Title of the Book: The Devil in the White CityNumber of Pages: 447
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Review:
Erik Larson, the author of The Devil in the White City tells of the sinister events surrounding the creation of the Chicago World Fair. I doing so Larson focuses on two men in particular. The architect that designed as well as oversaw the construction, Daniel Burnham, and the mass murderer H.H. Holmes. The book goes back and forth between the two men. Burnham faced with the many different challenges that came with the construction of this “White City.” And Holmes who used this City, as well as his own charm in order to lure in his victims.
The Devil in the White City, shows the constant battles between good and evil. The way that Larson wrote the book, allows the reader to truly compare the two characters Holmes and Burnham without his own personal bias involved. Even the time period seems appropriate for the story. A time when crime and unemployment was at an all time high in Chicago. Larson is able to use this to his advantage, which only makes the story more eerie. Larson begins by describing a beautiful magical place, where people would go in there best clothes. From there the tone of the novel slowly becomes more and more grisly. Larson proceeds to tell of the horrors that truly went into the construction of this “White City.” As well as the horrifyingly crafty way that Holmes was able to use these situations to his advantage in order to satisfy his murderous needs.
There is no speculation why this book won the Edgar Award for for Best Fact Crime. To anyone interested in any type of thriller is guaranteed to enjoy this book. The fact that this is no fiction novel only amplifies the intensity of the book. Larson has a 28 pages at the end of the book of sources. This shows just how much research really went into the book before it was even written. Even to those who are not interested in the history part, it is sure to be a good read, as well as send a chill down any readers spine.
Wow! I had never heard of The Devil in the White City before but it sounds very captivating. After reading your review I definitely want to read this book. I recently read Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard and it sounds very similar. Destiny of the Republic is the story of the assassination of President Garfield and the author switches between the story of Garfield, his murderer, and Alexander Gram Bell. Your review made the connection to this book for me, and because I enjoyed Destiny of the Republic I think that you should think about reading it, and I am going to read The devil in the white city. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI’ve read parts of this book before, and I was so much more interested in H. H. Holmes’ perspective than anyone else’s. I found that the world fair building was so drawn out, boring, and honestly tasteless. I’m sure it’s very historically accurate and great for someone interested in architecture or history but it really didn’t interest me. I’m curious as to why you thought it was so interesting—be it the history, the crime, or something else.
ReplyDeleteThis book seems like it was very interesting to read about the constant battles between good and evil.
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