The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Devil in the White City unfolds the history of Chicago's 1893 World Fair and the chilling saga of H. H. Holmes, a con man and serial killer who used the chaos and crowds of the fair to obscure his crimes. The book also focuses on Daniel Burnham, one of the fair's head architects, and Frederick Law Olmstead, the lead landscape architect. The book's narration often reads more like a novel, employing impressive world-building detail to create a backdrop for the suspenseful tale of Holmes's killings.
Quote:
“It was so easy to disappear, so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root. This was Chicago, on the eve of the greatest fair in history.”
Author:
In addition to Devil in the White City, Erik Larson is the author of several other history books, including In the Garden of Beasts and Thunderstruck. He has written for publications including The Wall Street Journal and Time and lives in Seattle, Washington with his family.
Published: 2003
Length: 382 pages
Set in: Chicago, Illinois, United States