Rating: 
Summary: Two Books in One
Review: In The Devil and the White City, Erik Larsen takes two polar opposite stories and smushes them together into what could have been one fantastic book: 'The White City' and one crummy book: "The Devil". The White City is the 'nom du drama' of the World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago. The story involves some of the greatest architects and engineers of the time pitted in a literal war against time, weather, and money, in their efforts to make one of the most amazing spectacles of the day. Larsen has a slue of facts at his disposal and doles them out masterfully. What might be mundane asides in a dusty library almanac become astounding bits of suspenseful trivia. His setup of the tale and the characters involved makes for not only an educational and fascinating read, but a quick and entertaining one as well. What invention, and monument, was to rival the great Eiffel Tower? How could a marvel on the scale of a mini-city, complete with electrically lit chandeliers seventy-two feet across, be built in a time when, not six or seven hundred miles away, the wild-wild west was raging. The story is a staggering one, and it is told in a way that serves it well, with a staggering sense of the dramatic. On the other hand, there's the devil.The 'Devil' of the title is the non-nefarious Dr. H. H. Holmes. A black-widower sort of killer that lured his victims into his mausoleum of a hotel and converted them into profitable cadavers for the underground (pun intended) market. Presumably, there was little concrete information for Larsen to select from, as most of this section is burdened with heavily melodramatic (bordering on painful to read) editorializing: some of the worst I've ever read. The story of Holmes reads more like a list of bodies than anything else. All the 'good-yarn' aspects of it is lost in the retelling, and pales in comparison to Jack the Ripper, a concurrent killer. The link to the White City is there, but narratively dubious. Holmes built his hotel to capitalize on the World's Fair's dramatic supposed increase in tourism. That's it. Not much of a link really. Despite its failings, however, The Devil in the White City is as much a page-turner as is possible with non-fiction. For the amount of investment required to read this nearly four hundred pages book, the payoff is well worth it. Just be ready to sigh at how often the cool blue eyes of a cold blooded killer are described, and hope that the next chapter takes you back to the countless men and women involved in the making of a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Best read this year
Review: This is a terrific read -- one of those books you don't want to finish, you just want the story to continue. In light of recent journalistic scandals, Larson's commitment to doing all his own research (with no reliance on stringers or the internet) makes this an even more impressive book. I thought Isaac's Storm was exceptional, but this book is even better. I look forward to reading Larson's other books. I can't believe this book is not on the top of every non-fiction best-seller list! The fact that so many people and events of the late 19th and early 20th Century tie together is fascinating.
Rating: 
Summary: Important Part of American History
Review: I picked up this book because the history surrounding Chicago is something I find fascinating. This book is however, a book of American history. It is very detailed and very interesting covering both the Columbian Exposition and the murders surrounding HH Holmes. After the first few chapters I was a bit worried that it would remain slow but I was wrong. There are so many things that happened and so many people involved during this time in american history that this book picks up speed and continues to progress all the way till the very end. By the time your finished, you'll wish it were longer.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I don't read historical novels too often, but this book certainly didn't read like history. It was much more like a novel -- I literally couldn't put it down. HIGHLY recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Disconnected, but I still enjoyed it
Review: What a wonderful trip to the past! I could almost smell the squalor, see the construction and the dirt, feel the heat and the cold, as the architects strove to overcome a lack of time, economic disaster, clashing egos, and death and weather to get the fair off the ground. I also got chills reading about the mysterious Dr. Holmes and the way he preyed upon women who came to Chicago to seek their fortunes and ended up in his lair. Though relatively bloodless by today's standards (he didn't cut up the bodies until after they were dead), he nonetheless was evil personified, the way he used women, tricked them out of money and their honor, promised things he would never deliver, and led them, trusting, to their deaths.
The problem I had, though, was, as fascinating as the two stories were, they never really connected for me, except that they both happened in the same time and place. With a little more detail, each could have stood alone as its own book. Still, it was a great read, and I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: This was easily one of the most fascinating history books I have ever read. It describes not only the history of the fair itself and its major players, but also gives a sense of the times in which the fair was built. Yet it also reads like a mystery book, not only with the inclusion of the tale of H.H. Holmes, the psychopath who preyed on young women who visited Chicago, but also with the story of the delusional young man obsessed with the mayor. Larson builds suspense expertly: will the fair be built in time; will the U.S. be able to out-Eiffel the Eiffel tower; will the fair be a success in times of economic trouble?
It was fascinating to read about the association of names with which we are all familiar in relation to the World's Fair: Edison; Buffalo Bill; Eugene Debs; Helen Keller; Woodrow Wilson, as well as learning of common household products that we use today that were created for the fair. If I only had a dollar for every time I thought, "Wow, I didn't know that!"
I found only one fault with the book: first, the lack of pictures. There are many sources on the internet in which you can find pictures of the buildings described in the book, the uniforms of the workers, the lake and the wooded isle. Inclusion of these pictures would have greatly enhanced the book.
Rating:
Summary: Best nonfiction read
Review: I had never read a nonfiction book that was gripping and suspenseful until Devil in the White City. In fact, I would have thought it was fiction if the author did not explicitly state it. Bravo! I could not put it down and was transported back in time to a world of invention and squallor, adventure and death, beauty and deceit. Lightbulbs kept going off as the author put the past in context for me. I could almost smell the city and feel the terror...
Rating:
Summary: Joys of the Devil: a Review of "Devil in the White City"
Review: For those of us that desire a return to the "good old days", Erik Larson's books, "Issac's Storm" and "Devil in the White City" serve as cautionary reminders that, well, they weren't all that they were cracked up to be. "Issac's Storm" deals with the Great Hurricane of 1900, and the recently released and much-heralded "Devil in the White City" offers the reader a look into the construction and the wonder brought about by the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Illinois. If Donald Miller's "City of the Century" gives us a background for the acsendency of the Second City, the hard-won Exposition provided a punctuation mark for this rise. But behind all the glory, a demon lurks in the shadows, the reality of city life beyond the walls of the Exhibition and the serial killer, H.H. Holmes who fed upon the population that attended "Dreamland". It is in his successful interpretion of this dichotomy, the yin and yang, that Larson makes his powerful point. Larson's description of the life within Chicago is simply amazing. You can literally smell the rot coming from the pigs' corpses of the Stockyards, you can see people getting killed by walking into the way of a speeding commuter train, or getting run over by a runaway drayman delivering goods. There are houses of ill-repute, taverns, the corruption of City Hall. This is Larson's "Black City". We meet a young "physician", Holmes, who seamlessly blends into the blackness with a murderous agenda. . . Then we are introduced to the "White City", the brainchild of Daniel Burnham and John Root (with contributions by a star studded array of every famous architect in America), an idea that is nearly killed in displays of ego, bureaucracy, and nature. The "White City" offers a sanctuary, a heaven within its neo-classical wonders from reality. We are introduced to the first Midway, the Ferris Wheel, the kinetoscope, things that we now take for granted. Larson's story wraps us in this wonder, this gleaming newness, the pride of Chicago. The story ends in a battle between the Black and the White aspects of the tale. Who wins? We all do. Larson performs an amazing dance between good and evil, and keeps the reader glued to every page, as the war is ultimately decided between reality and this Dreamland, with vignettes and stories of the individual warriors that will hold us in attention to the very end. This is an amazing read. Buy this book and savour the war.
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Summary: I'm not a great fan of American History books, however....
Review: I'm not a great fan of American History books, however after having read many other reviewers' comments on THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, I felt the need to at least try reading it. I can say without reservation it was well worth the time, and it didn't take very much time at all. I read it in four short evenings after work, and the bibliography offers even more possibilities to add to my reading list. The author researched numerous sources as evidenced by not only the extensive bibliography, but the exhaustive footnotes that take up a few dozen pages after the epilogue. This is not a cursory recounting of the events surrounding the Chicago Columbian World Exposition (which came to be known more readily as the World's Fair) but a very well-written, well-documented and at times disturbing and enthralling look back at the birth of a great American city. I had little idea that Chicago had such a tumultuous history surrounding not only the Exposition, but also that of the city's inhabitants and its rapidly growing importance as a hub of national commerce and industry. I have not had the chance to visit Chicago, but having read the book makes me want to do so all the more. On the flip side, there is the story of one of America's earliest known serial killers, a man who called himself H.H. Holmes--Holmes as in the great detective Sherlock Holmes. Henry Mudgett was obviously a gravely evil man who took advantage of the place and times he lived in. The first chapters of the book that tell of his early exploits literally left me feeling quite disturbed and wondering what details would be revealed later. To say I felt a sense of unease while reading about him would be an understatement. This is not like reading a fictional account of a character like Hannibal Lecter or some such "killer." This is a true story, and it is more disturbing than anything I can remember. Highly recommended for those interested in American History, True Crime, or just a very good book!
Rating:
Summary: An interesting piece of history
Review: It is a shame that such worthwhile aspects of our culture and history such as The Devil in the White City are not explored further during our education. Larson does an excellent job of taking us back to the 19th century at a time when America was young. The savagery of Chicago during this time was never known to most people, as well as the savagery of H.H. Holmes. If I had one thing negative to say about this book it is that Holmes' pychosis along with the detective who tracked him down should have been explored further. The again, maybe Larson included all of the information that was available. Excellent story.
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