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Devil in the White City, The

Devil in the White City, The

Larson, Erik
USA Non fiction Historical True Crime Blind Low Vision library

  9 Reviews

The 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 001

Greatly enjoyed by most of the group. It lead to excellent discussion. Auckland 060

Pages
495
Year
2003

Reviews

STEW 001
11-03-2024
Generally interesting; provided good insight into the development of American society at that time. Good characterisation of historical figures. Not as well written as Larson's more recent books.
WELL 060
18-09-2020
Interesting book!
NORTH 002
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.
CHCH 253
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.
GREYT 004
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.
MTCOOK 001
19-10-2018
Half the group enjoyed this book. Good discussion re murder!!!
DUNED 062
19-10-2018
Fascinating book. Lots of factual information but very readable, if somewhat gruesome.
WELL 071
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.
CHCH 185
19-10-2018
Great book. Good discussion.