Devil In the White CityReview By: Katie Williams

Author Biography: Erik LarsonWrote the Devil in the White City in 2003American journalist and non-fiction writer with an extensive background in studying history. The number of books he has successfully published lend a lot of credibility to this author.Studied history at the University of PennsylvaniaAlso wrote: •The Naked Consumer: How Our Private Lives Become Public Commodities•Lethal Passage: How the Travels of a Single Handgun Expose the Roots of America's Gun Crisis•A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History • The Devil in the White City•Thunderstruck • In The Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

Summary Of The Devil In the White City

Overview:

The Devil in The White City is really two stories that happened at the same time during the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 know as the World’s Columbian Exposition. The first story is a detailed account of the building of the worlds fair. In particular the struggles of one man named Daniel Burnham and the many obstacles he faced in launching this successful fair. The historical context shows a lot of Chicago history and highlights some of the major inventions introduced by the fair. The second is the story of H.H Holmes a serial killer who lured women to their deaths at his hands in a custom made building in Chicago.

Burnham and H.H Holmes

Daniel Burnham – Builder of the Worlds Fair

The White City

The World’s First Ferris Wheel

H. H Holmes – The Devil: Serial Killer

The Holmes Castle – Site of Murders

The Castle Today

Claim StatementThe Devil in The White City is a fascinating non fiction book written using a tremendous amount of accurate historical information. It weaves together the lives of two men and their achievements in Chicago at the same time in a way that celebrates both the triumphant and inherent goodness of people and the depraved evil depths to which they can sink.

This book was filled with accurate representations of the political process surrounding the worlds fair and introduced factual accounts of the murders conducted by H.H Holmes. The author did not insert “made of facts” but rather wrote in such a way that he could imply events to keep the plot moving. This lended a tremendous amount of creditability to the facts that were disclosed throughout the book.

Connections and Take AwaysThe Chicago’s World Fair was a resounding success with ever lasting impact on Chicago and the world. It put Chicago on the “map” and gave the city an enormous since of pride.

The book exposed the seedy side of Chicago and introduced the many wonders that were introduced at the fair.

This book showed me that Chicago used to be a very different place with filthy stock yards, muddy streets, poor economy, and crime. Is was very different that the Chicago I know today. It gave me a lot of insight into the politics of a big city back in the late 1800 and how vary events can change the course of a city over time. The Chicago’s World fair was one of those events. It made Chicago a household name around the world and for a short time bolstered the local economy. This book also showed me that serial killers are born and not made