kasiaolm's review against another edition
3.0
This would have been a great book if it talked about the World's Columbian Exposition only.
I have no idea why the story of H. H. Holmes is even included here. There is very little information about the actual murders that the author can share with us, and there is virtually no connection between the killer (or his victims) and the Fair, at least not an obvious one. Why write it then? It would have been much better without it.
I have no idea why the story of H. H. Holmes is even included here. There is very little information about the actual murders that the author can share with us, and there is virtually no connection between the killer (or his victims) and the Fair, at least not an obvious one. Why write it then? It would have been much better without it.
korl's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
2.75
If the parts about the serial killer and the random assassin were removed: this is a 4 star book. But as it stands....
Two books in one. I wish it had been named "Chicago during the gilded age" instead, because the name made me think we would largely be following Holmes the murderer. Instead we got 70% of the book about the Chicago Fair Builders, 25% of the book about the titular character, and 5% about the mayors killer.
I enjoyed learning all the facts I did and it's clear the author was incredibly well researched... But the book needed to be pared down. I also did not enjoy the "prose" the author employed when discussing how the murder victims felt moments before their death. There is no way he could have known this, and it was incredibly annoying when paired with his more factual research.
Two books in one. I wish it had been named "Chicago during the gilded age" instead, because the name made me think we would largely be following Holmes the murderer. Instead we got 70% of the book about the Chicago Fair Builders, 25% of the book about the titular character, and 5% about the mayors killer.
I enjoyed learning all the facts I did and it's clear the author was incredibly well researched... But the book needed to be pared down. I also did not enjoy the "prose" the author employed when discussing how the murder victims felt moments before their death. There is no way he could have known this, and it was incredibly annoying when paired with his more factual research.
riseclare's review against another edition
1.0
Oh my word, this is boring. Skimming quite a bit bc it's giving over abundant details of extremely uninteresting things.
Ugh just can't do it. Moving to the list of too terrible to finish. Zzzzzzz
Ugh just can't do it. Moving to the list of too terrible to finish. Zzzzzzz
davepatt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
4.0
texreader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
The 1893 World Fair in Chicago sounds amazing and I would have loved to have visited the White City! The devil, on the other hand, was an atrocious mass serial killer who fooled just about everyone. How could I have not known about either? What an incredible book to fill a huge gap in knowledge of American history and to make it infinitely interesting. I’m so glad I finally had a reason to finally read Erik Larson!
lbb00ks's review against another edition
I was so interested in reading about all of the amazing inventions that originated at the Chicago World's Fair. The history of the Fair, the architects, Olmstead and the grounds--all of it was fascinating. The research and detail in the book are extremely impressive, and it is so well written. While the companion history of the Holmes murders is gruesome and unbelievably chilling, for me, the sensationalization of the suspense of the "telling" at the end of each of those chapters removed a bit of the immediacy of this being a true story and made me too aware of the author. But I know that many other people particularly appreciated that aspect of the book.