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| The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Audiobook, U
Edition: Unabridged
Author: Erik Larson
Publisher: Random House Audio
Release Date: 2007-08-07
ISBN-10: 0739343815
ISBN-13: 9780739343814
List Price: $34.95
Average Customer Rating:
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
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 listener 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 audiobook 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.
To find out more about this audiobook, go to http://www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com.
Many interesting bits, but bogs down at times
| Customer Rating:  | | For a native Chicagoan, I found the descriptions of the city in the late 1800's fascinating. The grit and crime juxtaposed with wealth and luxury was especially compelling. The narrative style was very enjoyable, but I was rather disappointed that the murder-mystery element (the "Devil" from the title) went relatively undeveloped until the closing chapters. As a result, the story seemed to drag at times, spending a bit too much time on less interesting details. |
this book was a bestseller for good reason
| Customer Rating: | | This is an excellent book which stands out amongst true crime books as one of the best. The author handles a gruesome topic without making the reader feel depressed. Every aspect of the crime is examined while the writer illuminates an historical perspective which is fascinating. |
Devil in the White City
| Customer Rating: | | Great historical prosective of a wonderful city everyone claims to know..but doesn't know that much history about! |
The Chicago World's Fair Era
| Customer Rating: | This book is about two subjects: the 1892 Chicago World's Fair, and the murderer who killed scores of young women while operating a rooming house. [What a combination!] There is no Index, the Bibliography lists many old books that few can easily reference. I wonder how many readers know anything about the 1890s? They were not "The Good Old Days"; they had the worst depression of the 19th century. The first error is "a young woman named Borden killed her parents". Surely not the exonerated Lizzie? Larson describes colorful events, and shows his skill in creating a popular history. You will learn how they were able to build skyscrapers on the gumbo of Chicago soil. This non-fiction book lacks any photographs of the people and places described there!
Either the 1893 Columbian Exposition or the career of Herman Webster Mudgett would make an interesting book. Combining the two stories could create a wider audience, or, hinder a person without any interest in one of these stories. Both stories coincided, but there must have been other events at that time that were more appropriate for this book. There was a lot of things happening politically and economically, but its mostly been censored. Some true crime stories tell a lot about the era, like Curt Gentry's "Frame-Up". Linking a serial killer with this World's Fair is certainly unusual.
Is this book padded out with inconsequential details, like the hiring of Frederick Law Olmsted? The running together of many separate lives only to bring them together is found in fiction. I think true crime should proceed more linearly. The chapters are not listed in the `Contents'. I was happy to read about the otherwise forgotten Daniel H. Burnham and his life, and the Chicago World's Fair of 1892. There should have been more on the other events of that era. The story about crimes should also be included, but not over-emphasized.
I once read that the Ferris Wheel was invented for this World's Fair. Larson fills in the details about this historic event. Larson mentions "strikers at coalfields and steel mills" but few other details. 1890 saw the last of the Indian Wars, the "Closing of the Frontiers", and other significant events in politics (tariffs and income tax). Is there any good popular history about the 1890s, or is that still too controversial? Larson describes H.H. Holmes: "handsome and clean and dressed well and spoke in fine sentences", "far too smooth and self-assured for a man of so few years". Was this too good to be true? Have you ever met anyone like this? Beware of any seemingly rich person who wants to borrow money from you or asks you for an investment. You will learn the meaning of a "Cleckley psychopath" or "moral imbecile", and the investigations of insurance companies.
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Highly Rated for History Fans
| Customer Rating: | | For this reviewer The Devil in the White City was a noteworthy reading experience. Like his other book Isaac's Storm I was exposed to events and experiences of America's history that were completely unknown to me. As a reader of history my goal is the acquisitions of new information and perspectives, which this book fulfilled. I found the details of the enormous construction project build with late 19th Century technology most noteworthy. I wish the published had included more photos and maps of the Fair. Be warned Mr. Larson covers many themes and issues, which he describes in great detail. This is not a book to blast through in an evening but one to read and reflect upon the rich lives and events described. I will admit that I found a few sections in need of a good editorial hand and the title seems to imply it is a novel but these are minor criticism and does not prevent me from recommending it to the Amazon community. |
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