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

4.0

Larson's switch from Holme's sinister life to Burningham's desperate hope to build the World Fair realistically immerses you in the Gilded Age, with all its flaws and beauties. Stomach-churning and tragic descriptions of Home's victims are settled nicely between the connections between people made in the construction and during the World Fair. I have laughed and I have gotten teary-eyed over images of architecture, something I didn't think I would care about at all. This may not be a strictly unbiased historical retelling, with Larson occasionally inputting his own opinions that I'm not sure were necessary, but I feel like that added to the wonder of the book. It reads like fiction, which makes it all the more impactful each time you are reminded that yes, this did happen.