An interesting and enjoyable read.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a well crafted nonfiction title that reads much like a novel. The story revolves around two plots: the planning, construction, and running of the Chicago World's Fair, and a demented serial killer named H.H.Holmes. The book is filled with gruesome details and horrid scenes of destruction and murder. It is definitely not a book to be read before bed. There are parts of the book that are somewhat tedious as long lists of people, places, and structures are read. Also sometimes the multitude of people involed with the Fair as well as Holmes are hard to keep track of. In general though, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is an excellent read about a time period that changed America.

An Affair To Remember

This book is about the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893 which was held in Chicago, and was one of the greatest artistic, engineering, and architectural achievements in American history. And it's about our old friend H. H. Holmes, widely-regarded as America's first serial killer, who built a hotel to lure young fair-goers, of the female variety, to a most grim fate. Strangely enough, it wasn't the chapters of the book that discuss Holmes that I found most interesting. Rather, it was the work of Daniel Burnham and Frederick Olmsted, as the construction supervisor and landscape architect of the fair, that I found fascinating. The fact that they were able to pull off the fair and turn the desolate, muddy wild that was Jackson Park into the glorious, sparkling White City in such a short period of time is truly amazing. Especially when you learn of all the things that went wrong during the construction! And the World's Columbian Exposition itself is such a subject of fascination for a nostalgic soul like myself. So many things that we take for granted today originated or were popularized during this fair: Cracker Jacks, the Ferris Wheel, the carnival midway, shredded wheat, AC electricity, even that exotic little snake-charmer melody that goes, "There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance..." It's a fascinating chronicle and I highly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in history!

Two Books in One - I was interested only in one of the stories.

Most of the reviews mention that there are two concurrent stories present in this book, but this really is an important point. You probably have to have an interest in both 'genres' to truly enjoy the book.