Writing a book, irrespective of the genre is a difficult job, especially when they put their heart and soul into it, only to have readers like us dismiss it or love it without even considering the time, energy, effort and pain that has gone into producing it. Fiction might seem relatively easier to pen down, given that it is based on the writer’s imagination but somehow I don’t believe that it is true. However, I will say that it might be marginally easier penning a fictional tale than one based on a true event or even a complete non-fiction book. Non-fiction is definitely difficult for two reasons, one because it has to be factually correct and secondly it has to strike a chord with the readers, especially those who are not really into reading this genre and make them like it.

Erik Larsson has done that and much more with this book and I have to say that I salute him completely. Not only has he written a book based on a true event or rather two true events that happened concurrently but has managed to write and pace the book as if it were a thriller, keeping the reader at the edge of their seats at all times, without ever losing focus or dramatizing the events. That I believe is a mark of a great writer and I am happy to have read this book of his.

Let’s start with the basic plot (I call it plot for semantics sake). Two events took place in Chicago in the late 1800s, the construction of a World Fair that was to surpass the one that took place in Paris a few years ago, and confounding murders of people who flocked to Chicago for the Fair, either to work there or simply to see what the buzz was all about. Where those murdered were initially women, it soon encompassed both men and children. Two people stand out as the main heroes or villains, whatever you might want to call them, during this time; Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes. Where Daniel Burnham became renowned for his unenviable task of creating the world’s largest fair in Chicago; H.H. Holmes became renowned for the confounding murders that took place during the World Fair. Of course, while Burnham was renowned from the beginning of the task, it was only much later that Holmes’ crimes came out in the open.

In consecutive chapters or parts, we see the journey of both these men, as they move about in their lives, trying to achieve their goals. What makes the book truly beautiful is the fact that both parts are linked as seamlessly as ever and there is no slowing of pace anywhere. Whether the author talks about the various problems faced during the construction of the fair or whether he is talking about the way Holmes planned and executed the murders, both manage to keep you interested and inclined towards knowing what happens next.

Character development in a nonfiction book is often limited to the development of the person in the real life. Given that this book deals with characters in a short period of time, character development should not be a main criterion of the review. Nevertheless, I felt that the book did develop the characters and one could almost feel their growth as if one were right there with both these individuals. Madness, singlemindedness, dedication, dissatisfaction, impropriety in behaviour, perseverance even in the face of disillusionment or impending failure; are some of the behavioural aspects that were well developed by the author in this book. Both characters were fully developed while minor characters were also given due importance.

Detailing is another great aspect of this book, where the author has taken it upon himself to ensure that not one detail of both the constructive as well as the destructive element was overlooked. Whether it was the attitude of people, workers, colleagues as well as superiors in the construction of the Chicago Fair or it was in respect to the attitude of those who came in contact with Holmes, the detailing of the police investigation, the apathy of the families of those who were murdered or even the actual murder scenes; everything was looked into and described to the minutest detail. While this might seem a little too much for most of us, believe me it still read as a thriller and not once did it lose its pace.

Shakespeare has once said, n  “Evil that men do, lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”n, and I believe this statement to be true of this book as well. While Burnham was applauded and definitely commended for his efforts in putting up the greatest and biggest fair, his work was soon forgotten once the fair was over. Even those creative souls who put in their effort to make it beautiful were forgotten. However, the evils of Holmes lived to tell a tale long after his arrest, trial and subsequent sentencing.

This stark contrast between good and evil, as it exists simultaneously in our world today is brought out really beautifully by the author. In our lives, we have witnessed or have shared time space with many such Burnhams and many such Holmes, which might make this story one that is oft repeated in terms of history. However, this same fact of such existence makes this book highly relevant even today.

Highly recommended to all those who want a taste of Chicago in the late 1800s. Recommended to even those who do not like nonfiction because this one reads like any fiction, with the only difference being that the events are true and real!
 

Like most reviews point out, this book is 70% the history of Chicago and the fair and 30% about HH Holmes. Because I read reviews beforehand and knew what I was getting into, that wasn't an unpleasant surprise. I recently moved to the midwest so although the parts about the fair were on the slow side, I did love learning about this part of the country. This book is VERY detail heavy but also beautifully written. If you're a fan of history books, I would give it a read.

My daily life is filled with non-fiction: facts that are collected to give information quickly and easily to a reader. When I read for enjoyment, I usually gravitate toward fiction.

I didn't realize this book was non-fiction when I bought it. I bought it because it came recommended from Katie, who has good book taste and hasn't steered me down the wrong path yet. When I read the back cover before beginning, I thought: what the hell did I get myself into?

Surprisingly, I found myself immediately hooked. This book is a triumph because Erik Larson researched the hell out of this topic. I know from my daily experience: if you dig hard enough, interesting facts have a way of presenting themselves. It's a joy to witness someone transform the mundane into the engaging. Larson does this.

He pings us back and forth between two men of great ambition - Burnham and Holmes - before, during and after the time of their greatest triumphs. Burnham is the architect of the World's Fair (or World's Columbian Exposition), which has invaded Chicago at the end of the 19th century. Holmes is a con artist with an insatiable thirst to lure innocent young ladies into his den of horrors. He is America's Jack the Ripper without the headlines.

Like many, I was most intrigued by the Holmes chapters. I often found I was "treating" myself by reading the Holmes chapters; the Burnham chapters were a means to that end. A funny thing happened about halfway through, however. I couldn't get enough of the fair; it's descriptions, the maddening timetables, the enormous pressures to "out Eiffel Eiffel" and prove Chicago worthy of what New York coveted.

This is a book for everyone that loves to read. It's for academics - although they may find fault with some of Larson's hypotheses; for serious readers, and for not so serious readers. Don't take my word for it. Take mine and everybody else's.

A favorite true-crime non-fiction text. I am now teaching this to my Journalism students, and it definitely is a hypnotic and powerful read.

I am in so much awe and feel so much admiration and love for those who worked so hard in building the World's Fair: Burnham's segments are gorgeously rendered, heart-stoppingly exciting and joyful. I absolutely did not want it to end. Holmes' section is just as heart-stopping but of course chilling and horrific.

His murder of the Pietzel family is absolutely gruesome and heartbreaking and unforgettable. It's so inconceivable that Holmes and Burnham were literally within feet of one another; and that clear cut examples of evil and good were really in existence. I hope that the Leonardo DiCaprio film adaptation is just as faithful to the text in the near future.

Where to begin? This is probably one of the most terrifying books I've read since Mr. Bolano's "2666" two years ago. Methodical, diabolical, and strangely charming yet disarming, real-life serial killer H.H Holmes and his "murder castle" will chill you to the bone.

However, as horrific as Mr. Holmes' segment is, the story of how architectural pioneer Daniel Burnham built the landmark Chicago World's Fair in 1893 is a beautiful, moving and joyful reading experience, contrasted with shades of good and evil, the light and the dark. I absolutely adored this read.

Even though I had reviewed this book on 11-21-2021, Goodreads was showing it as "Want To Read" on 12-10-2021. When I went to change it, my entire review, along with all of the lovely comments I had gotten, disappeared. Now I am reposting it.

Erik Larson has taken on the role of an infomercial guy, in his 2003 book The Devil in the White City. Do you want to know the history of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893? That’s great, BUT WAIT, there’s more! Do you like reading about true crime and one of the first known serial killers in the U.S? That is even better, BUT WAIT, there’s more! I’ll throw in a side story about the nut case who murdered the mayor of Chicago.

I found the history of the World’s Fair to be the most interesting part of the book and felt it should have been a stand-alone story. Larson captures the zeitgeist of Chicago in the 1890s. The grand buildings were all painted white, giving the grounds the name of “The White City.” The fair development and building were bogged down with bureaucracy, bad weather, union strikes, worker injuries, a short time frame to complete, and some poor structural designs. The people involved included the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and Walt Disney’s father. Under the guidance of architect Daniel Burnham, the fair ended without losing money during a terrible economic time. The names that are dropped during the story were a who’s who of the American elite. Visitors included Nikola Tesla, President Benjamin Harrison, and Frank Lloyd White. Buffalo Bill set up his famous Wild West Show starring Annie Oakley just outside the fairgrounds. The 1893 World’s Fair introduced us to the Ferris Wheel, the tallest skyscrapers, grounds lighted by incandescent bulbs, and shredded wheat.

The story involving “The Devil”, H. H. Holmes was mostly interesting as Larson details the criminal activities of a charming serial killer who killed numerous people at the time of the fair. The smaller story regarding the crazy Pendergrast seemed unnecessary to the book. The intermixing of the true-crime tales with the history of the fair was a bit odd but mostly worked.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because of Larson’s excellent story-telling ability.

Excellent history lesson!!

This book captured my attention from page 1. I enjoyed reading about many of the influential people who made this great nation what it is today. I learned so much more than when I was a student. On the flip side, I was horrified by the murders committed by Holmes and how much of an evil character he was.

Pre-review:

n  “I was born with the devil in me,' [Holmes] wrote. 'I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing.” n

Damn, it is exactly my type of thing! *jumps to read*


(Link: https://giphy.com/gifs/ursula-lecture...)

Actual review starts here:

Note: Buddy-read with DayDreamer .

Rating: one of the best books in my 2017 reading list' 20 sparkling stars: when you open this book, please be ready for the unimaginable from both the good and the evil! Be prepared to be seduced by the magic and wonders of the glorious Chicago's World Fair ( or the so-called 'White City') *and* the twisted, gruesome but intriguing Murder Castle!

Let us all DREAM BIG together with Daniel Burnham and his merry band of American architects! Let follow them to go through all the dramatic twists and turns that created the World's Columbian Exposition/Chicago's World Fair! There are so many dramas you couldn't have imagined but actually took place during the construction of this massive event!

Let's just THINK BIG! If you wanted to kill a lot of people for your own pleasure and you also want to make a profit out of your activities, then why not build an entire building for the sole purpose of...murdering people just for the hell of it!? *evil grins*

n  “His weakness was his belief that evil had boundaries.” n  
n

Plus, meanwhile in London, Jack the Ripper!

Still, I have to admit the parts of the book about the infamous H. H. Holmes is a bit flat compared with what had been written for Daniel Burnham and his merry band of architects, Holmes's tale reads like a dry true crime story. Don't get me wrong, Holmes' many deeds and his gruesome Murder Castle are still highly intriguing to read about, still I want more from his story even after I was finished with it.

Documentary for H. H. Holmes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPvOT...
Documentary: Slaughtered At The Murder Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMeT...
Murder Castle Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drfRQ...

PS: and there seems to be a movie adaptation with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio in it! Isn't it wonderful?


Chinese review (short):

這本書真的很好看哦，內容一方面是講述一個連環殺手在1891年左右時， 自��充當建築師建造了史上首座以大量殺人及謀財害命為主要用途的惡夢之屋。

而另一邊廂，芝加哥以至全美國有頭有面的建築師們也在如火如荼地興建有如夢想宮殿， 一心要和巴黎鐵塔比美的萬國博覽館建築群。

以上乃真人真事， 既獵奇又令人意想不到。

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY [2004] By Erik Larson
My Review 4.0 Stars Out Of 5.0 Stars

I recently became interested in reading Erik Larson’s #1 National Bestseller and National Book Award Finalist “The Devil in the White City” subtitled “A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America”. This non-fiction novel relates 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. I was surprised that it was released 20 years ago.

This was a popular non-fiction title on Goodreads, amassing well over half a million ratings, overwhelmingly positive. This may be in part related to the fact that this well-known tale of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago was juxtaposed with the story of the infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes. Interestingly, Holmes was dispensing women at the same period in history as the notorious “Jack the Ripper” in England. In the case of H.H. Holmes, he was merrily murdering with impunity on and off the expansive, fantastical fairgrounds of Chicago’s glorious extravaganza.

Larson spins such a richly researched novel of nearly 500 pages like a thrilling three-dimensional trip through a full color picture of the Gilded Age in our history. I could almost hear the sounds of the excited visitors to the fairgrounds. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show is right before my eyes and I can almost feel the frenetic energy of the crowd. When the author blends in the real-life characters that are today’s legendary inventors, entrepreneurs, politicians, and household names it truly becomes a sparkling narrative that always time travel to another era. My favorite references were to Thomas Edison, the role he played in lighting the fair, the colorful Buffalo Bill, and in my own case the story of the Ferris Wheel, how it was a child of one man’s genius, and is now a part of our American culture. The story of how the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago was ultimately built and came to fruition was like a fairy tale. It is sad that the future generations are unable to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and stunning glory when it stood with a gate taking tickets to the Fair.

I said in the beginning that I had become interested in reading this non-fiction work which immortalized the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago over 130 years ago. My curiosity was triggered by a recent book I read whose author had been inspired to write an award-winning book of poetry about the notorious Holmes. It was a win-win for me because Larson’s gifted ability to write such beautiful prose allowed me to envision a monumental event through the rich descriptions, real men and women from my school’s history books, and the glory of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

Most of us who are interested in true crime have heard the name H.H Holmes, and perhaps have conducted some research about his life and the horrific murders he committed mostly for the fun and challenge of it all. Personally, I knew about him, but nothing specific or memorable. Obviously, I did know about his house of horrors. But what I knew about this notorious serial murderer was not even the tip of the iceberg. He was nicknamed “America’s First Serial Killer” and was active between the years 1891 and 1894. It comes as no shock then that his most notorious crimes took place in Chicago around the time of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. He was born Herman Webster Mudgett, and I am not certain if matricide or patricide were listed in his diabolical career.

He is universally known by his alias Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, or simply H.H. Holmes. There was virtually no question that Holmes was a prolific murderer, but he was convicted and sentenced to death for only one murder, that of his business partner and accomplice Benjamin Pitezel. It is factually unknown how many men, women, and children that Holmes murdered. He did generously confess to killing 27 people, but he was lying to the authorities since some of the persons on his death list were still very much alive and likely looking forward to Holmes meeting his maker. This event took place on May 7, 1896.

The true stories in Larson’s nonfiction novel are accepted by most people as fact-based and not gruesome exaggerations or misrepresentations of the murderer’s MO or motives. In fact, the truth was quite interesting pertaining to his house of horrors in close proximity to the Fairgrounds. On that point, it was perhaps just commonsense if one took the time to really think about. The house was huge and took up the space of an entire square block. The workmanship was shoddy and was not up to the building code, and likely not even close to it. Holmes hired men who would not be missed, and he deployed different crews of men on different sections of the house. Building materials and labor for the job were nearly free. Holmes impressed me first and foremost as a malignant narcissistic manipulator of both sexes, and in the business sector he was notorious for obtaining credit and then never paying. He was described as so magnetic and charismatic that he was continuously successful in keeping creditors at bay with the promise he would pay another day. In my opinion his mental dexterity must have been phenomenal because of the number of swindles and con jobs he had in the air on any given day. Holmes used branding to promote his dark mysterious hotel into the “World’s Fair Hotel.”

It was easy access from his “torture palace” to the magic and fascination of the Fairgrounds. Holmes accepted only young female guests at his hotel. Any man who called would be informed that there were no rooms available. During the interval of time that Holmes was active there is no question that he used his hotel hell for murder, dismemberment, and either cremation in his 3,000-degree crematorium or dissolving dead bodies in acid solutions. Holmes had certain rooms or other areas (his vault for instance) equipped with the ability to administer lethal gas. He was known to get what could be thought of as a kickback on a number of the bleached skeletons of his victims with some of the cosmetic touches paid to men who performed such jobs.

Holmes was most interested in defrauding enough individuals and companies to amass a small fortune to purchase legitimate enterprises. His business dealings were in a constant state of flux. Money, whether it was trying to keep it by stalling his creditors, acquiring more of it through fraudulent schemes, or stealing it from innocent daughters or widows, seemed to be his biggest motivation. Holmes was a ladies’ man and the women were drawn to him like bees to honey. He would secure total control of the lady’s assets first and foremost. Then depending upon his number of “wives” at the time he would marry her or gas her to death.

The part of the truth that surprised me most about this notorious murderer from yesteryear is that he was a manipulator first, a talent which he focused on swindles and schemed the majority of the time. He did not meet the definition of a torture-murderer. In fact, he murdered the women for expediency after he had fleeced them. Greed was his driving force with an interesting, sick, and very sad exception.

Toward the end of his days as a career criminal Holmes left Chicago and then involved his friend and co-hort in crime Ben Pitezel in an insurance scam. Holmes killed his friend and collected the insurance money. He then traveled to see the man’s wife Carrie Alice Canning, and somehow convinced her to place three of her five children in his custody. In fact, he already had 13-year-old Alice who had been taken from her home to identify her father’s corpse. It was actually a question of taking her home and then somehow glomming on to two of her siblings 9-year-old Nellie and 7-year-old Howard.

Frank Geyer, a PA Police Department Detective was hired to find the three missing children. The children were taken for a reason that completely eludes me. Geyer was able to trace the movements but not catch up with Holmes to save any of the kids. This is sharing only a point or two in what I read as a heartless and horrible case. It was catapulted into a new dimension of horror when the letters were discovered, several of them from Alice especially but Nellie had also written to their mother, missing her, wanting to come home to her. It is believed that he murdered first the two girls, stuffed them into a trunk, drilled a hole, and ran a gas line to suffocate them. They were later dismembered and buried in the basement of a house he had rented. He kept multiple houses at one time in a city irrespective of need. The little boy was discovered in another location, his little body dismembered, the parts burned. The little boy’s teeth and bone were discovered in the home’s chimney.

This was an exceptionally fine novel that Larson wrote, and very well researched. I enjoyed many parts of the heartfelt struggles that architects and builders suffered to bring the monumentally beautiful 1893’s World Fair to the resourceful and passionate people of Chicago. The author spared no details in fleshing out these visionaries and great talents of their day, to include their fluctuating states of mental heath and physical maladies. The undeniable fact is that a human parasite named “Herman Webster Mudgett” leeched onto it and snuffed the life out of many innocent people.

It may be a strange thing for me to say, but I feel more heartbroken about the good girls who wrote those letters to their mother while they were shuffled from place to place by the soulless Holmes. Naturally the letters humanized them to me, but I meant because there was no discernible profit motive, sexual motivation, or other reason that I can even think of why Holmes would commit those three murders in particular. There were other instances noted in the text which were similar in that it begged the question was it just a power trip or for his own sick amusement just because he could.

A FASCINATING INSIDE PEEK AT THE BUILDING OF THE WHITE CITY AND THE MONSTER WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ITS BEAUTY AND MAGICAL APPEAL

I was genuinely excited to get back into this story every time I picked it up. At times, this jumble of factual events felt like a tale I would contrive while wandering aimlessly around Wikipedia (even though Erik Larson says he did not get information from the internet because, apparently all, data found on the internet is questionable).

Most of the dramatic facts this book will tell you show up near the top of the internet, and many are proclaimed at a bars when someone lets everyone know where Pabst won their blue ribbon and follows with, “A young man by the name of George Farris went to that same fair in Chicago, 1893 — and he built himself a wheel.”

The best story and the reason why I wanted more was the story of Holmes, who murdered dozens while becoming America’s first serial killer. I didn’t really care for the ten plus pages describing where the fair would go and then what park in said city it would be in. Some of these details were distracting and took too long. As the reader, I just wanted to get to the gruesome parts.

People like to say that non-fiction, “reads like fiction,” when they think it is good but that doesn’t make much sense to me. Books without dialogue generally feel to me like Wikipedia, and they're good when I am able to stay interested.

An interesting period in the History of the United States through the realization of the World fair in Chicago at the end of the 19th century. Through this period in time Mr Larson does create a window through which the reader can look into the past of the US, which is a very uplifting story and depressing story at the same time.
It tells the story of a depression and a time of creative output that did change the course of US history in the sense that aesthetically beauty is finally admitted on US soil, with the race to build a place that has to show Paris that their world fair (with the Eiffel tower) can be bettered by this you nation. The writer shows us the dynamics behind the scene through the eyes of the creators and visionary ideas with their problems and solutions before and during the World fair in Chicago. A beautiful story and well told with a small sidestep in to naval disaster [the subject of Larsons next novel as well].

The growing and darker side of Chicago gets illustrated with the story of H.H. Holmes, one of the earliest serial killers that has been documented, who is one of those people living and working in Chicago. His story and the Fair have one thing in common namely the time period in which this book takes place. In the growing city of Chicago there is madness and mayhem and Holmes took advantage of it and did his gruesome work.

The book is a bit about both and as a mood-piece based upon fairly factual historical situations during the period of building the World fair, during and closely after the fair it works really well. For the average reader it is an easy to read book about a piece of history that should get more recognition than the usual war periods.

If I have one thing that could have been improved upon by the writer it would be the lack of more photographs accompanying the story which would have given the reader a visual aide with trying to image this White city and it being build. For a man who claims to do no research in the internet for this novel he does rely too heavy on the reader being able to do that if he/she really wants to see it for themselves. The visual aids in this book are there but in quantity and quality lacking.

The book is actually 390 pages long the rest being notes, acknowledgments, source and list of literature.

A decent window in a period of US history that was new to me and interesting in its situation and heritage to US history. A good place to start you interest but not the definitive book.

Well worth your time.

A true classic in the true crime field.

When Chicago won their bid for the World Fair in 1903, they were faced with a very tight deadline to create the greatest fair ever, to declare their city had made it. We couldn't do something like this today. The deadline would pass before the environmental impact reports would be finished.

Chicago was always a dangerous city, and a mass of anonymous, transient people attracted more criminals than ever. One of those criminals was H.H. Holmes a prolific serial killer, thief, and con man, who built a murder house in order to take advantage of the situation.

The books also traces the assassination of Chicago's mayor by a deluded individual.

Highly recommended.

Reviews are a bit mixed for this one so I was a little bit hesitant to read it but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! It’s a very interesting and entertaining read, I was absolutely fascinated, even more so because it’s a true story. My only minor complaint is that I wanted more murder amongst the madness and mayhem. I wanted the nitty gritty details of the murders on the same level we got details of the fair. It was an excellent read nonetheless and I would absolutely recommend it!