Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Paperback, 464 pages
English language
Published Nov. 10, 2003 by vintage.
From back cover: Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spell-binding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men - the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.
To one side, the main architect of the Columbian Exposition that would top the Paris World Fair where the Eiffel tower was introduced. To the other, a sociopathic killer taking advantage on the growing numbers of young single women looking both independence and work in Chicago. A gripping story.
If only the history books we read in school were this intriguing! I had very little awareness of what The World's Fair was, let alone how it really did influence this country. It was the first time most people had seen incandescent light, it featured the very first Ferris Wheel (designed by George Ferris to compete with the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Exposition), and the fair's beauty earned it the nickname The White City. The time, labor, expense, and genius that went into this event is worth the telling.
Meanwhile, Erik Larson also tells us the dark story of Herman Mudgett, AKA Dr. H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the fair to his financial advantage and also as a lure for more victims. (There were scores of people, especially young women, who arrived in Chicago around this time, only to disappear.)
Eventually, a Philadelphia detective named Frank …
If only the history books we read in school were this intriguing! I had very little awareness of what The World's Fair was, let alone how it really did influence this country. It was the first time most people had seen incandescent light, it featured the very first Ferris Wheel (designed by George Ferris to compete with the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Exposition), and the fair's beauty earned it the nickname The White City. The time, labor, expense, and genius that went into this event is worth the telling.
Meanwhile, Erik Larson also tells us the dark story of Herman Mudgett, AKA Dr. H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the fair to his financial advantage and also as a lure for more victims. (There were scores of people, especially young women, who arrived in Chicago around this time, only to disappear.)
Eventually, a Philadelphia detective named Frank Geyer was charged with the job of finding three missing children who had been in Dr. Holmes's company. When he started to trace the steps of this killer, the Chicago police got involved, and found evidence of much, much more...
Larson also paints the backdrop for us, a Chicago in an economically depressed time, where people are out of work and the fair's end highlights the blackness of what remains.
This is excellent, well-paced writing and editing, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
