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

Posted on by

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.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 chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the 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 book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before. Best Read eBook The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America By Erik Larson – kino-fada.fr This book is two, two, two books in one Sorry, that was annoying But it s almost as if Erik Larson wrote two really short books one about the 1893 World s Columbian Exposition and another about the murder spree of Dr H H Holmes and then shoved them together to create a single story The result isn t bad, and I think Larson is successful at maintaining clean seams between the two narratives, but it s hard to argue these two occurrences are anything but abstractedly related Yes, Holmes lived This book is two, two, two books in one Sorry, that was annoying But it s almost as if Erik Larson wrote two really short books one about the 1893 World s Columbian Exposition and another about the murder spree of Dr H H Holmes and then shoved them together to create a single story The result isn t ...Poor Erik Larson.He wanted to write an extensive, in depth look at the 1893 World s Fair, which was a collaboration of some of the greatest creative minds in the country including the guy who designed the Flatiron building in New York and Walt Disney s dad and gave us, among other things, the Ferris Wheel, the zipper, shredded wheat, and Columbus Day The entire venture was almost a disaster, with delays, petty fighting, bad weather, anddelays, but it was ultimately a massive success and Poor Erik Larson.He wanted to write an extensive, in depth look at the 1893 World s Fair, which was a collaboration of some of the greatest creative minds in the country including the guy who designed the Flatiron buildin...Overwhelmingly underwhelming 1893 was a year to remember the World s Fair came to Chicago and H H Holmes one of America s most famous serial killers took full advantage He stalked the streets and murdered whomever he pleased.I really liked the idea of this one to take one of America s greatest triumphs and splicing his story along with one of the greatest horrors However There s too high of a disconnect between these two sides This reads like two separate books thrown together at Overwhelmingly underwhelming 1893 was a year to remember the World s Fair came to Chicago and H H Holmes one of America s most famous serial killers took full advantage He stalked the streets and murdered whomever he pleased.I really liked the idea of this one to t...Humour me and please allow the channeling an eighth grader for just a moment OMG Squeee 1 Teh best Would an eighth grader say teh best And now we return you to our regularly scheduled review.I m not a huge fan of non fiction Scratch that I m a huge fan of non fiction, but not so huge a fan of reading non fiction While I appreciate learning and broadening my understanding of the world around and as it once was, I find myself pretty quickly distracted from whatever non fictional work I Humour me and please allow the channeling an eighth grader for just a moment OMG Squeee 1 Teh best Would an eighth grader say teh best And now we return you to our regularly scheduled review.I m not ...So, no offense to those that liked this book, but I m throwing in the towel after 75 pages It s just not holding my interest Part of the reason for this is that Larson s writing style is way too speculative for my taste in non fiction I just finished reading the Path Between Seas by David McCullough, and he does such an amazing job of making complicated, historical events interesting, without fabricating scenes that could have happened Even that wouldn t have bothered me that much if So, no offense to those that liked this book, but I m throwing in the towel after 75 pages It s just not holding my interest Part of the reason for this is that Larson s writing style is way too speculative for my taste in non fiction I just finished reading the Path Between Seas by David McCullough, and he does such an amazing job of making complicated, historical events interesting, without fabricating scenes that could have happened Even that wouldn t have bothered me that much if Larson had said...The White City rises above the lake like a fantasy from another time that never existed but the eyes do not deceive this image is real, bright lights glow at night and millions of respectful , quiet, mesmerized people look and walk by, the moon shines and reflects on the gigantic white buildings and glittering waters, magic drapes allThe Chicago World s Fair of 1893 arguably the greatest one in history, the citizens of this metropolis the second city of the nation need to show everyone that The White City rises above the lake like a fantasy from another time that never existed but the eyes do not deceive this image is real, bright lights glow at night and millions of respectful , quiet, mesmerized people look and walk by, the moon shines and reflects on the gigantic white buildings and glittering waters, magic drapes allThe Chicago World s Fair of 1893 arguably the greatest one in history, the citizens of this metropolis the second city of the nation need to show everyone that they arethan hog killers, with speeding trains and prosperous businessmen , this is a sophisticated town particularly to arch rival New York In a short while after winning the contest to hold this extravaganza beating St Louis, Washington and the big enemy New York City for the honor from Congress the next step yes committees , Americans love them they multiply like rabbits but get in the way of progress At long last emerging from countless delays, officially named the World s Columbian Expos...For me, reviewing this book is similar to trying to review any Nicolas Cage movie from the past 20 years, in that if I was asked if Cage s over the top performance was the best thing or the worst thing about the movie, I could only answer Yes Pictured one of Nicolas Cage ssubdued performances Not pictured sanity If you were to ask me my favorite thing about this book, I would immediately answer, Erik Larson s writing style This book is mostly talked about for the portions For me, reviewing this book is similar to trying to review any Nicolas Cage movie from the past 20 years, in that if I was asked if Cage s over the top performance was the best thing or the worst thing about the movie, I could only answer Yes Pictured one of Nicolas Cage ssubdued performances Not pictured sanity If you were to ask me my favorite thing about this book, I would immediately answer, Erik Larson s writing style This book is mostly talked about for the portions pertaining to one of America s first serial killers, Dr H H Holmes In fact, when the green...A fascinating book and an easy read Chapter by chapter, in simple chronological order, the author juxtaposes preparations for the 1893 Chicago World s Fair with the doings of one of the country s first serial murders From the Fair s chapters we learned how Chicago s boosterism won it the fair from other competitors including Washington and New York Construction was last minute and in panic mode, but it got done There s a lot about Frederick Law Olmstead who was in charge of park design but A fascinating book and an easy read Chapter by chapter, in simple chronological order, the author juxtaposes preparations for the 1893 Chicago World s Fair with the doings of one of the country s first serial murders From the Fair s chapters we learned how Chicago s boosterism won it the fair from other competitors including Washington and New York Construction was last minute and in panic mode, but it got done There s a lot about Frederick Law Olmstead who was in charge of park design but he was elderly, in poor health, and struggling to stay on top of the project A lot of the focus is on the lead architect and fair planner, Daniel Burnham, and construction of the White City, as the classical buildings came to be known The serial killer was H H Holmes, a pharmacist who capitalized on the World s Fair by building a hotel It had special rooms in the basement to kill his victims and dispose of their bodies in a gas oven Mostly his victims...Larson could be the worst nonfiction writer working in America today When he notes that Frederick Law Olmsted was no literary stylist Sentences wandered through the report like morning glory through the pickets of a fence he might as well be describing himself It s painful to make your way through his books The melodrama is over the top He ll go on for several pages about some unnamed person, attempting to heighten the mystery, and anyone who graduated second grade will quickly Larson could be the worst nonfiction writer working in America today When he notes that Frederick Law Olmsted was no literary stylist Sentences wandered through the report like morning glory through the pickets of a fence he might as well be describing himself It s painful to make your way through his books The melodrama is over the top He ll go on for several pages about some unnamed person, attempting to heighten the mystery, and anyone who graduated second grade will quickly realize he s talking about the inventor of the Ferris Wheel But only several chapters later in the manner of Nancy Drew abruptly tumbling to the bottom of a dark well he ll have the mystery man dramatically sign his name to a letter George Washington Gale Ferris George Washington Gale Ferris I did not see that coming.His narrative is peppered with the most insignificant, totally unrelated factoids,...in 1893, chicago took the world by storm when it hosted the world fair and created the marvel that wasthe white cityand 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 in 1893, chicago took the world by storm when it hosted the world fair and created the marvel that wasthe white cityand 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 an...

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
  • English
  • 12 December 2018
  • Audio Cassette
  • 447 pages
  • 0739303406
  • Erik Larson
  • The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America