Customer Reviews
this is not a novel - By: crausaz, 17 Oct 2008 
This is a great book, but pay attention that this is not a novel or a fiction.
As gripping and engrossing as a fictional thriller, but sadly true... - By: C. Ball, 21 Sep 2008 
I really loved the way this book was written, almost as a novel rather than a history book. It was so engrossing & readable, much more so than if this had been written as a purely factual tome. I liked the way each chapter switched between Burnham & the building of the World's Fair & Holmes & his murders, & I liked how the two were contrasted with one another. Combining the two made this book so much more interesting than if it just been a straight history of one or the other. I'd highly recommend it, even if you're not interestedin historical serial killers or the Gilded Agein America.
Utterly gripipng - By: Iain McCallum, 19 Dec 2007 Having spent the summer with my head deepin a book almost every day, I was expecting nothing out of the ordinary when I picked up this one, my first encounter with Erik Larson.
After the first two chapters, I was gripped & taken back to the late 1800sin Chicago with the World Fair & one of the USs most prolific mass murderers, Holmes.
Larson has a knack & writing style that means you cannot put his books down after a page, or indeed a chapter, & you'll find yourself engrossed until you reach the end, & then left gasping for more.
For anyone who has an interestin history, America, murderers or just a refreshingly good read, then you need to callin sick for a day & pick this one up.
The only downside is that you'll find yourself back on Amazon ordering Larsons remaining titles which are equally engrossing & just as hard to put down.
A story about great architects (and project management for dummies) - By: Stijn Kelchtermans, 23 Oct 2007 The book tells the story behind the World Fairin Chicagoin 1893. It alternates between two story lines: the one of the serial killer Holmes, & the one of the organizers of the fair with the architect Daniel Burnham as the protagonist. It is very well researched - see the impressive list of references at the back - which was a major attraction point for me. The author even clarifies which of the (few) elementsin the story were unverifiable & thus pure fiction. Scientists will love this. The underlying research never getsin the way of the story though (hooray).
I was captivated by the look behind the scenes: how the Chicago won the organization of the fair, the subsequent delaysin setting up an organizing team & the disasters during the building of the Fair's buildings & exhibitions. It shows how even those to be considered the bestin their field don't realize major achievements without their deal of stress & problem solving (and being extremely pragmatic when deadlines come close). In fact, this book is a must-read for project managers & entrepreneurs alike.
As far as the killings of Dr. Holmes are concerned, a Belgian cannot help but see the striking parallels with the Dutroux case about 100 years later, such as building a house specifically designed to kill unnoticedly (remember Dutroux' cellar where he hid the little girls). Also the debate on the faulty functioning of the police forcein the aftermath of the killings bears a close resemblance to the Belgian case. Some things never change.
If you're interestedin Chicago, architecture & want to read an upbeat story on how sound ambition leads to landmark achievements (& how it doesn't come easy), read this book.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too - By: TeensReadToo.com, 13 Aug 2007 In 1893, Chicago was gearing up for its shining moment on the international stage. The city had been selected to host the World's Fair, beating out New York & a number of other American contenders. A prominent local architect, Daniel Burnham, had taken the reins to organize & construct the massive project. He assembled a dream team of architects, landscapers, engineers, & other professionals to help pull the fair together. Certainly Chicago could outdo the Paris Fair, which had been a worldwide success years earlier.
Unfortunately for Burnham & his team, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Due to a lack of organization & bickering among the committees responsible for the fair, construction began far later than it should have. Partially completed buildings blew over & burned down. Union workers threatened strikes. One sideshow act showed up a year early, while another (which was believed to be made up of cannibals) killed the man sent to retrieve them & never showed up at all. And there was a monster on the loose. A man who used the chaos of Chicago at this timein history to conceal the murders of dozens of people - many of them young, single women. A man who constructed a building with stolen money, then used the building as a slaughterhouse to lure, kill, & dispose of his victims.
THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY is a terrific book. It is nonfiction, but it reads like a novel. The real-life details of this story seem almost too bizarre to be true, yet this is one example of the old saying that "truth is stranger than fiction." The author, Erik Larson, even includes a lengthy section at the back where he documents his facts & explains his suppositions.
The book's chapters alternate between the World's Fair & the exploits of serial killer, Dr. H.H. Holmes. I found myself enjoying both stories, as they ran parallel throughout the book. The Herculean task of putting together the fairin record time was fascinating, & the sociopathic actions of Dr. Holmes were chilling. It made for a brilliant contrast - just when the frustrations of the Fair seemed overwhelming, the book switched to Dr. Holmes as he lured yet another young woman into his web. And just when Dr. Holmes' evil seemed too much to bear, the chapter would end & the reader would be back at the World's Fair dealing with political back stabbing, instead of Holmes' more literal variety.
I rarely read nonfiction, but this book came highly recommended to me, so I gave it a try. I'm so glad I did, too. It offers a wonderful historical perspective on Chicago & the world near the close of the 19th century. For a Chicago-area native like me, its frequent mentions of famous local names, like Burnham & Adler & Marshall Field, that still grace street signs & the sides of buildings, were an added treat. Just a brief word of warning, though: it does contain some of the dreaded "adult themes." Some of Dr. Holmes' crimes are described - although not too graphically - & they might be upsetting for "younger or more sensitive" readers.
I strongly recommend THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY to anyone who enjoys an engrossing, well-written story, whether they normally read fiction or nonfiction. In particular, if readers have a book reportin school, this book should be considered. It makes history come alive.
Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan
