Rating: 
Summary: Smooth, enjoyable read
Review: Erik Larson has a fluid writing and organizational style that kept me turning the pages as quick as I could get to the next one.The story, as most know, is the juxtaposition of the lives of two men, one a serial killer (Holmes), the other (Burnham) the director of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Holmes is the more interesting character because Larson flushes out his split personality. Larson's description of Holmes's gruesome crimes is often detached and overly cerebral which was perhaps how Holmes perceived his acts. What is even more haunting is the knowledge that we will probably never know the full extent of Holmes's crimes and depravity and the fact he probably never would have been caught if his own compulsions had not gottent he best of him. Burnham is a bit more one dimensional, but it is through his eyes you get to go behind the scenes and gain an appreciation for the mammoth undertaking that was the 1893 World's Fair. In between, Larson gives us a lesson on pop culture. My negative on this book is that Larson is sometimes a little too heavy handed in his foreshadowing. A few times it was easy to see the surprises coming long before the actual impact.
Rating:
Summary: a great juxtaposition
Review: Erik Larson's _Devil in the White City_ is two stories, really; one, the story of the 1898 Chicago's Columbian World Fair, the greatest spectacle America - or the world - had ever seen, the other the tale of a serial killer who preyed on visitors to the exposition. Larsen does a wonderful job of overlaping and weaving these two stories into a fascinating read. The 1898 Chicago World's Fair was extravagant - it saw the first Ferris Wheel, the introduction of Cracker Jack, Shredded Wheat, and A/C electric lights. Among those in attendance were Buffalo Bill Cody, Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, Samuel Clemens and a host of other notables of the age. Along with such lumnaries was a hitherto unknown - H.H. Holmes, (one of serveral aliases) a serial killer. The challenges and struggles the city of Chicago and its architects faced in creating and building the "White City" is paralleled to Holmes' construction of a castle of his own - a boarding house he used to murder his tenents. As the fair begins, so do Holmes' grizzly crimes. The story is true, making the read all the more riveting, the details of the fair fascinating. How the killings were pulled off without discovery for years, and how Holmes managed to commit other crimes without detection were also interesting. The only flaw in the book is Larsen's re-creation of the murders themselves; no one knows for certain how many Holmes killed - he was convicted of six, but several others are possible, many more likely. With that said, however, it is a wonderful book and I strongly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but so BOOORING....
Review: At first I was very excited to read this book. The author did a book signing in the area, and everyone was mentioning how great the novel was. As a result, I bought the book and struggled through boring chapter after boring chapter. Larson tells the stories of Burnham and Holmes in a series of alternating chapters. These stories are totally unrelated except for the fact that they share the same time and place. All the chapters are full of pointless details and "fun facts" that drag on the already slow pace of the book. You will love this book if you are riveted by disagreements over using steamboats instead of electric vessels, or if you are mesmerized by how foundations are constructed in the soft ground in Chicago. If you are looking for historical minutia, this is the book for you; however, if you want a thriller, read something else.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of white city, not much devil.
Review: Larson's a fine writer. I paused several places in this book to relish a particularly graceful turn of phrase. I am sympathetic to the disappointment expressed by some reviewers, though. The dark thread about murderer Holmes woven through the triumphant story of the fair works beautifully as an undercurrent to the tale of optimism and progress near the century's turn, but it sets up an expectation of a true crime/detective story and doesn't really deliver one. Looking back, many readers may have preferred that these stories be told in two different books. Still, one of the best nonfiction books of the season.
Rating: 
Summary: This Book Makes Me Want to Travel Back in Time
Review: Erik Larson casts a magical spell in this book about Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893. The book focuses on two men, one a creator and one a destroyer. How I wish that I could travel back in time and be part of the crowd wandering through the White City (the popular name for the buildings at the fair). I would take in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, sample a new treat called "Cracker Jack" and take a ride on a brand new marvel of engineering designed by a man called Ferris. Hopefully I would not cross paths with H.H. Holmes while I was there. Many who had the misfortune to know this man never returned home from the fair.
Rating:
Summary: Morbidly Fascinating
Review: This is a great book that deals with both the World's Fair of 1893 and the serial killer H.H. Holmes. Larson goes a great job and uses excellent description to convey both the optimism associated with the World's Fair and the sickness associated with Holmes. Although some complain that the two stories are unrelated, they show both the wonder and horror at turn of the new century when America was on the verge of becoming a world power. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good fun read but nothing more
Review: At first I was a bit turned off on the almost "term paper" writing style of this book, but soon became very interested, not in the characters, but in what was happening in Chicago at the time. This book provides a brief look into the culture and times of Chicago and gives a chilling account of the actions of the serial killer. I loved the insertion of the famous as Buffalo Bill and others who are sprinkled throughout. The story is interesting but never quite comes together as I thought that it would. In short, great read -- but not a psychological or historical work of art.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Contrast of Human Aspiration Vs. Human Depravity
Review: This fantastic nonfiction account, reading like a page-turning thriller novel, of the great World Fair in Chicago renders a blood-curdling profile of serial killer H.H. Holmes who, like a spider waiting for its prey, lurked in the background of the smoky, pungent World Fair, as naive, star-struck women visisted Chicago, only to be victimized by this monster. In alternating chapters, we see the ambitious Daniel Burnham who became obsessed with erecting the World Fair as a testament to American greatness. Some reviewers have criticized the book's structure, alternating the episodes of serial killer H.H. Holmes with World Fair designer Daniel Burnham, arguing that the two stories are hardly related. I believe they error. The purpose of setting up these two stories, one of a thoroughly chilling man, the embodiment of evil, and Burnham, a man trying to bring splendor and light to the world, is to show the range of good and evil in the human animal. I'm reminded of the Tower of Babel, the attempt to become like gods through human achievement, a quest embodied by Burnhan. The author is in a subtle way warning us to never become too intoxicated or giddy with our great man-made achievements in the realm of technlogy and science because there is this horrible thing called human depravity, which is the flipside of our ambitious nature.
Rating:
Summary: breathless and manipulative
Review: Larson's book seemed disjointed and unsatisfying. He attempted to build suspense by withholding information, but the surprises were easy to guess and felt like cheap manipulations. I was frustrated by the many lacunae in events -- Larson dropped key threads, perhaps skipping over what he didn't know rather than admitting the gaps outright. Larson provides repetitive statistics and laundry lists of firsts without deeper analysis of the fair's impact or meaning. For example, I would have been interested if he had delved into the many labor abuses and questionable employment status of the "exotics" who populated the Midway, but Larson merely gave lists of casualties, setbacks, and censuses.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Entertaining
Review: I could not put this book down. It reads so well and the author gives us such an interesting juxtaposition of narratives that you feel like you are reading a work of complete fiction. I enjoyed it throughly. However, I would agree this book lacks depth and you are left feeling like there is much more there. However, this is an excellent cold night or beach book that will entertain and provide some interesting historical insight
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