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Devil in the White City : Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson (2003, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherCrown Publishing Group, T.H.E.
ISBN-100609608444
ISBN-139780609608449
eBay Product ID (ePID)2243368
Product Key Features
Book TitleDevil in the White City : Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Number of Pages464 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicMurder / General, United States / 19th Century, Murder / Serial Killers, Individual Architects & Firms / General, United States / State & Local / MidWest (IA, Il, in, Ks, Mi, MN, Mo, Nd, Ne, Oh, Sd, Wi), Sociology / Urban
Publication Year2003
IllustratorYes
GenreArchitecture, True Crime, Social Science, History
AuthorErik Larson
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.4 in
Item Weight24.1 Oz
Item Length9.5 in
Item Width6.4 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2002-154046
TitleLeadingThe
Reviews"Engrossing . . . exceedingly well documented . . . utterly fascinating." -- Chicago Tribune "A dynamic, enveloping book. . . . Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel. . . . It doesn't hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction." --The New York Times "So good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." -- Esquire "Another successful exploration of American history. . . . Larson skillfully balances the grisly details with the far-reaching implications of the World's Fair."-- USA Today "As absorbing a piece of popular history as one will ever hope to find."-- San Francisco Chronicle "Paints a dazzling picture of the Gilded Age and prefigure the American century to come."-- Entertainment Weekly "A wonderfully unexpected book. . . Larson is a historian . . . with a novelist's soul."-- Chicago Sun-Times, "Engrossing . . . exceedingly well documented . . . utterly fascinating." -- Chicago Tribune "A dynamic, enveloping book. . . . Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel. . . . It doesn't hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction." -- The New York Times "So good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." -- Esquire "Another successful exploration of American history. . . . Larson skillfully balances the grisly details with the far-reaching implications of the World's Fair." -- USA Today "As absorbing a piece of popular history as one will ever hope to find." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Paints a dazzling picture of the Gilded Age and prefigure the American century to come." -- Entertainment Weekly "A wonderfully unexpected book. . . Larson is a historian . . . with a novelist's soul." -- Chicago Sun-Times, "Engrossing . . . exceedingly well documented . . . utterly fascinating." -- Chicago Tribune "A dynamic, enveloping book. . . . Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel. . . . It doesn't hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction." -- The New York Times "So good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." -- Esquire "Another successful exploration of American history. . . . Larson skillfully balances the grisly details with the far-reaching implications of the World's Fair." -- USA Today "As absorbing a piece of popular history as one will ever hope to find." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Paint[s] a dazzling picture of the Gilded Age and prefigure[s] the American century to come." -- Entertainment Weekly "A wonderfully unexpected book. . . Larson is a historian . . . with a novelist's soul." -- Chicago Sun-Times
Dewey Edition22
Dewey Decimal364.1523092
SynopsisIn The Devil in the White City, the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before. Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds--a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake. The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both. To find out more about this book, go to http: //www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com., NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death. Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds--a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake. The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both., NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds--a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake. The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.
LC Classification NumberHV6248.M8L37 2003
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Ratings and Reviews
Most relevant reviews
- Jun 11, 2020
19 Century Horror That's Real, Not Fictional
Year of Our Lord 1893, a World's Fair in Chicago, a city almost fully recovered from the devastating fire of 1871. A dazzling spectacle in Jackson Park, the first Ferris Wheel, buildings and peoples of the world, tourists from everywhere...and an unspeakably evil Herman Webster Mudgett, AKA Dr. H.H Holmes, who meets young women, invites them to visit his home near the Fair, and murders them. I grew up in Chicago and I'd heard a few things about this man and his "murder castle" on 63rd Street west of Jackson Park, but this book fills in any and all details I never knew. Holmes was evil, a cold blooded serial killer, America's first, and his story is fascinating in the same way as looking a fatal car accident: I was revulsed by what he'd done, but it was horribly fascinating and I could not look away until I'd finished the book. This horror is not fictional, it's real and that's the most disturbing thing.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Nov 01, 2022
Outstanding Historical Nonfiction Serves as the Back Drop for one of America's Worst Criminals
This book is unlike any other book I have ever read because it incorporates a true crime story with the history about the end of the 19th century when there was a monumental world's fair in Chicago, Illinois. That 1893 world's fair introduced so many modern advances such as the ferris wheel, the use of alternating current for electricity, the creation of a modern theme park with white structures, the utilization of landscape architecture by Olmstead, the invention of the rocking chair, etc. This book is historically fascinating and uplifting while providing the back drop for one of America's worst criminals, who preyed on young women who attended that spectacular world's fair, many whom went missing forever. If you are looking for a riveting page turner, this is it!Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Jul 10, 2022
One of my favorite books
Probably the best of all Erik Larson's books. As fascinating as the H. H. Holmes story was, the planning and building of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair was even more compelling. I read this a few years ago and bought a hard cover copy so I can read it again.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Sep 13, 2018
Go Back in Time to America's First World's Fair
Spell-binding. Chock full of historical content. Brings the realities of 1890s Chicago to light. If you want to learn about the first U.S. city to host a World's Fair, and how it was accomplished, this is the book for you. Captivating!Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Jan 18, 2022
A fascinating snapshot of a bygone era.
A fascinating snapshot of a bygone era. Truly a time of titans undertaking things we will never see again. All counterbalanced by the "downside" of society, the problems of an overcrowded Chicago and two of its madmen.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Mar 16, 2021
1st worlds first fair 1983. had it long ago and enjoying it again.
best book ever and i read a lot.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Dec 08, 2020
good book
This book is one of my favorites. I owned it previously and lent it out and never got it back. I had to have a copy on hand .Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- May 13, 2018
Devil in the White City
Cant put this book down a great writer and will buy all his booksVerified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Oct 29, 2019
Great read
Enjoyed even more the second time.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- Dec 06, 2017
Awesome book! Spooky yet entertaining!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
