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A review by remlezar
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Read both because of how long it had been on my TBR list, and because I was in the mood for some Jon Krakauer but have exhausted his bibliography. I'm happy to report that Larson's style is a similar combination of compulsively readable, well researched, and organized.
Previously, my knowledge of the famous fair was comprised of bits and pieces of trivia and factoids casually absorbed from pop culture. So most of what I read here was new information for me, each detail feeling more absurd and borderline unbelievable from the last. And on top of it all, throw a doctor serial killer into the mix? And an assassination of a widely beloved mayor?
It almost goes without saying that we're living in wild times in the 2020's. But reading this helped keep things a bit in perspective, shit was also crazy in the 1890's.
Previously, my knowledge of the famous fair was comprised of bits and pieces of trivia and factoids casually absorbed from pop culture. So most of what I read here was new information for me, each detail feeling more absurd and borderline unbelievable from the last. And on top of it all, throw a doctor serial killer into the mix? And an assassination of a widely beloved mayor?
It almost goes without saying that we're living in wild times in the 2020's. But reading this helped keep things a bit in perspective, shit was also crazy in the 1890's.