Review: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book is the compelling, true tale of two men, one epitomizing light and the other darkness, set against the backdrop of the World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago, Ill. While Daniel Hudson Burnham is busy building and overseeing the Fair itself (nick-named the "White City" because all the buildings were white), H. H. Holmes, a charming young doctor and serial killer, is murdering people in a hotel he built for that very purpose within walking distance of the fair.

The book is rich with historical detail and a great primer on life in America at the turn of the 19th century. The story crosses paths with Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney's father (who helped build the fair), Archduke Ferdinand, Buffalo Bill, Susan B. Anthony, Samuel Gompers and a host of other luminaries. Larson also points out that shredded wheat, Juicy Fruit gum, incandescent lighting, AC current and the Ferris Wheel were introduced at the fair. The book is filled with contrasts; light and darkness, old and new, hope and despair. Devil in the White City is also filled with deadline drama: Will the fair be ready to open when promised? Will the people come once it's built? Who will be murdered next? Etc...

I enjoyed the book, though I must admit I got a bit bogged down in the middle. I also found the book just a tad depressing (aren't many true stories that way?). Death, figuratively and literally, abounds in the story, and then there is the shaky rise and sudden fall of the fair itself. In many ways reading this book felt like a twilight stroll through a cemetery - something I enjoy at times, and can't stand at others. I gave the book 2 1/2 stars.