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A review by samarakroeger
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
My SIXTH Erik Larson book in the span of one month. Dear god.
Anyways, this is probably his most well-known book (and was the hardest to get ahold of on libby). The two narrative threads were both interesting (something that was lacking in his most similar book to this, Thunderstruck). I sometimes got lost in the sea of names (looking at you, architects), but it didn’t detract from the story. I honestly didn’t know much about the Chicago World’s Fair (or the murders). I would have liked to have known more about how the event changed America (it’s part of the title) and whether it inspired something similar in the future.
Anyways, this is probably his most well-known book (and was the hardest to get ahold of on libby). The two narrative threads were both interesting (something that was lacking in his most similar book to this, Thunderstruck). I sometimes got lost in the sea of names (looking at you, architects), but it didn’t detract from the story. I honestly didn’t know much about the Chicago World’s Fair (or the murders). I would have liked to have known more about how the event changed America (it’s part of the title) and whether it inspired something similar in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Trafficking, Violence, and Child death