Preface: Please do not steal this book review for any kind of school assignment-- that would be a jerkish move to make, really.
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
By: Erik Larson
Erik Larson, author of the acclaimed “Isaac’s Storm” and “Lethal Passage,” precedes his masterful nonfiction work with the following note: “Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow. In the end it is a story of the ineluctable conflict between good and evil, daylight and darkness, the White City and the Black.”
Larson’s plot is quite broad in its scope, though the underlying canvas upon which he paints his story consists of the conception, construction and celebration of the “fair that changed America.” The exposition brought an unlimited amount of opportunity to Chicago- many took advantage of it, though in different ways. Fame was earned through buildings, business ventures… and murder.
Bringing Chicago to life in brilliant fashion, Larson recounts the World’s Columbian Exposition that was hosted by the Windy City in 1893. The tale, however macabre and magnificent at times, is entirely true and requires no embellishment to make it both fascinating and frightening. Larson’s epic tale revolves primarily around two men, both harboring great talents and ambitions though they stand on opposite ends of the moral spectrum.
Daniel Burnham, famed architect and socialite, is charged with overseeing the construction and design of the World’s Fair that is to be hosted by Chicago. The challenges are daunting and the time allotted maybe five years too few, but Burnham’s drive to not only succeed but to top the fair hosted by Paris only a few years before fuels the formation of his “White City.” Upon Burnham’s back was the weight of the world as all eyes and criticisms were focused squarely on the impossibility of his undertaking. As Larson hints, even those most supportive of the plans must have been somewhat surprised that everything actually came to fruition.
While Burnham’s story in itself is intriguing enough to make “Devil” a bestseller and an addicting read, the events surrounding Dr. H. H. Holmes (real name Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett) are just as engrossing. The Chicago Times-Herald described him quite aptly, writing “He is a prodigy of wickedness, a human demon, a being so unthinkable that no novelist would dare to invent such a character.” While I will avoid giving too much information away, Holmes is likened to Jack the Ripper though, as Larson so eloquently highlights time and again, he is much more calculated and brilliant in carrying out his perverse, haunting acts.
Although the author's focal point is on the larger-than-life characters that were Burnham and Holmes, the backdrop of this novel was simply wonderful. Chicago witnessed unbelievable sights during the fair: The rise of the first Ferris wheel; full-size replicas of Columbus’s fleet in Lake Michigan; a record breaking one-day attendance of almost one million people; the heartbeat of a country and city embodied by the drive and efforts of a few great men. People wept at the sight of the fair. One could spend an entire day in just one building marveling at the sights. Entire villages were brought over from places as remote as Africa and Asia, complete with goats and buildings. As sad as I am that I missed what was perhaps the grandest spectacle ever to exist in modern times, the detail exhibited in Larson’s writing gives me some consolation and is most assuredly the next best thing to having been there in person.
This novel is utterly fantastic in its scope and content. Larson paints a grand picture through the utilization of quotes, first-person sources and newspaper articles. The fact that the entire story is true is overshadowed only by how well and seamlessly Larson puts together the menagerie that was Chicago’s World Fair. To give Larson anything less than a 10 out of 10 for this captivating read would be an obvious mistake. Read it once, digest the story, then read it once more.
By: Erik Larson
Erik Larson, author of the acclaimed “Isaac’s Storm” and “Lethal Passage,” precedes his masterful nonfiction work with the following note: “Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow. In the end it is a story of the ineluctable conflict between good and evil, daylight and darkness, the White City and the Black.”
Larson’s plot is quite broad in its scope, though the underlying canvas upon which he paints his story consists of the conception, construction and celebration of the “fair that changed America.” The exposition brought an unlimited amount of opportunity to Chicago- many took advantage of it, though in different ways. Fame was earned through buildings, business ventures… and murder.
Bringing Chicago to life in brilliant fashion, Larson recounts the World’s Columbian Exposition that was hosted by the Windy City in 1893. The tale, however macabre and magnificent at times, is entirely true and requires no embellishment to make it both fascinating and frightening. Larson’s epic tale revolves primarily around two men, both harboring great talents and ambitions though they stand on opposite ends of the moral spectrum.
Daniel Burnham, famed architect and socialite, is charged with overseeing the construction and design of the World’s Fair that is to be hosted by Chicago. The challenges are daunting and the time allotted maybe five years too few, but Burnham’s drive to not only succeed but to top the fair hosted by Paris only a few years before fuels the formation of his “White City.” Upon Burnham’s back was the weight of the world as all eyes and criticisms were focused squarely on the impossibility of his undertaking. As Larson hints, even those most supportive of the plans must have been somewhat surprised that everything actually came to fruition.
While Burnham’s story in itself is intriguing enough to make “Devil” a bestseller and an addicting read, the events surrounding Dr. H. H. Holmes (real name Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett) are just as engrossing. The Chicago Times-Herald described him quite aptly, writing “He is a prodigy of wickedness, a human demon, a being so unthinkable that no novelist would dare to invent such a character.” While I will avoid giving too much information away, Holmes is likened to Jack the Ripper though, as Larson so eloquently highlights time and again, he is much more calculated and brilliant in carrying out his perverse, haunting acts.
Although the author's focal point is on the larger-than-life characters that were Burnham and Holmes, the backdrop of this novel was simply wonderful. Chicago witnessed unbelievable sights during the fair: The rise of the first Ferris wheel; full-size replicas of Columbus’s fleet in Lake Michigan; a record breaking one-day attendance of almost one million people; the heartbeat of a country and city embodied by the drive and efforts of a few great men. People wept at the sight of the fair. One could spend an entire day in just one building marveling at the sights. Entire villages were brought over from places as remote as Africa and Asia, complete with goats and buildings. As sad as I am that I missed what was perhaps the grandest spectacle ever to exist in modern times, the detail exhibited in Larson’s writing gives me some consolation and is most assuredly the next best thing to having been there in person.
This novel is utterly fantastic in its scope and content. Larson paints a grand picture through the utilization of quotes, first-person sources and newspaper articles. The fact that the entire story is true is overshadowed only by how well and seamlessly Larson puts together the menagerie that was Chicago’s World Fair. To give Larson anything less than a 10 out of 10 for this captivating read would be an obvious mistake. Read it once, digest the story, then read it once more.
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