Devil in the White City, The
Larson, ErikThe Chicago World's Fair of 1893 was one of the great wonders of the world. Woven together, is the story of the architect, Daniel H Burnham who created the incandescent "White City", and the serial killer, HH Holmes who murdered a number of those drawn to Chicago by the fair. Set against the technological marvels of a dream city, these two disparate yet driven men turned the Chicago World's Fair into their playground.
Comments from Groups
Great read. Cleverly put tale of two obsessions. Excellent discussion. Christchurch 064 We enjoyed this book. We found it deeply disturbing and fascinating at the same time. Queenstown 010 This marvellous book should be read by every book group. Read and be amazed. Whanganui 004 This is the best book we have read for quite some time. The whole group enjoyed it. Auckland 206 Fascinating read. Lots of good discussion. Morrinsville 001Greatly enjoyed by most of the group. It lead to excellent discussion. Auckland 060
Pages
495
495
Year
2003
2003
Reviews
18-09-2020
Interesting book!
18-09-2020
Mostly enjoyed it. We agreed that there are two stories - the fair and the murderer; the story about the fair was very interesting, the murderer rather gruesome. The juxtaposition made for a good read.
18-09-2020
Those who read it liked it, and liked the fact that it was based on a true story. Some found that creepy. Interesting history.
18-09-2020
The book appeared to miss the mark as either a work of fiction or as an embellished history. A little muddled with too much technical detail for laypeople, and possibly not enough for architects or engineers.
19-10-2018
Half the group enjoyed this book. Good discussion re murder!!!
19-10-2018
Fascinating book. Lots of factual information but very readable, if somewhat gruesome.
19-10-2018
We felt that it was really two stories that didn't have much of a connection. The writer doesn't give much insight into what motivated the doctor, or any idea of his psychology. Overall, an interesting read nevertheless.
19-10-2018
Great book. Good discussion.