I don’t often read non-fiction. I much prefer the fantastic worlds of science fiction or fantasy. But occasionally a book will come along with writing so crisp and a story so engaging that it makes me read outside of my comfort zone just to see what it’s all about. Has there ever been a book that you were surprised to find yourself reading?
For me, one such book was The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The story fully lives up to the “murder, magic and madness” it promises in its sub-title, and does it so well that it was the 2004 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the 2003 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction, and was on the shortlist for the 2003 CWA Gold Dagger award for non-fiction.
Larson frames his story around the lives of two men: Daniel Burnham, architect, and Herman Mudgett, otherwise known as Dr. H. H. Holmes, serial killer. As Burnham planned and constructed the towering “White City” that would hold the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Holmes was constructing his own legacy of death, culminating in the three-story high, block long “Murder Castle.”
The highlight of the book is definitely when the two stories meet during the six month run of the Exposition, but I was kept on the edge of my seat until the very end, anxious to find out how events wrapped up.
The Devil in the White City is not for the faint of heart. True crime rarely is: it hits too close to home, and it can be a shock when you realize the horrific things that you’re reading about are not the inventions of an author sitting at a computer, but the actions of a real person. It is a fascinating read for those who want a chill up their spine this summer.
For me, one such book was The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The story fully lives up to the “murder, magic and madness” it promises in its sub-title, and does it so well that it was the 2004 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the 2003 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction, and was on the shortlist for the 2003 CWA Gold Dagger award for non-fiction.
Larson frames his story around the lives of two men: Daniel Burnham, architect, and Herman Mudgett, otherwise known as Dr. H. H. Holmes, serial killer. As Burnham planned and constructed the towering “White City” that would hold the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Holmes was constructing his own legacy of death, culminating in the three-story high, block long “Murder Castle.”
The highlight of the book is definitely when the two stories meet during the six month run of the Exposition, but I was kept on the edge of my seat until the very end, anxious to find out how events wrapped up.
The Devil in the White City is not for the faint of heart. True crime rarely is: it hits too close to home, and it can be a shock when you realize the horrific things that you’re reading about are not the inventions of an author sitting at a computer, but the actions of a real person. It is a fascinating read for those who want a chill up their spine this summer.
