Erik Larson: The Devil in the White City

[Krys]

Has anyone read this?

It is currently "The Big Read" book for my local libraries. (In case you are unfamiliar with that, it means that the libraries have stocked many copies of the book and are encouraging the community to read it. In addition, they are sponsoring lectures that contribute to the content of the book.)

I have found it to be extraordinarily fascinating how the author, Erik Larson, winds the two tales together. On one side, he discusses the development of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (located in Chicago, which probably is why I am so interested in it). And on the other side there is the story of the serial killer Dr. H. H. Holmes.

This book has had me researching more often than I normally would with a non-fiction book.

I'm about halfway through with it but definitely interested in what others think.

 

[lenny nero]

Depraved by Harold Schechter is another great read on the H.H. Holmes murders. Highly Recommended!

 

[Ashlea]

I listened to this as an audio book, it worked well in that format. I found it fascinating. I also enjoyed his previous book about the Galveston flood (1901 maybe?)

 

[Krys]

Depraved was actually one of Larson's sources for The Devil in the White City. In fact, he cited it to be one of the two best sources for info on Holmes.

 

[Krys]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a non-fiction book that runs two parallel, intertwining stories, such as this one? I really appreciated getting "2 for 1" with this book and would love finding another one similar, as long as the topic isn't something completely irrelevant. i.e. "Mating Habits of the Earthworm and the History of Dirt" are not the kind of stories I'm would swoon over.

Anyone, anyone?

 

[Ronny]

I liked the combo of the stories as well. I would of never read this book had it not been recomended at my library but I was fascinated the whole way through. All the work that went into the fair, the way that H.H. Holmes used everything to his advantage, I learned a lot about things I never would have thought of otherwise. I would love to read more books like this one that have a gripping story that teaches you about topics you would normally pass on.

 

[Bookworm88]

I read it for a book discussion group, and I was more interested in the fair storyline at first than the murders. Then at the end of the month, I was running out of time before my meeting, so I just skimmed to all the murder storyline sections.

 

[Gunnie Rose]

I just finished this book and thought it was great. I picked it up thinking it was fiction and was really surprised to learn that it was not. In the past, I've found non-fiction to be dull and hard to get through but this book was gripping.

It was so interesting to read real details on how people lived in the 1890's. I plan on reading Isaac's Storm soon.

 

[abecedarian]

I just finished this book earlier this morning. I had to remind myself a couple of times that this was indeed a work of nonfiction. I did have a bit of trouble sleeping last night after I'd read about the murders and how Holmes nearly got away with them. Despite that, I highly reccomend Devil i the White City.

 

[chiangmaifalcon]

One other non-fiction book with 2 stories, sort of, is The Strange Disappearance of Jim Thompson, by William Warren. One story is the investigation into his disappearance, and other is story of how he established the silk trading business in Thailand.