Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

18 reviews

camilleion's review against another edition

informative inspiring slow-paced

4.0

90% architectural history, 10% true crime.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, and Abandonment

suzquinn97's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abortion

wheelygoodreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

1.75

I almost put this book down multiple times, as it's very slow to get going, and even then only half of the story, the serial killer portion, was really keeping me engaged. 

Many parts seemed to drag on, no helped by the formatting—this book really could have used shorter chapters, rather than longer sections. Getting through this felt like work.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

headachesince03's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

askxtine's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Very enjoyable non-fiction book! I liked how it bounced from the architects to Holmes. Those under watchful eyes and those operating in private. I also learned a lot about the Fair, America, etc. Lots of moments of surprise. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Racism

reddeddy's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

The literary descriptions and firsthand accounts of the fair, and the effort and love put into it's design and creation made me wish I could have attended. The detailed descriptions of Holmes' murders and his disarmingly charming personality made me glad that I was born over a full century after 1893. I like greatly enjoyed The Devil in the White City, the second half was a far easier read than the first. I'm not sure if I've retained as much of the information about the fair's designers and the events that took place while it was open as I wanted to. While interesting, the section about the initial design process and the political lobbying that took place in order to get the fair to occur in Chicago read similarly to a textbook, in stark contrast with the narrative way the rest of the history was told. Overall, an informative and interesting read. I would use enjoyable to describe the writing, but not the content.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Xenophobia

lyssierose09's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury