Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

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

28 reviews

jennmichelle_otsr's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

5.0

This was my first read by Mr. Larson. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is amazing how much effort the 1893 World’s Fair took to bring to life against a multitude of obstacles. The viewpoint pivots between that of architect Daniel Burnham and one of America’s earliest serial killers H. H. Holmes (one of many aliases). I will not spoil anything by listing the numerous figures you will recognize in the tome or the invention that “out-Eiffeled Eiffel’s Tower” from the Paris World Fair.

Larson’s tone and style remind me of Kate Moore’s prose. The story is simply laid out for the reader in a narrative style instead of a typical drier nonfiction style. I find this type of book more my speed for nonfiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

ottolee's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

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

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

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

psdarlin's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

annabunce's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.0

Meh. I probably should have just read the wikipedia article about H.H. Holmes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

rachelsheplak's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

sometimes_samantha_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I recently got a new job and I have an hour commute one way. I'm not usually able to do audiobooks because I get distracted and I was wary of trying to follow a story while also driving, but it turns out listening to an audiobook in the car is great. 

My sister in law recommended this to me. I'm not usually into true crime, but if its paced like this and narrated by Tony Goldwyn, I'm all for it! The parallel stories of Burnahm and Holmes was fascinating and I learned so much. The story was chilling but I kept listening to satisfy the morbid curiosity. I learned that Holmes is supposedly buried less than 30 minutes from where I live, which is wild.

I think I'll try to seek out more audiobooks. I quite liked Tony Goldwyn's narration so I think I'll start there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, and Gaslighting