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9.33k reviews for:
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Erik Larson
3.87 AVERAGE
9.33k reviews for:
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Erik Larson
3.87 AVERAGE
3.5 (maybe 4) stars out of 5
A good read, but tried to tie too many kind-of-related histories into one book.
~~~
While I enjoyed the story and learning more about the fair and H.H. Holmes, I found the book to be all over the place.
Between a story line about Prenderghast, another about the Fair, and still third about Holmes, there was just too much going on, especially since Holmes' murders aren't directly related to the fair (other than his use of his hotel during the Fair season as a potential way of securing new victims), and Prenderghast was not really linked to the fair at all.
I think I would have appreciated the novel far more if it were more focused, either on the Fair or Holmes, rather than attempting to mingle two stories into one narrative.
A good read, but tried to tie too many kind-of-related histories into one book.
~~~
While I enjoyed the story and learning more about the fair and H.H. Holmes, I found the book to be all over the place.
Between a story line about Prenderghast, another about the Fair, and still third about Holmes, there was just too much going on, especially since Holmes' murders aren't directly related to the fair (other than his use of his hotel during the Fair season as a potential way of securing new victims), and Prenderghast was not really linked to the fair at all.
I think I would have appreciated the novel far more if it were more focused, either on the Fair or Holmes, rather than attempting to mingle two stories into one narrative.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
took a while to get into but then rlly enjoyed. I knew nothing about this and it’s crazy how many things it influenced
All I can say about this book is I'm jealous for people who get to read this for the first time! Absolutely amazing!
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
Big big fan of history, less of the way most writers talk about serial killers.
I thought this was fairly interesting and well-written. A story centered around the Chicago World's Fair at the turn of the century, as well as the confluence of events that birthed one of the most prolific serial killers in the United States. I did enjoy learning about the trials and tribulations that went into proposing, planning, and executing the Fair however, I do felt like that section was a little over-long in terms of the whole context of the book. I was really much more interested in the story that followed H.H. Holmes—in many ways as much a con man as he was a "self-made" man, a serial killing entrepreneur. The murder hotel was such a fascinating subject that didn't get enough time compared with, for example, the building of the first Ferris Wheel.
In the end, I feel like the Chicago World's Fair and the H.H. Holmes murders felt coincidental, which Larson could have tied together more thoroughly—and while I'm sure Holmes would have kept murdering without the boon of the Fair granting him a plethora of victims, explaining exactly the difficulty of tracing disappearances, the of finding evidence, etc. would have gone a longer way than some of the chapters purely about the architectural issues of the Fair. It would also have been more interesting to see how sensationalized this case was during the time, with a more thorough account of how the trial proceeded, including Holmes' possession defense.
Would definitely be interested in reading more from Larson in the future.
In the end, I feel like the Chicago World's Fair and the H.H. Holmes murders felt coincidental, which Larson could have tied together more thoroughly—and while I'm sure Holmes would have kept murdering without the boon of the Fair granting him a plethora of victims, explaining exactly the difficulty of tracing disappearances, the of finding evidence, etc. would have gone a longer way than some of the chapters purely about the architectural issues of the Fair. It would also have been more interesting to see how sensationalized this case was during the time, with a more thorough account of how the trial proceeded, including Holmes' possession defense.
Would definitely be interested in reading more from Larson in the future.