The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America would probably rate 4 Stars for most but for me it got 5 White Stars on a black background. It rated higher because it taught me something about my hometown, which played a critical role in the 1893 World Expo in Chicago. The story revolves around the heroic effort to win the event and then build it. Intertwined with the creation of the dream of the Expo is a dark tale of an evil serial killer, preying upon the innocence and gullibility of women and men of the age.

“The White City” is the name given to the fairgrounds, a direct contrast to the Black City as Chicago was known in part, a rough town with an inferiority complex. Having just overtaken Philly as the second largest city in the US, Chicago wants and gets the right to host the Expo. The story of how this fair came to be successful could have been the entire story and a great one. What amazed me the most was how large these people dreamed and then made it happen. They fought through bad weather, bureaucracy, and politics to build an Expo that had to outdo the 1889 Paris Expo, which had featured the Eiffel Tower, a true masterpiece. I won’t spoil it and tell you what the Chicago group did but they did “out-Eiffel” the Parisians in the end. I’m positive you will be amazed at the nexus of so many people you will be familiar with. Connections abound but here are a few of the characters: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Edison, Disney, Frank Lloyd Wright, Teddy Roosevelt, competition to light the fair by Westinghouse (AC) or General Electric (DC), Clarence Darrow, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Tesla, Cracker Jack, Shredded Wheat, kinetoscopes, and so much more. The sheer audacity of this event is breathtaking, these are the people who built America.

The serial killer, H. H. Holmes, is the embodiment of evil, a Ted Bundy canvassing the hinterlands for naïve girls to bring to Chicago for his “use”. Larsen weaves a compelling and tense story of how this man created an environment where he could carry out his evil deeds and yet was never suspected until many had died at his hands. The 1893 Expo provided even more victims for his pursuit. Holmes operated with impunity as no one could imagine anything untoward had been done when various women “just left”. The death penalty exists for people like this guy, no other way to deal with him. It was a well-written counterpoint to the main story of the fair.

Oh, the “hometown” story that clinched the 5 Star rating? Turns out my hometown of Waukesha, Wisconsin was to provide fresh, clean drinking water to the Chicago fairgrounds from our famous springs. I knew about the springs but not about the effort to pipe that water 100 miles to the south. Learn something new every day.

'The Devil in the White City' is an excellent retelling of historical events which surrounded the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The author stuck to the written records - newspapers, memoirs, books - and we get surprisingly intense stories based on facts. The individuals involved with building the World's Fair exhibits wanted to make something amazing - and they did, at great risk to their Victorian reputations and physical health.

Among the amazing things that people saw were skyscrapers, high-end Pullman cars, electric lights and the first Ferris wheel ever made. Plus, belly dancing. Belly dancing! Who knew bellys could move like that! was the shocked response of most paying customers. The promised cannibals almost were a no-show, but eventually made it; however, the advertised pygmies were not found in Africa in time for the fair (despite the permission given to kidnap them, if necessary). The Wild West show arrived with real (!?!) cowboy and Indian battle demonstrations. Annie Oakley starred, and packed the crowds in even when the Fair itself was not selling tickets as much. Somehow, the sum of things was far larger than the details by the end of the day, and Larson does a fantastic job of illustrating how flawed and quarreling, yet talented, architects made it all happen.

Many ordinary people with a variety of hopes and plans found themselves swept up in the excitement and came to Chicago looking to change their lives with the opportunities presented by the fair - and ended up in the clutches of a suave, handsome, charismatic hotel owner who was not what he seemed. Everyone profiled in the book was looking for a fresh beginning and an opportunity to realize their happiness, no matter how insignificant their ambition. Unfortunately, psychotic murderers find their happiness in watching others die - literally - and they come to fairs, too. In this book, we learn in particular about a Mr. Holmes, a documented killer.

I thought I would include a link to a White City documentary:

https://youtu.be/cpOQE5KJJds

The dark/light duality of human nature is fully on display in these brief chapters of American history. What was new then or not known about human behavior in the 1890's is now fully integrated knowledge in our present. Obviously, we still have not yet discovered how to identify and make harmless those who live for the dark, though.

The author is a wonderful writer first, historian second. Despite the dryness of some of the material (for me, not everything architectural design makes for enchantment), I was drawn into caring about these ambitious individuals, whatever their faults and idiosyncrasies and class snobberies, serial killer excepted. It was interesting how strikingly familiar circus spectacles to me were as enticing to the Victorian as it was to the Ancient Greeks and as to current moderns.

After reading this much-ballyhooed and well-reviewed title, I feel like a guy who ordered hot dogs at a world’s fair only to be served scrambled eggs. At the risk of imitating the kid in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” I’m writing this review to fans of true crime and saying that the true crime here was committed by the author: I find Erik Larson guilty of literary bait-and-switch. He apparently wanted to write a history of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 but knew that work would attract a limited audience. So, he figured: “Toss in some H.H. Holmes—America’s Jack the Ripper--and call it true crime. After all, Holmes attended the fair and even rode the Ferris wheel.”

It truly pains me to see this book listed near the top of true crime book lists. It is a book about the architecture of the Chicago World’s Fair that includes a short story about H.H. Holmes.

As a result, the two stories distract from each other. I read to the end hoping Larson would provide some connection between them beyond Holmes’s visits to the fair and was aghast to read Larson’s pretentious kiss-off at the end that even includes a comparison of his methods here with those of Truman Capote’s in In Cold Blood. I was prompted to compare it, instead, with James McManus’s Positively Fifth Street, a book that defied genre by combining the author’s coverage of a notorious Las Vegas true crime trial with his personal involvement at the World Series of Poker. McManus employed humor and fine writing to effectively link those two events. And, I was hoping Larson might do the same. He did not even come close.

If you want a book about Holmes, find a copy of David Franke’s Torture Doctor. And send this book back where it belongs, to the art and architecture aisles of the public library.

Beneath the stars the lake lay dark and sombre, but on its shore gleamed and glowed in golden radiance the ivory city, beautiful as a poet’s dream, silent as a city of the dead.



Chicago 1893, host to the Columbian World’s Fair; a chance for the United States to put on display its best industrial and cultural achievements; a vanity project for the barons of meat, railroad and finance that wanted to put the Midwest metropolis on an equal footing with the East Coast giants; a chance for the architects and engineers to outshine the recently closed Paris Exposition and its iconic steel tower; a dream of a future where crime and venality, corruption and crippling poverty, slaughterhouses and bawdy houses would no longer define the city by the lake.

With its gorgeous classical buildings packed with art, its clean water and electricity lights, its overstaffed police department, the exposition was Chicago’s conscience, the city it wanted to become.

The biggest entertainment avenue ever, with Buffalo Bill setting up shop next door and outselling the main attractions, with hundreds of pavilions from all over the world filled with marvels of technology and art, dancers and cooks from far off places, huge German guns and electrical boats, balloon rides and chewing gum. Dominating the pleasure avenue the very first huge vertical spinning wheel, built, not without struggles and delays, by a daring engineer named Ferris.



Politicians, royalty, actors, writers, scientists, the rich in their chariots and the poor on the new Elevated tram line, they came to the fair in the hundreds of thousand, to marvel at the huge white buildings and to ride into the sky on the Ferris Wheel. But for some of them, the dream turned into a nightmare. Because human nature has always had a dark streak, a nightmare that walks close behind the most exalted aspirations for the future, here comes the confidence trickster, the snake oil seller, the scam artist who sees only a chance to gratify his baser instincts in the gathering crowds.

So, instead of being remembered as the brightest moment of the fin-de-siecle, the Chicago World’s Fair is sadly also remembered for its aftermath of terrorism and vandalism  the mayor is shot by a madman in the final days of the fair, and less than a year later the buildings are derelict and set on fire by vagrants  and marked as the abode of one of the most despicable serial killers in the history of the US.

What a human downfall after the magnificence and prodigality of the World’s Fair which had so recently closed its doors! Heights of splendor, pride, exaltation in one month: depths of wretchedness, suffering, hunger, cold, in the next.

>>><<<>>><<<


I read this on a trip through Slovenia and Croatia in the autumn, and it say a lot that I managed to finish it in a tight competition with the wonderful landscapes on offer. It’s a compulsory read that walks a very fine line between reportage and fiction. Most of the details about the negotiations, the design, the construction and the operation of the fair are accurate, taken from primary sources like journals, interviews, letters, newspaper articles, memoirs. Honestly, for me as an engineer, this part of the novel was a lot more interesting than the alternate chapters on Holmes, the serial killer. Erik Larson only let his poetic license run free in the imagined dialogues between the main architects of the fair, led by Burnham, who is the anchor, the focal point of the novel. But even for these imagined scenes, Larson provides ample documentation and sources in the appendix.



To me every trip to the library or archive is like a small detective story. There are always little moments on such trips when the past flares to life, like a match in the darkness.

Larson worked previously as an investigative journalist, and he probably was an excellent one, because his transit to fiction is knife edge sharp and eminently readable. I really loved the immersion into the period, the name dropping, and the idealistic portrait of the White City as an aspiration for the whole society rather than as a vanity project of the rich. The pages describing the influence of the World’s Fair on future city planning and architectural concepts are some of the best in the book.



The chapters on Holmes are also very well written, but a quick browse through the appendix show that the primary sources were a lot more scarce than in the case of the patrons of industry, understandable, since most of the articles about Holmes were written years after the events described, and since most of the evidence was destroyed through incompetence or ill intent by the Chicago police. Holmes himself was a pathological liar, who frequently changed his testimony to put himself in a better light.
That is probably why the Holmes chapters read a lot more like fiction instead of reportage, and carry less conviction in the imagined dialogues and descriptions of personality traits or motivations.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the efforts at building a psychological profile for a narcissist, smooth operator and professional liar that may have been the most successful serial killer in the country. The real number of his victims is still debatable.

To make a long and gripping story short, I would be extremely interested to read anything else by Erik Larson in the future.
Great stuff!

This is really a great read filled with meticulously researched historical facts and notable people of the time. Even Helen Keller made an appearance at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair! Alternating chapters educate the reader about the enormous undertaking and time constraints of building "The White City" combined with the daily bloodthirsty activities of serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett aka Dr. H. H. Holmes.

Reading about B. H. Burnham's construction of the fair during a time of deadly diseases, grotesque environmental conditions and bank failures was certainly enlightening, but most intriguing for me was erection of the monstrous "Ferris" Wheel with enclosed glassed-in seats. (googled some amazing photos)

And this dude Dr. HHH.....Picture a young, handsome prosperous man with mesmerizing big blue eyes who is in fact an evil psychopath, sniveling cheat and conniving polygamist. This devil incarnate killed on a whim and caused turmoil in so many families with his slithering knack of preying on the weak and vulnerable; and while I wasn't too surprised at the naivety of the young women, the men falling for his sleazy schemes really shocked me.

This work of non-fiction is jam-packed with interesting facts, faces and descriptive details that are too numerous to even begin to mention here, but now, whenever I see Cracker Jack, I'll sure remember where it originated.

I enjoyed Devil in the White City, particularly for the wealth of information (tons of great trivia!) in this novel-style nonfiction book. I probably would have appreciated it more, though, if I were from Chicago, a city planner or architect, or had a fascination with serial killers.

What was by far the most irksome for me was Larson's insistence on foreshadowing absolutely every character introduction and happening in the book. Some are clever, but this "one day, he would make headlines"-style became tiresome for me, quickly.

Beyond this style irritation, I was disappointed, in Larson's failure to ever unite the two main threads: those of the World's Fair (mostly its chief architect, Daniel Burnham) and "America's first serial killer," H.H. Holmes, who murdered dozens during the same period. They are each interesting, but aside from not seeing concrete ties between the stories, the reader is unsure of why Larson would pick these specific lives to parallel. Why not a madam operating in Chicago at the time? Why not a Zulu warrior brought to America as an exhibition piece? Etc.

Regardless of why Larson chose the World's Fair and H.H. Holmes as threads for his narrative, through them, readers can learn a great deal about this period in American history.

2.25 stars

The Devil in the White City promised a lot. It was going to be the story of two men: the architect behind the World's Fair and the mass murderer who extorted it for victims. Really interesting concept. Problem is, these two narratives weren't seamlessly combined and, surprisingly, I ended up bored for a lot of the novel.

I read a few other reviews and everyone seems to have similar opinions when it comes to the separation of the two main story lines. Some people favor Holmes' narrative and some people favor Burnham's. Personally, I started of liking Burnham much more, but as we continued I found Holmes to be much more interesting. This comes just to personal preference, I think, because I generally zone out when non-fiction books start talking about economics and business (which is what happened here). Holmes' story was much scarier and intriguing on a psychological level. There was one thing though that turned me off from it towards the end of the book.

After reading books like The Five (Hallie Rubenhold's novel about the victims of Jack the Ripper) I have become more aware at how we tend to ironically idealise these serial murderers for their intellect and madness and stereotype their victims causing their story to never be explored. Although this didn't occur specifically in the first 3/4 of this book, it definitely jumped out at me during the end. I know that the goal of this book was to chronicle Holmes' life and connection to the Fair not to talk about his victims. Despite this, in the first few segments he manages to outline the tragedy of Emeline and Minnie. Later on though, when he describes the way Holmes was caught, he overly glorifies him... maybe that's just me being overly sensitive though. And I felt like the ending to his story was too quick.

This book wasn't bad. It was ok. It had a few moments that I really liked but the pacing was way off so it took forever to get to another moment which I found interesting. I must complement the author, however, for the use of images. I thought it was quite clever to show us images of the characters and the fair because it helped ground the story and make it seem surreal (even though it was very true).

I hoped I'd like this more, but it is what it is.



*book completed as part of the March non-fiction challenge

Definitely more about the lead up to the worlds fair than about the serial killer. It was very well written and researched.

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

The Devil in the White City, is the history of Chicago, especially the World's Fair, and the real crime of H.H. Holmes. the book is divided into four parts, the first three happening in Chicago between 1890 and 1893, while part four of the book takes place in Philadelphia circa 1895.

H.H. Holmes, or Herman Mudgett, a charismatic physician, artist, and serial killer who tricked twenty-seven to two hundred people into bringing them to his hotel. He killed women, tested them, and sold their bones to medical schools.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز شانزدهم ماه فوریه سال2022میلادی

عنوان: شیطان در شهر سپید: قتل، جادو و جنون در نمايشگاهی كه آمريكا را دگرگون كرد؛ نویسنده اریک لارسن؛ مترجم: سوگند رجبی‌نسب؛ تهران، نشر قطره، سال1400؛ در464ص؛ شابک9786223080029؛ موضوع داستانهای واقعی از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م

اچ.اچ هولمز، یا «هرمن ماجت»، پزشکی کاریزماتیک، هنرمند، و قاتلی سریالی بوده، که بین بیست و هفت تا دویست تن را فریب داده، و به هتلی که در اختیار داشت آورده؛ وی زنان را به قتل میرسانده، بر روی آنها آزمایش انجام میداده، و استخوانهایشان را به دانشکده های پزشکی میفروخته است؛ او برای هر کدام از اتاقهای هتل خود، یک راه پنهانی در نظر گرفته بوده، و نیمه های شب به سراغ قربانیهای خویش میرفته؛ در زمان ساختن راههای پنهانی، او کارگرها و معماران را هماره اخراج میکرده، تا کسی متوجه راز شوم او نگردد؛ با اینحال هیچکس به او مشکوک نمیشود، و او همچنان به کشتار مهمانان هتل میپردازد؛ چیزی که همگی این رویدادها را واقعیتر و خوفناکتر میکند، این است که «هولمز» واقعا وجود داشته است، قاتلی سریالی که به اعتراف خودش مرتکب بیست و هفت قتل شده بود

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 08/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

in 1893, chicago took the world by storm when it hosted the world fair and created the marvel that was ‘the white city.’ and the man behind it all was architect, daniel burnham. not far down the street from the fair grounds, there was another man by the name of dr. henry holmes who took advantage of those visiting the city by luring women to his hotel and killing them. he is considered americas first serial killer.

so what do these two men have in common? other than being in the same city at the same time, absolutely nothing. although this book will try to convince you otherwise. there honestly isnt anything connecting the two, so i am confused as to why there is so much focus on them both in this. i can understand a book about the history and creation of the chicago world fair, and i also get writing a book about the crimes of dr. holmes, but putting the two together did not make any sense to me.

while reading about the building and design of the fair was interesting, its very dense compared to how holmes’ story is written. its almost like an information overload compared to the true crime chapters surrounding dr. holmes (which is what i was more interested in). it almost felt like the murders of dr. homes were just a fun little fact that was sprinkled throughout a history book about the 1893 world fair. so i think the synopsis and title are a little misleading with regard to the focus of this story.

overall, this is quite an educational book. its not quite as entertaining as i thought it would be, but very informative nonetheless. the gilded age and importance of the world fair isnt something i knew much about, so it was neat to learn about it. although, i might try to find another book about dr. holmes, as this didnt quite satisfy my interest in him.

↠ 3.5 stars

n  4/5 Starsn



Jeez... Absolutely crazy



This book was nuts. I was aware of the World Fair in Chicago, but I had not idea what it entailed, nor was I aware everything that happened during its construction and after its closure.

It's clear that Larson has definitely done his research on this one and has compiled his findings into a book that at points reads like a thriller novel. There were some points where I actually got kind of scared.

Learning about the ins and outs of the development of the World's Fair was fascinating. Some much time, effort, money, blood, sweat and tears went into it. I said in a reading update that the construction process for the World's Fair felt like a 19th century version of the Fyre Festival fiasco. Literally everything that could've went wrong, went wrong. And yet, unlike the Fyre Festival, the World's Fair had a ton of success. I loved learning about the different things that were introduced in the fair that we are familiar with today. Like how Shredded Wheat was showcased (which is really interesting because my father retired from a factory that still produced Shredded Wheat), and seeing that Juicy Fruit was also showcased there, as well as learning about the very first Ferris Wheel that was constructed.

The parts following the serial killer H. H. Holmes were very scary to be honest. Larson doesn't shy away to try and convey to the reader how awful of a human being this man really was. Every one of his chapters were chilling.

The one thing that kept this from being a 5 Stars was the writing. To be fair, the writing near the end was really good. The first half can be a struggle to get to. Larson kind of goes overboard a bit with information about the setting up of the fair that at times I kind of just skimmed a bit. I also found his incorporations of quotes to be kind of excessive. Even though I know he's referencing letters that these people wrote and quoting them here. It just seemed that there would be pages filled with someone's quote that I feel could've been paraphrased.

All in all, this was a solid read. I'm glad I'm picking up more non-fiction! I really see the appeal to them now. I definitely recommend this to those people who are interested in historical events like this, as well as true crime stories. I feel like this would be a FANTASTIC docu-series, or even a television show!

Erik Larson is an amazing historical writer -- one of those rare breed who can bring the past to life and make it seem immediate, fresh, intimate and amazing. The book is based on fact, but it reads like the best of novels, going back and forth between the team racing to put together the most important peacetime event in U.S. history, and a psychopathic murderer who is stalking the city at the same time, preying on young women with a cold efficiency that makes Jack the Ripper look like (excuse the pun) a hack. I had no particular interest in the Chicago World's Fair, but Larson is a teacher who can make you forget you are learning. Anywhere he chooses to take you, you can be assured the ride is worth the price of admission.