’s basement, there’s this sense of dread that’s instilled in the viewer as they wonder if Graysmith will make it out alive. As Fincher lets the tension escalate and the claustrophobia rise, Graysmith grows frantic and escapes the first chance he gets. There have been movies in the past and while I’m sure there will be movies yet to be made that will implore this same strategy in an effort to frighten it’s audience but until now, I haven’t read a book that gave me that same feeling. Until now.

H.H. Holmes was an evil man. The con-man who terrorized wayward women in the city of Chicago during the turn of the 20th century is one of history’s greatest villains. Notorious for being America’s first serial killer, Holmes brutally murdered his way through the Windy City during its rise to prominence. However, due to the unfortunate timing of his killing spree, Holmes will be forever linked to what was to be considered Chicago’s finest moment, the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition.

Fortunately for Holmes, Chicago was a hole. The city was known for its numerous missing persons, its polluted river and overpopulation - something that attracted a man like Holmes and his insatiable appetite for murder. The perception of Chicago needed to change. So, in an effort to add some prestige, W.H. Burnham and his pals lobbied hard to host a world’s fair. They desperately wanted something to compete with Europe, most notably Paris, and the recently constructed Eiffel Tower. They felt a grand display of cultures from all over the globe would win the hearts of the masses.

The construction of the fair was difficult to say the least. The fair was coming at a time when the country was financially unstable. Several banks foreclosed, their respective executives were committing suicide and those that provided the funds to Burnham and his group felt consistent doubt and worry over the fair’s progress. The location was less than perfect and Burnham's associates and employees seemed to court sickness and death on a regular basis.

While the two events, Holmes killing spree and the fair, are forever intertwined with one another, I felt the consistent switching back and forth between the two tales hindered each story line rather than enhancing the book as a whole. Larson’s writing of Burnham's failures and struggles were riveting at times but his heavy handed description of the types of plants and shrubs that made up the fairgrounds caused me to just zone out.

The same cannot be said about Holmes. The way that man's mind worked was extraordinary. He was leaps and bounds ahead of what can only be described as a hopelessly inept police force. Because of the sordid state of the city, Holmes literally got away with murder on a regular basis. People often vanished and with Holmes' standing in the community, his question of guilt was often overlooked. He was a cunning son of a bitch to say the least. He always had an excuse, alibi or a reasonable explanation to cover his tracks. Even when he was finally apprehended, he stumped the detectives continuously. It seemed as if you could not convince even Holmes himself that he was guilty.

Overall, this book is one hell of an achievement. Larson is an extraordinary talent; taking a genre like historical non-fiction and writing it similarly to an engaging novel. I can’t recommend this enough. While I had some trouble making it through a lot of the heavier architecture-influenced chapters, Larson always made sure to remind you just how seemingly impossible this whole affair was.

I loved this book! I am not into reading novels. I love non-fiction/biographies. But this book was recommended to me by my mother who is an avid reader and belongs to a book club in her neighborhood. She recommended it to me because her (my) family has a connection to the 1893 Worlds Fair. A great aunt grew potatoes & sold them to earn enough money to go to the fair. She went alone! How fortunate for us she wasn't a victim in the story.

It was fascinating to learn about the architects, the politics of the day, the economic situation of the times and was so well written I could visualize what the fair must have looked like. The words came alive and made it an interesting read.

Extremely well written and researched, unsettling, entertaining, educational and fascinating are all words that come to mind on finishing Eric Larson's book The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 was a remarkable achievement for the city of Chicago and it's architect Daniel H. Burnham and while the city was celebrating and enjoying this new wonder of the world, another man by the name of H.H. Holmes, a handsome and charming doctor was luring victims to their deaths and becoming America's first Serial Killer. This is the incredible true account of two very different men and the different paths their lives would lead them.

This is my second Book by Eric Larson having read and loved Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania previously I was looking forward to another book by this author. His books are extremely well researched and very detailed and he leaves no stone unturned when telling a story.

I loved learning about the Fair and the magnificent buildings, The World's first Ferris Wheel, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, electric boats, all the different elements that went into planning and organising such an amazing event. I loved how this book crossed over with numerous other books I had read about this time, (especially the quote from the notorious Chicago May who was born in Ireland only a few miles from my home and ended up becoming one of Chicago's most notorious Crooks of that time) I enjoyed the descriptions of families travelling long distances to the fair from small farms and towns and their amazement at witnessing these spectacular attractions and miracle of electricity for the first time. Eric Larson's descriptions are vivid and captivating and you actually imagine you are there at the centre of the city's excitement. Of course then you are brought back to reality with the murder and mayhem created by H.H Holmes and wonder how a man like this could have murdered so many innocent people and nobody noticed or suspected him.

A word of warning The Devil is in the detail and Eric Larson book's are high on detail and facts which I loved but some may find a tad tedious as the story does drag slightly in places but the historical information and descriptions are excellent and I loved every minute spent with this book.
I listened to this one on audio and the narration was excellent.

2.5ish stars.

This is a thoroughly well-researched narrative non-fictional book with several interesting but unrelated accounts of different men connected in some way to Chicago’s 1893 world’s fair. It should be stated that the book's title is somewhat misleading. Only about 40% of it is about the White City Devil, serial killer H.H. Holmes. The other 60% includes detailed accounts of the Columbian Exposition's creation with particular focus on the the role of its chief architect, Daniel Burnham, although much of it focuses on Burnham's associates including John Root and Frederick Olmsted. There are also sideplots involving Patrick Prendergast, a delusional assassin, and Dean Geyer, a detective on his search for three missing children believed to have been killed by Holmes. A lot going on.

The book was pitched to me as being a creepy and horrifying biography of Holmes, a prolific murderer who isn't as immediately recognizable as other infamous serial killers such as his contemporary Jack the Ripper. Imagine my confusion when much of it turned out to be painstakingly detailed explanations of the fair's planning process. For the first half of the book I skimmed through the World's Fair chapters to get to the Holmes chapters. During the second half I was a lot more interested in the Burnham chapters, but it never stopped being jarring shifting between the two narratives.

It really does read like two separate books told in alternating chapters. Larson sort of tries to justify the connection between Holmes and Burnham a couple times, describing them as diametrically opposed men living in close proximity. Indeed the arrival of the fair did provide ample opportunity for Holmes to prey on its visitors. Other than that, any argument to brand them as two sides of the same coin is pretty thin. I can totally buy Holmes as being the embodiment of evil, but it's not like Burnham was a saint. He was an ambitious man, dedicated to making the fair a spectacular marvel. While Holmes as an "artist" was depraved and sickening, Burnham's work wasn't necessarily for the Good of Mankind and honestly had a lot to do with his personal pride.

Ultimately some impressive, often pretty fascinating research, albeit presented somewhat dryly by Larson. Many readers have loved each of the narratives and found cohesion in their combination. Just be aware that if you're expecting the horror of the actual Devil in the White City, this book only partially fulfills that promise.

Posted in Mr. Philip's Library

This is a pretty famous book, but not one that's particularly been on my radar. But I was listening to my favorite podcast as of late, Lore, and there was an episode about this story, of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and H. H. Holmes the murderer who used the venue to lure in vulnerable victims. It fascinated me, and it reminded me of this book I'd heard of. So I checked it out, and I'm SO glad I did. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2015.

Now I know this book won't be for everyone. If you don't find the politics behind and construction of the fair to be interesting, then you won't like virtually half of this book. But the historical aspects as well as the drama and intrigue behind the fair's regulations, development and questionable success was really fascinating. Plus there are so, so many things that we have today--inventions, historical figures, songs and other works of art--that came to fame from this fair. It's so interesting. And I almost felt the fair had more life, had been more fleshed out by the author, than the chapters revolving around Holmes' methods and murders.

It's historical non-fiction/true crime at its best. And I will definitely be checking out more books by this author. 5/5 stars.

Full review now posted below!

Every time I hesitantly open a non-fiction book I think, “Maybe this time. Maybe I won’t hate this one.” And every time, I’m wrong. On the one hand, since History is one half of my dual B.A. Degree, I find the material interesting and respect the research that went into writing a book like The Devil in the White City. A book such as this one required tremendous time and dedication to write. How could I not respect that level of effort? On the other hand, I was bored to tears. Or to slumber. Either way, I had to muscle my way through it.

Half of this book was the tale of America’s first serial killer, which I thought would be fascinating. But Holmes was no Jack the Ripper and, while interesting, wasn’t as compelling to read about as more brutal, hands-on killers. I know that sounds incredibly morbid, but it’s true. He was a fascinating fellow, but a bland killer. The building of the World’s Fair held in Chicago would have been much more palatable (for me) if it had been shortened to merely the highlights. Burnham was a self-made man who secured his future through that Fair, but he and his compatriots were not captivating enough to demand half of a four-hundred page book, in my opinion. I got incredibly bogged down in the details of the architecture, though the Fair sounded absolutely breathtaking. At the risk of sounding childish, I wish there had been more photographic representation of the Fair and less mind-numbing description.

There were two parts of this book that I really enjoyed, the first being learning about various inventions unveiled at the fair. I was aware of Cracker Jacks and the Ferris Wheel being unveiled at the Fair. But who knew that zippers and Wrigley’s gum and Aunt Jemima’s Ready-Made Pancake mix all got their start at the world’s largest gathering up to that point in history? And bless whoever invented the automatic dishwasher, which was also unveiled at the Fair. I don’t know about you, but that’s an invention that I’m incredibly thankful for.

I also really enjoyed learning about Detective Geyer, the Pinkerton man who finally brought Holmes to justice. Geyer’s dedication to finding the missing Pitezel children, Howard, Nellie, and Alice, led to the uncovering of Holmes’ other dark deeds. The majority of Americans followed the case religiously, and Geyer became America’s Sherlock Holmes. I love anything Sherlock related, so that make my little nerd heart happy.

Did I enjoy this book? Bottom-line: no. It was interesting on an intellectual level. I learned a lot. It gave me fodder for future lulls in conversation. But it wasn’t entertaining, and I read to be entertained. I’m an escapist, after all. Larson should be applauded for his hard work, but his book read like a dissertation to me. Most non-fiction does. And I can never seem to make myself enjoy reading anything factual. Now, if something is based on reality, I can get behind that. On occasion, anyway. But unless there’s magic and swords and a plethora of events that could never actually happen, I just don’t have much interest. That’s not to say that I don’t like truth in my fiction. In my opinion, the best fiction proclaims some truth that often gets lost in the shuffle of real life. Give me dragons with morality. Give me fairytales that jump of the page and whisper veracity in my ear. Give me fantasy that proclaims something. It moves me more than nonfiction any day.

This book toasted a glorious tribute to the painstaking efforts of everyone involved in organizing and preparing the Windy City for the world stage - the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. And what would it have been like without the arrival of a mass murderer? This could have been two books but the author was able to weave both stories together, seamlessly. It was masterfully done.