The Devil in the White City

Erik Larson 2003

Devastation Rating

Ugly Crying
true crime history serial killer Chicago

Our Take

Larson braids the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with the serial murders of H.H. Holmes, and the juxtaposition is devastating — beauty and slaughter sharing the same postcode. Holmes built a hotel designed for killing. The fair built a city designed for wonder. Both were temporary.

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