The Devil In The White City
-
-
3.9 • 25 Ratings
-
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
'An irresistible page-turner that reads like the most compelling, sleep defying fiction' TIME OUT
One was an architect. The other a serial killer. This is the incredible story of these two men and their realization of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and its amazing 'White City'; one of the wonders of the world.
The architect was Daniel H. Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens.
The killer was H. H. Holmes, a handsome doctor with striking blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair - and his own devilish charms - to lure scores of young women to their deaths.
While Burnham overcame politics, infighting, personality clashes and Chicago's infamous weather to transform the swamps of Jackson Park into the greatest show on Earth, Holmes built his own edifice just west of the fairground. He called it the World's Fair Hotel.
In reality it was a torture palace, a gas chamber, a crematorium.
These two disparate but driven men are brought to life in this mesmerizing, murderous tale of the legendary Fair that transformed America and set it on course for the twentieth century . . .
Customer Reviews
The Devil In The White City
I have read this before and one day I will read it again.
The tribulations of presenting the World Fair are extraordinarily gripping. The personal accounts of the architects and engineers and the pressure under which they worked, the constant criticism from various sources, press, government bodies, would have made lesser men quail. Burnham's unwavering dedication to his task does him credit and it was with great relief when I read Harvard and Yale finally recognised the worth of this remarkable man.
Way too much unnecessary detail
Just couldn’t get into this. So drawn out.