The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
by Erik Larson
List Price:
Our Price: $5.98
You Save: $8.97 (60%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.11 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Erik LarsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-02-10
ISBN: 0375725601
Number of pages: 447
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Book Review: Good Read
Summary: 4 Stars
It must be tough balancing historical fact with historical fiction. White City does a nice balancing act. Always interesting even when the author delves into a guessing game at what someone was thinking or feeling. Very enjoyable read.
More The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Summary of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. --John Moe
General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in 2009 Books I've Read
A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early Americaby Tony Horwitz
Picador; Published: 2009-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.81
Price in other shops:
Into the Heart of Borneoby Redmond O'Hanlon
Vintage; Published: 1987-09-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
The Boilerplate Rhino: Nature in the Eye of the Beholderby David Quammen
Scribner; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
A Day at El Bulliby Ferran Adria, Juli Soler, Albert Adria
Phaidon Press Inc.; Published: 2008-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $31.59
Price in other shops:
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007Mariner Books; Published: 2007-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.79
Price in other shops:
The Last Days of the Incasby Kim MacQuarrie
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-06-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.68
Price in other shops:
Why Evolution Is Trueby Jerry A. Coyne
Viking Adult; Published: 2009-01-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.04
Price in other shops:
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetownby Paul Theroux
Mariner Books; Published: 2004-04-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.39
Price in other shops:
The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinctionby Gerald Durrell
Touchstone; Published: 1994-07-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Revolutionary Road (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Vintage Contemporaries)by Richard Yates
Vintage; Published: 2008-11-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.22
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Doddby Jim Fergus
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1999-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.05
Price in other shops:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novelby Lisa See
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2006-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novelby Diane Setterfield
Washington Square Press; Published: 2007-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.21
Price in other shops:
The Book Thiefby Markus Zusak
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2007-09-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.22
Price in other shops:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Societyby Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
The Dial Press; Published: 2008-07-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.50
Price in other shops:
Loving Frank: A Novelby Nancy Horan
Ballantine Books; Published: 2008-04-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.71
Price in other shops:
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soulby Karen Abbott
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2008-06-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.72
Price in other shops:
The Chicago World's Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record (Dover Architectural Series)Dover Publications; Published: 1980-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in Historyby Erik Larson
Vintage; Published: 2000-07-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.16
Price in other shops:
Thunderstruckby Erik Larson
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2007-09-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.62
Price in other shops: