Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The Devil in the White City

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson, 447 pages

In 1893, Chicago welcomed the world to the most magnificent World's Fair ever presented, complete with architectural grandeur, incandescent light bulbs, and a thrilling new spectacle called the Ferris wheel. Just north of the fair site, a man by the name of H.H. Holmes opened his three-story building as a hotel for fair-goers, though several of them (mostly young women) seemed to mysteriously disappear during their visit to Chicago. In this fascinating history, Larson juxtaposes the shocking (and shockingly smooth) practices of one of America's first serial killers with the bumpy road to World's Fair glory. It's gripping, thrilling, and amazing. Like all the other Larson books I read, I loved this one. Highly recommended.

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