The Devil in the White City is about 2 people during the Chicago World's Fair. One being the chief architect behind the Worlds Fair of 1893, Daniel Burnham. The other being a young doctor named H.H. Holmes that killed several women visiting the city at that time.
The entire time I was reading I was expecting these two to meet, but they never did. Several chapters go into GREAT detail about the construction and planning of the World's Fair (Chicago residents called it the White City). I was very impressed with this on the one hand and I learned a lot, but on the other, I was exhausted by all the people you had to learn and the terms and locations-it was too much. I remember going to Chicago for a day trip when I was in the 9th grade. Unfortunately, the only things my group wanted to do was shop and get dinner at Hooters (yes, quite unfortunately). I would love to go back now and see some of these places now that I know the architect behind them.
The other chapters go into GREAT detail about this Dr. Holmes and his "murder castle." Dr. Holmes presented himself as a gentlemen. He was handsome, personable ,and obviously very manipulative. He had bought a property that rented rooms out to people that were in Chicago for the fair. He made sure the apartments on the top floor couldn't hear anything coming from the basement which was well equipped with gas chambers and dissection tables. Most of his tenants were young girls coming to the city in search of adventure. I hate to think about all the girls that lost their life to this psycho, and their families that never realized they wouldn't see their daughter or sister ever again.
Reading this book also reminded me why I like to read actual books. I like to physically turn the pages and sometimes they smell really good. I also came across this shopping list that was left by a previous reader. A story within a story! Who was this reader? Did they find their perfect Christmas tree? What pie were they going to make with the crust? Surely the peas weren't going into the pie. Are they expecting company for the holidays? Is this why they need the aspirin?
I wasn't expecting a true story when I put this on my list, but it wasn't so bad. It took me awhile to read though because some chapters were hard to get through-either because they were creepy or I got lost in all the architectural jargon. But I was fascinated at the amount of time and dedication it took for Mr. Burnham and his team to make this fair a success. I enjoyed learning the history of the fair and the people involved, but Dr. Holmes story distracted me from that a bit. I found it hard to celebrate Mr. Burnham's achievement knowing Dr. Holmes was across town making his mark as one of America's first serial killers. Let me leave you with this quote from Dr. Holmes.
"I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing — I was born with the "Evil One" standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since."- H.H. Holmes
