Total Page : 496
Publisher : Bantam Books
Publication Date : 2004 01 01
>> A terrific romp through a slice of history
I really enjoyed Eric Larson s book The Devil in the White City It was informative provocative and even diabolical The book intertwines two stories One an interesting look at the clash of art science labor industrialists and visionaries in the construction of the World s Columbia Exposition held in Chicago 1893 Larson describes larger than life characters such as Daniel Burnham the charasmatic and bombastic architect of the fair and Frederick Law Olmsted the landscape architect that is also known for his work on the capitol mall in DC We learn about the design of the world s first Ferris Wheel a 264 foot high structure that had 36 cars each of which could hold 60 people And we learn about the labor strife that followed Burnbaum in his attempt to build the immense city within a year The second story held within the book is about serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett who would lure young women into relationships and then kill them in order to study anatomy Yikes I highly recommend the book It is interesting informative and little creepy
>> A very interesting history non fiction
This book reads like a novel but it s all based on eye witness account written documents and historical facts It s very interesting albeit a bit disturbing based on the story of H H Holmes He was a psychopathic murderer Larson ties together the lives of an influential architect in the late 1800 s and the life of this killer The World s Fair in 1893 brought out a lot of good and bad apparently If you like history but also like a great story this is a book for you
>> Stimulating and Wonderful Read
My wife s book club thought this was a winner It cascaded to me after she read it It is a gripping story for both men and women Not a light read It teaches lessons about about building things and human nature After reading the book you will want to talk about it with friends or your spouse Any city who builds for an event World s Fair or the Olympics can be put in perspective by this book Times may have changed but human strengths and weaknesses are timeless
