The Devil in the White City
by: Erik Larson
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Incredible True Story
Please just read this book!I have lived in Chicago almost my entire life and had never heard this story--I can't believe it is true too!Not only is it a riveting murder mystery, but if you have any historical interest in architecture, the city of Chicago or the World's Fair, this book will most definitely keep you turning the pages!
Rating: 
- A Bit Dull.
Yes there are some fun facts that emerge from the book, mostly having to do with items that were invented for the fair, but it wasn't enough to make me find the book as compelling as many others have. Combining the story of how the fair was created, with that of a bloodthirsty serial killer, with nothing more than the city they both resided in being the common thread, is flimsy at best. The killer gets an occasional chapter here and there, with the final thirty pages devoted to him. The rest is the ... Read More
Rating: - True Story: Marvels and Murders at the 1893 World's Fair
Erik Larson ("Isaac's Storm") brilliantly weaves the story of the designing and building of Chicago's World's Fair of 1893 with the madness of a seemingly charming physician who, in essence, was one of America's first serial killers.
While the great Chicago architect Daniel Burnham was designing and building the fair (popularly known as "the White City"--so called because of its tens of thousands of new-fangled electric light bulbs), the doctor was carrying out his horrific deeds in a ... Read More
Rating: 
- Larson, Eric "Devil in the White City"
A very readable book with fascinating details of late nineteenth century Chicago (and the USA in general).It offers a chilling contrast between the creative effort of building the World's Fair and the destruction wrought by the psychopath who lived nearby.The narrative flips between accounts of the fair's construction and the story of H. H. Holmes.This has the effect of building suspense but is irritating at times.For me, the story of the personalities behind the fair was the most interesting ... Read More
Rating: - Good Read
It must be tough balancing historical fact with historical fiction.White City does a nice balancing act.Always interesting even when the author delves into a guessing game at what someone was thinking or feeling.Very enjoyable read.
- Incredible True StoryPlease just read this book!I have lived in Chicago almost my entire life and had never heard this story--I can't believe it is true too!Not only is it a riveting murder mystery, but if you have any historical interest in architecture, the city of Chicago or the World's Fair, this book will most definitely keep you turning the pages!
- A Bit Dull.Yes there are some fun facts that emerge from the book, mostly having to do with items that were invented for the fair, but it wasn't enough to make me find the book as compelling as many others have. Combining the story of how the fair was created, with that of a bloodthirsty serial killer, with nothing more than the city they both resided in being the common thread, is flimsy at best. The killer gets an occasional chapter here and there, with the final thirty pages devoted to him. The rest is the ... Read More
- True Story: Marvels and Murders at the 1893 World's FairErik Larson ("Isaac's Storm") brilliantly weaves the story of the designing and building of Chicago's World's Fair of 1893 with the madness of a seemingly charming physician who, in essence, was one of America's first serial killers.
While the great Chicago architect Daniel Burnham was designing and building the fair (popularly known as "the White City"--so called because of its tens of thousands of new-fangled electric light bulbs), the doctor was carrying out his horrific deeds in a ... Read More
- Larson, Eric "Devil in the White City"A very readable book with fascinating details of late nineteenth century Chicago (and the USA in general).It offers a chilling contrast between the creative effort of building the World's Fair and the destruction wrought by the psychopath who lived nearby.The narrative flips between accounts of the fair's construction and the story of H. H. Holmes.This has the effect of building suspense but is irritating at times.For me, the story of the personalities behind the fair was the most interesting ... Read More
- Good ReadIt must be tough balancing historical fact with historical fiction.White City does a nice balancing act.Always interesting even when the author delves into a guessing game at what someone was thinking or feeling.Very enjoyable read.
