book the devil in the white city by erik larson

Formerly, Larson was a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and a contributing writer for Time Magazine. In the note 'Evils Imminent,' Erik Larson writes 'Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow' xi. This was Chicago, on the eve of the greatest fair in history.Įrik Larson is the bestselling author of eight books, including Dead Wake, The Devil in the White City, In the Garden of Beasts, and The Splendid and the Vile. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 1. It was so easy to disappear, so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root.

His weakness was his belief that evil had boundaries

Make no little plans they have no magic to stir men’s blood. ‘I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing. He devised and erected the World’s Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair’s incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous “White City” around which the fair was built. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.īurnham’s challenge was immense. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair’s construction, and H.H.

Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Audiobook Length: 14 hours and 58 minutesĪuthor Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book’s categorization to be sure that ‘The Devil in the White City’ is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel.

Book the devil in the white city by erik larson