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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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The Chicago World's Fair Era
This book is about two subjects: the 1892 Chicago World's Fair, and the murderer who killed scores of young women while operating a rooming house. [What a combination!] There is no Index, the Bibliography lists many old books that few can easily reference. I wonder how many readers know anything about the 1890s? They were not "The Good Old Days"; they had the worst depression of the 19th century. The first error is "a young woman named Borden killed her parents". Surely not the exonerated Lizzie? Larson describes colorful events, and shows his skill in creating a popular history. You will learn how they were able to build skyscrapers on the gumbo of Chicago soil. This non-fiction book lacks any photographs of the people and places described there!
Either the 1893 Columbian Exposition or the career of Herman Webster Mudgett would make an interesting book. Combining the two stories could create a wider audience, or, hinder a person without any interest in one of these stories. Both stories coincided, but there must have been other events at that time that were more appropriate for this book. There was a lot of things happening politically and economically, but its mostly been censored. Some true crime stories tell a lot about the era, like Curt Gentry's "Frame-Up". Linking a serial killer with this World's Fair is certainly unusual.
Is this book padded out with inconsequential details, like the hiring of Frederick Law Olmsted? The running together of many separate lives only to bring them together is found in fiction. I think true crime should proceed more linearly. The chapters are not listed in the `Contents'. I was happy to read about the otherwise forgotten Daniel H. Burnham and his life, and the Chicago World's Fair of 1892. There should have been more on the other events of that era. The story about crimes should also be included, but not over-emphasized.
I once read that the Ferris Wheel was invented for this World's Fair. Larson fills in the details about this historic event. Larson mentions "strikers at coalfields and steel mills" but few other details. 1890 saw the last of the Indian Wars, the "Closing of the Frontiers", and other significant events in politics (tariffs and income tax). Is there any good popular history about the 1890s, or is that still too controversial? Larson describes H.H. Holmes: "handsome and clean and dressed well and spoke in fine sentences", "far too smooth and self-assured for a man of so few years". Was this too good to be true? Have you ever met anyone like this? Beware of any seemingly rich person who wants to borrow money from you or asks you for an investment. You will learn the meaning of a "Cleckley psychopath" or "moral imbecile", and the investigations of insurance companies.
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Highly Rated for History Fans
For this reviewer The Devil in the White City was a noteworthy reading experience. Like his other book Isaac's Storm I was exposed to events and experiences of America's history that were completely unknown to me. As a reader of history my goal is the acquisitions of new information and perspectives, which this book fulfilled. I found the details of the enormous construction project build with late 19th Century technology most noteworthy. I wish the published had included more photos and maps of the Fair. Be warned Mr. Larson covers many themes and issues, which he describes in great detail. This is not a book to blast through in an evening but one to read and reflect upon the rich lives and events described. I will admit that I found a few sections in need of a good editorial hand and the title seems to imply it is a novel but these are minor criticism and does not prevent me from recommending it to the Amazon community.
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A bit tedious at times, but worth a read - esp if you like architectural history
It took me 2 weeks to get through this book. Mainly because it's been crazy in my life lately, but also because this is, in some ways, a dry book. I was fascinated by the architecture and building practices of the time. The history of foundations in the Chicago area, the time/effort/labor it took, all that stuff interested me. BUT it did seem to drag on and on at times. The Holmes connection wasn't really connected, it happened at the same time and I think the fair only allowed him to get away with it because of the large number of people and craziness that went down around there. I wish we had heard more of the Holmes story and a little less of the fair. They were inter-woven, yes, but I think they deserved equal time.
Having said that, it is a good book, a bit tedious, definitely not a beach read. It did make me go look up more information and pictures about the fair. I always knew we had one there back then, but I didn't really know much about it. The whole project seems huge and frankly, amazing, for the time. Impressive.
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Time machine
This book makes me wish I had a time machine to go back and see the White City in person. I work in downtown Chicago and I walk by many of the buildings described in the book every day. I find it fascinating to think of what Chicago must have been like in 1893. Of course the story of HH Holmes is also fascinating and frightening. It makes me think that people were more trusting and naive back then as well.
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White City is great, but the Murder distracts
Many parts of this book are very absorbing: how the US wants to host the 1893 World Exhibition to demonstrate its progress; how, within the US, upstart Chicago gets the Exhibition, triumphing over New York. Chicago is sketched vividly, as a place developing breathlessly, filled with slaughterhouses, meatpacking, the introduction of electric lighting, the whirlwind urbanization.
And then, the Exhibition had its cast of characters, including Olmsted, the man who designed Central Park. All of them puzzled how to equal and even beat Paris (which had crowned its 1889 Exhibition by setting up the Eiffel Tower). They ran into challenges, from internal committees to major storms, all in the backdrop to a major financial crisis. Eventually, against these odds, the Exhibition became an extraordinary success. Its story is extremely readable, and the writing flows with ease. Even the writing about architecture remains engaging, opening up the spaces, creating a strong sense of place.
The part that I liked less was the introduction of a psychopath serial killer. The story of this man is meant to balance out the magical White City, but while I can see how it was tempting for the writer, for me it just didn't work. The murders, described in some detail, add unnecessary salaciousness, and while the writing here is smooth, it simply is the wrong track.
Towards the end, the book feels like it is getting into its own hurry. The different storylines never converge, nor does the author step back to put them into a reflective perspective. If the book had had more confidence in its main subject, focusing primarily on the Exhibition I would be more inclined to fully recommend it. For these passages, it's worth reading it, but the remainder is a bit of a distraction.
