The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Picked up this one on the recommendation of a family member - and I'd mostly enjoyed another of Larson's books - In the Garden of Beasts. Much like my take on that one, this book reads more like a history lesson than a compelling story. And, other than the two themes of this book (the Chicago World's Fair and Holmes's story) taking place during the same time period in the same location, I don't seen why they were combined into one book. I was expecting victims to be found throughout the fair or key players in the fair to become victims, but that was not to be (or was not what happened). Each story, on its own, is compelling, but the combination seems unrelated and odd. One thing I wish there were more of were photos of the people and places referenced in the book. Great descriptions of buildings and the grounds were made, but since this was an actual place, photos would have been fascinating.

It was a very good gripping book and I found it to be very shocking in that time era

Read when it first came out. I have a degree in City Planning and practiced in planning and related field for 40 years, I found the world's fair info fascinating, but it did read like two separate books

Took me years to finish this book. I stalled out in the middle, but finally completed it. Two true stories intertwined around the quest to being the World's Fair to Chicago. Reveals so much about people's character and how their ambition drives them to various depths of genius, depravity and desperation. H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle Hotel is creepy and fascinating.

Discover the magic behind the curtain of the 1893 Chicago’s world fair and witness the pure evil that lurks amongst the most fatal of it attractions!