The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness
at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
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Close your eyes and imagine a city
solely composed of white buildings, a city with a Ferris wheel 250 feet tall
that can hold more than 2,000 people. It is a city of canals upon
which electric-powered boats take people
from one location to another, a city to which people come from all over the world in order to view its
wonders. And it is a city where dozens of young men and women
disappear, never to be found. Such was the Chicago World's
Fair of 1893.
Masked by the fair's splendid technologies and beautiful gardens, one Chicagoan used the white city as his hunting ground, finding victims for his cruel, heinous, and bizarre crimes. He built a gas chamber and crematorium just blocks away and used them quite regularly. For some victims he planned a special means of attaining immortality: they became skeletons in doctors' offices.This book offers the reader a chance to delve into the mind of a 19th Century serial killer, madman, and - believe it or not - physician. When you want to read a book about a dark time in our history, be sure to read this one.Review by Paul Erickson, July 31, 2003
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