The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson on February 10, 2004
Genres: History / United States / 19th Century, Social Science / Sociology / Urban, True Crime / Murder / Serial Killers
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
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I didn’t know what to expect when going into this one and I think that is the best way. This is a non-fiction about the World’s Fair in Chicago and the infamous serial killer, HH Holmes.
This was packed full in information I never knew about and I thought was very interesting. The World Fair brought us the Farris Wheel, shredded wheat, 8 hour work days, the zipper, Columbus Day, and possibly Walt Disney World was inspired by the World Fair. (and so much more I can’t even remember right now) You also get to hear about interesting buildings and how they came about. (ex…The Flatiron building in New York, The Rookery in Chicago, and we also find out that the Eiffel Tower was what the World Fair was competing with in terms of a great design.)
Daniel Burnham, the self-made architect, assembled a team of the best American architects of the day for the task of crafting a World’s Fair in Chicago that would be even more exquisite than the one held in Paris years earlier. (hence competing with the Eiffel Tower) His team was allowed 24 months to complete the job.
All the while the World Fair progress was taking place, HH Holmes, the pharmacist serial killer was building his crazy hotel. His hotel was nice on the outside, but from the inside there were hallways that lead nowhere, the smell of gas lingering in the air, a walk-in vault that he had for sinister reasons, and kiln in the basement big enough for bodies. It was often referred to as the murder castle. It was rumored that he killed at least 27 women who were new to the area, but he was so charming that no one suspected him.
This book went back and forth from the building of the World Fair to HH Holmes and I just couldn’t stop turning the pages. Non-fiction isn’t my typical genre, but this one almost felt like fiction for how crazy it was. Erik Larson has a way to draw you in with interesting facts while telling a haunting story. If you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend. I only wished for more pictures in the book because I was googling like crazy to see these sites that were talked about.
