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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
Very uninteresting book. The connection between the serial killer and the world Fair is forced.
If you can get past the author trying to impress you with all of his big words, this is a great book. But aside from that, Larson does a great job bringing America's first serial killer, H. H. Holmes, and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition to life. It's obvious Larson did a fair amount of research about both topics and then turned that research into a vivid account of events in Chicago in the 1890s. If you're like me and have never heard of H. H. Holmes, I think you will enjoy this book.
Bits about the rise of the fair were extremely interesting. However, if would be better served as a separate story with much more picture accompaniment. The Holmes side waxes and wanes with interest, leaving me half in disbelief people could be THIS blind to such obvious warnings.
Overall, I started out with good steam and by a third of the way in had lost the desire to read...anything. That's how bored I was with this book. Skip to the end and get the pay off.
Overall, I started out with good steam and by a third of the way in had lost the desire to read...anything. That's how bored I was with this book. Skip to the end and get the pay off.
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
I had mixed feeling while reading this book. It seemed like the author was writing two books. One was a historical book about the Chicago World's Fair and another was a true crime book about the serial killer Henry H. Holmes. I found the book to be slow and there was a lot of extra information that did not move the story along. The author did a lot of research and wanted to include it all. Overall I was disappointed.
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
dark
medium-paced
The book is not the most exciting, but the detail provided pulls you into the environment. I cringed at times and I laughed at others. I was worried along with the people in the narrative. It was very interesting to read about all htese different events and tragedies. The morbidly dark account of H. H. Holmes helped me become more invested in the book. I was chilled.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Honestly, the two main perspectives of the book (Burnham and Holmes) could have been written into two separate books. Each part of the story is interesting, however, they don't merge very cohesively other than taking place at the same time. Also, the way Larson writes about Holmes' victims (especially women) is a bit deluded. Although nobody can be 100% sure, I am willing to bet that not every young woman immediately fell in love with Holmes and fell prey to his "charms". Maybe some of them just needed a place to stay during the World's Fair (what a crazy thought). Also if you are from Illinois, you might be inclined to think (as I was) that this is a book about Chicago/Illinois written by someone who is clearly not from Chicago (whether that is good or bad is up to you). However, learning about the different inventions and effects of the fair was cool, so if you are looking for a lesson on the immense effort put into the fair, you will probably enjoy this book.