A review by bookish_brain1
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

3.0

Who doesn't want a little murder, magic, and madness in their life? I also got to attend a zoom book club meeting with the author, and it was fantastic. He is definitely one of my favorite nonfiction writers, and I'll read anything he writes. This is the story about the great Chicago world's fair of 1893 and the events that surrounded it. Its official name was the World's Columbian Exposition and its original purpose was to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's "discovery" of America. The architects involved in its design and construction elevated this fair to something magical and miraculous which became known as the White City. It only lasted 6 months yet recorded over 27.5 million visitors (the population of the U.S. at the time was only 65 million). Cracker Jack was a new snack, Shredded Wheat a new breakfast choice, and the Ferris Wheel was invented. Involved in the project or visitors to the fair were names like Buffalo Bill, Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Clarence Darrow, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Nikola Tesla, and Marshall Field. Frank Lloyd Wright was a junior architect that was later fired. Oh and also, a serial killer built a murder hotel near the fair and took advantage of the influx of visitors, especially female visitors. It was not quite a 4-star read for me, it was a bit slow at times and the minutiae of some details were less riveting than others. I can't wait to visit Chicago again now that I've read this history. There are some that even believe that Holmes (the serial killer) was also Jack the Ripper, but Larson doesn't believe so. It is an interesting theory though. If nonfiction is your thing, you really can't go wrong with Larson.