Reviews tagging 'Violence'

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

54 reviews

oceanwriter's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

Though this book has caught my eye in bookstores, I went into it somewhat blindly. I knew it involved H.H. Holmes, but I didn’t anticipate everything else it included. 

 

Rich with Chicago history, this book discusses the lives of H.H. Holmes and Daniel H. Burnham with a large focus on the World’s Fair. 

 

Honestly… this was a weird mix with only a slight element connecting the two along with the overall setting of Chicago. While, yes, I did find the book interesting, I was also overwhelmed with the amount of information coming at me. This was very much two separate books with one being more built on fact and the other built on a lot of speculation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Racism, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

julziez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

mekowaletti's review against another edition

I normally don't like true crime due to the glorification of killers but I gave this a chance as I enjoy Chicago history. Unfortunately there are just too many white men that are central figures to the story and so I didn't see myself getting much out of this that I didn't get from my Chicago history class. I enjoyed the world's fair background but not enough to continue

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Sexism, and Violence

ame_why's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kodi_rae's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

I often find nonfiction books harder to read. Even with ones with topics that really interest me, I find my mind wandering. So I was pleasantly surprised at how much this book sucked me in, however I would have personally liked more pictures interspersed as well to get a better sense of people and place. It does seem like the author might have taken some liberties with pieces of the story, so keep that in mind when reading. And the lack of any sort of modern-day critique of Christopher Columbus, Wild Bill Cody’s show, and the myriad use of Native Americans and other people of color left much to be desired. Despite these grievances, I still found it to be interesting and wanting to learn more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

j_the_human's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

margolovie89's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Medical content

a_meanderer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

pupsandpancakes's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

amriherd's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.75

Not my favorite Larson, but for my add brain it was great. Murder chapter, fair chapter, murder chapter, fair chapter.  Never left you in one place long enough to get bored. Enjoyed the fair aspects the most, but didn't love the way the Holmes chapters were organized and presented. Great narrator on the audio though.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Violence, and Murder