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    <name><![CDATA[Istop4books]]></name>
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  <created_at type="datetime">2009-11-03T17:21:16-08:00</created_at>
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  <read_at>Sat Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Nov 03 17:21:09 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 07 19:48:26 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I found this book fascinating. It's two stories, intertwined -- all well researched and cited.  One portion of th book centers on the creation of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and John Burnham, the chief architect.  The book showcases the rise of modern architecture as we know it and outlines all the pitfalls, difficulties and ego-centric problems that an endeavor of this huge magnitude entails.  The author writes this portion of the book in a way that is technically precise, but not boring - although I might be biased as I lived in the area for many years and just loved hearing about the city of Chicago and how it grew.<br/><br/>The other portion of the book deals with a notorious serial killer who went by the name of H. H. Holmes.  He operated his gruesome &quot;hobby&quot; at the same time that Burnham's group was creating a masterpiece.  The true crime section is riveting and kept me up way past my sleep time.<br/><br/>To me a good book leads to great discussion and further reading -- I totally enjoyed looking for images of the buildings created by the architects of the time, and furthering my reading on the creation of cities, as well as looking for additional information and images of H. H. Holmes, his &quot;castle&quot; and his victims. <br/>]]></body>
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