The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
by Erik Larson
List Price:
Our Price: $6.88
You Save: $9.07 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.85 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Erik LarsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-02-10
ISBN: 0375725601
Number of pages: 447
Publisher: Vintage
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780375725609
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Book Review: "...on its shore gleamed and glowed in golden radiance the ivory city, beautiful as a poet's dream..."
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a reasonably strong interest in history (especially American history) but at the same time I get really bored quickly and as a result of my fast-moving boredom I've started scores of history books but never finished a one, that is until I found "The Devil in the White City". This book is amazing I couldn't put it down.
"The Devil" in the title is Herman Mudgett, better known as H. H. Holmes a serial killer, sadist and con man. Holmes came to Chicago in 1886 and promptly conned and murdered his way to the ownership of a drug store. From there he expanded and built a huge block long building full of hidden rooms, lime pits, an air tight walk in (and not walk out) vault, a crematorium and a 50" x 165" basement/pervatorium.
"The White City" is the 1893 World's Fair which I've never even hear of until I read this book and it totally blew my mind. I enjoyed the stuff about the World's Fair more than the stuff about Holmes. Did you know that the world's first Ferris wheel was there and it could carry 2,160 passengers at a time?!! Or that the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building was so large that on Dedication Day it held over 140,000 people inside?! The floor alone used 5 traincar loads of nails! Also the 1893 World's Fair saw the introduction of the zipper, an automatic dishwasher, Juicy Fruit gum, Cracker Jack, Pabst's Blue Ribbon beer, the vertical file and Shredded Wheat which somebody called "shredded doormat".
And besides the Fair there's tons of interesting stuff about life in the late 1800's that I found fascinating. Great book, one you should read before you croak.
More The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review
Murder & Mayhem Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Murder & Mayhem Books
The Soul of a Copby Paul Ragonese, Berry Stainback
St Martins Mass Market Paper; Published: 1992-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.90
Who Named the Knife: A True Story of Murder and Memoryby Linda Spalding
Anchor; Published: 2008-10-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.84
Price in other shops:
Murder, Inc.: The Story Of The Syndicateby Burton B. Turkus, Sid Feder
Da Capo Press; Published: 2003-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.14
Price in other shops:
Protecting Your Life, Home, and Property: A Cop Shows You Howby Robert L. Snow
Plenum Pr; Published: 1995-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops:
Victims: THE LDS CHURCH AND THE MARK HOFMANN CASEby Richard E. Turley
University of Illinois Press; Published: 1992-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.58
Price in other shops:
The Serpent's Toothby Christopher P. Andersen
Harpercollins; Published: 1987-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.01
Price in other shops:
American Taboo: A Murder in the Peace Corpsby Philip Weiss
Harper; Published: 2004-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.39
Price in other shops:
The Invention of Murderby Judith Flanders
Harper; Published: 2011; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.85
The Enforcer: Johnny "Pops" Papalia: A Life and Death in the MafiaHarperCollins Publishers; Paperback; Book
Best price: $159.82
Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Executionby James L. Swanson, Daniel Weinberg
William Morrow; Published: 2006-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.13
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966by Kirse Granat May
The University of North Carolina Press; Published: 2002-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.66
Price in other shops:
Bright Lights, Big Cityby Jay McInerney
Vintage; Published: 1984-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops:
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.by Martin Luther King Jr., Clayborne Carson
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2001-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Division Street: Americaby Studs Terkel
New Press, The; Published: 2006-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.67
Price in other shops:
Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820-2000by Dolores Hayden
Vintage; Published: 2004-11-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.27
Price in other shops:
The Twentieth-Century American City: Problem, Promise, and Reality (The American Moment)by Jon C. Teaford
The Johns Hopkins University Press; Published: 1993-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.91
Price in other shops:
Technology and American Society (2nd Edition)by Gary Cross, Rick Szostak
Prentice Hall; Published: 2004-10-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $60.47
Price in other shops:
Thunderstruckby Erik Larson
Broadway; Published: 2007-09-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.70
Price in other shops:
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in Historyby Erik Larson
Vintage; Published: 2000-07-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.29
Price in other shops:
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlinby Erik Larson
Crown; Published: 2011-05-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.16
Price in other shops: