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Title: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
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Manufacturer: Vintage
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $4.98
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| Customer Reviews: |
| The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage Great book | | For history buffs and mystery afficienados this is a super book. It is a non fiction book about the Chicago World's fair and the serial killer who preyed on the citizens of Chicago. I found it extrememly interesting. | | The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage Amazing | I found "The Devil in the White City" to be a truly amazing book to read. I expected that the portion of the book dealing with the serial killer, H. H. Holmes, would have been fascinating, and that ended up being true. Reading about the diabolical operation of this man, who had no moral problem murdering women who loved him and small children who had done nothing to harm him, was shocking and kept me turning pages.
I was surprised to find, though, that the descriptions of the construction of the World's Fair were just as compelling and suspenseful. I was astounded at the obstacles Burnham and the other architects were faced with, and the ways in which they consistently were able to make unthinkable things happen in a nearly impossible timefame.
The research of this story was impressive, and I liked the details making clear the issues that would have faced the building industry at the time, things such as difficult access to clean water, that wouldn't be a thought in the minds of workers today.
The events and especially the names dropped into this story, from Helen Keller to Walt Disney to Mark Twain to Susan B. Anthony, made me feel this fair took place in a truly magical time for the United States. It was hard for me to put this book down, and the contrast between Holmes' story and Burnham's story made this tale both horrifying and uplifting. | | The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage An Entertaining, Informative and Disturbing Read | | Go back to the 1893 World's Fair that changed America. The Devil and the White City, a novel by Erik Larson, takes the reader back to the time of the World's Fair through the eyes of two remarkable men - Daniel H. Burnham and H.H. Holmes. Daniel H. Burnham was a brilliant architect who was forced to overcome many obstacles to construct the 1983 World's Fair. H.H. Holmes on the other hand was a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor while leading his victims to their death in his World's Fair Hotel, complete with a crematorium and a gas chamber. Erik Larson accomplishes what he set out to do, telling a tale with such drama and mystery that readers will find themselves double-checking to be sure they are not reading a highly imaginative novel. Although readers might find parts of Burnham's story slow at times or H.H. Holmes sinister activities grotesque, this can be easily overlooked by the vivid descriptions, great sentence flow, a nail-biting suspense story, and a terrific supporting cast that includes Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill and Susan B. Anthony. It is no surprise that Erik Larson was nominated for a National Book Award for The Devil in the White City. He is also a former features writer for Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine, where he is still a contributing writer. Larson has also taught non-fiction writing at various colleges and seminars and has spoken to audiences from coast to coast. The magical appeal and disturbing dark side of 19th century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's masterpiece. The enjoyment of this story is only heightened by the fact that the story is true. | | The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage History Comes Alive | | A fascinating journey behind the World's Columbian Exhibition in 1893. Even non-history buffs will be amazed by stories behind popular attractions like the ferris wheel, the "name-dropping" of everyday goods that were introduced to the world for the first time at the fair and the struggles of heroes like Daniel Burnham and the villainous H.H. Holmes. | | The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage The exposition and the serial killer. | This extremely well researched book deals with two parallel events in the history of Chicago. It provides a detailed description of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, introducing us to historical personages like Daniel Burnham (of Burnham Harbor) and Potter Palmer (of the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago) among others. We also learn how the world's first Ferris wheel was built for the exposition in the face of almost universal skepticism. Simultaneously the book tells the macabre story of H H Holmes, the pseudonym of Dr Herman Mudgett, a physician serial killer active during the same period. It is hard to know which is the more fascinating tale. Initially the exposition held my attention but at some point the finer details of its logistics began to drag.
Holmes appears to have been a charming conman but also an implacable killer who emotionally exploited, tortured, murdered and dismembered his mostly female and child victims. He had lengthy amorous relationships with many of the women, marrying some, before killing them. Erik Larson's portrait reveals no shred of humanity and one is frustrated by his victims' inability to see through him. One tends to regard serial killers as a modern phenomenon, but obviously that is not so. Holmes lived an ordinary urban middle-class existence in Chicago over a hundred years ago. In this contemplation on the nature of evil one sees the truth of Shakespeare when he wrote "... a villain with a smiling cheek... Oh what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"
On the whole this is an absorbing period novel particularly recommended for those with an interest in the history of Chicago. | | The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage Product Description | | Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction. | | The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Vintage Amazon.com | | Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. --John Moe |
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