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A review by boomwormbrittany
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The Devil in the White City is a non-fiction book about the building of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the murders committed by H.H. Holmes during this World's Fair.
I thought this was a really interesting book to read. I had read The Splendid and the Vile before by Erik Larson and really enjoyed it. This was no different. I though this was a fantastic and interesting overview of both topics.
What I really loved about Erik Larson's books is that he writes them as if we are in the people's heads who helped created the World's Fair and in the head of H.H. Holmes which is a big unnerving. I thought that this had a really interesting overview of what went wrong and right at the fair. From the start it seemed to be an uphill battle to get the fair going let alone to the grandeur that it did become.
I was a little more interested in the H.H. Holmes aspect of this story because I've never seen a whole overview of his story before, just very brief snippets. I thought that Erik Larson did a fantastic job setting out this story and making us really feel for the victims of Holmes.
I would definitely say if you want an engaging and fascinating story about history around the World's Fair and Holmes, I would highly recommend this. If you want an interesting overview of history, definitely pick up any of Erik Larson's books.
I thought this was a really interesting book to read. I had read The Splendid and the Vile before by Erik Larson and really enjoyed it. This was no different. I though this was a fantastic and interesting overview of both topics.
What I really loved about Erik Larson's books is that he writes them as if we are in the people's heads who helped created the World's Fair and in the head of H.H. Holmes which is a big unnerving. I thought that this had a really interesting overview of what went wrong and right at the fair. From the start it seemed to be an uphill battle to get the fair going let alone to the grandeur that it did become.
I was a little more interested in the H.H. Holmes aspect of this story because I've never seen a whole overview of his story before, just very brief snippets. I thought that Erik Larson did a fantastic job setting out this story and making us really feel for the victims of Holmes.
I would definitely say if you want an engaging and fascinating story about history around the World's Fair and Holmes, I would highly recommend this. If you want an interesting overview of history, definitely pick up any of Erik Larson's books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence