The Devil in the White City
The Devil in the White City : Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
By Erik Larson
Fascinating account of the 1893 Columbian (as in Christopher Columbus) World's Fair set in Chicago. It's hard to comprehend how much was accomplished in such a short amount of time -- the entire fair was assembled in less than two years. Also incredible is how many things we take for granted that had their genesis at this fair, from the Ferris wheel to alternating current (electricity) to chewing gum -- not to mention how the fair set the tone for architectural design and labor relations for the next half-century.
The book does a great job of balancing the coverage of the fair with the disturbing tale of H. H. Holmes, "The Devil" in this story. While the two stories don't really have a whole lot to do with each other (except the locale and time period), the author weaves them together effectively.
Original entry from April 12:
Non-fiction that reads like fiction that juxtaposes a larger-than-life architect with a serial killer set in Chicago around the 1893 World's Fair. Since I know next to nothing about that time period in the city I call home, I'm really looking forward to reading this book.
Comments
Wow...Great book
Posted by: Kyle | January 8, 2006 02:42 PM