THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY

I'm starting to love historical non-fiction that reads like a novel! Once again, Erik Larson succeeds where others fail. Educators should take note that students would willingly dive into history if their books were page turners. The non-fiction genre has become exciting with authors such as Larson and Candice Millard. I'm not knocking writers like Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, but with this style they would see their ratings go from three stars to five stars immediately. This is not to say that there isn't a market for historical fiction since Bernard Cornwell has proven it to be huge. I'm just saying that this reviewer prefers his non-fiction to possess a little flamboyance and pizzazz.

This is a story of two main themes and several side attractions. One main topic includes the trials and tribulations of the construction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The protagonist is Daniel H. Burnham, Director of Works, who encounters many problems with the short amount of time he had to build the "White City". The other main feature is the story of Doctor Herman W. Mudgett, America's answer to England's Jack the Ripper. Here is a man with many aliases, who was alleged to have murdered between nine and two hundred people during the world's fair. Somehow Erik Larson alternates chapters with these historic figures and makes two untenable subjects intertwine.

The side stories are fantastic, including George W.G. Ferris and his famous wheel, the landscape architect Frederick L. Olmstead's radical ideas, Buffalo Bill Cody's side show with Annie Oakley, and the frightening Patrick Prendergast stalking Chicago's five time Mayor Carter Henry Harrison. The fair debuted Cracker Jack's, Shredded Wheat, and the first spray paint nozzle and hose. These were exciting times for entrepreneurs, and Erik Larson illustrates all their World Fair contributions and difficulties in rich story telling. In reading this book, I really felt like I was there, or at least wished I was there, especially on the day Chicago crushed Paris's World's Fair "one day" admissions total by 354,000 people.

This book has to be read to understand what I'm saying about non-fiction reading like Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, regardless of the fact that this work is backed up by 41 pages of notes. This volume is highly recommended for readers of any genre, and if you are a student of literature, grab a Erik Larson book and enjoy his style.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: As a side story, it's interesting to know that a junior architect at the 1893 World's Fair was fired for "using his free time to design houses for clients of his own". His name was Frank Lloyd Wright. Also interesting is the fact that the Director of Color and Functions, Frank Millet died on the maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912. He had all the buildings in the fair painted white, thus the "White City".