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What Members Thought
Two interesting subjects, though shoehorning one in with the other is questionable. And the pacing, especially in the middle is off--the detailed sections on the building of the fair got quite tedious at points until I was skimming those sections. But the ending was excellent and made me want to immediately visit Chicago. I have been to the Museum of Science and Industry many, many times, but I never realized that it is housed in one of the remaining fair buildings. You could never fault Larson
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Originally reviewed at Jayne's Books.
I was more interested in the H.H. Holmes storyline rather than the stuff about the building of the "White City" for the Chicago's World Fair, even though there was some connection between the two. The story about the building of "White City" seemed to be full of details that I honestly really didn't care about. The H.H. Holmes story line was the reason that I picked up the book, as I had heard about him through a podcast on Stuff You Missed in History Class a ...more
I was more interested in the H.H. Holmes storyline rather than the stuff about the building of the "White City" for the Chicago's World Fair, even though there was some connection between the two. The story about the building of "White City" seemed to be full of details that I honestly really didn't care about. The H.H. Holmes story line was the reason that I picked up the book, as I had heard about him through a podcast on Stuff You Missed in History Class a ...more
This book sets the standard for narrative nonfiction in the twenty-first century. The fact that it is set in Chicago, my hometown, is a beautiful bonus.
I finished this on an extended reading tour ... and in true M. Twain style (though reported he never made it to the fair, just to Chicago), truth is certainly stranger than fiction. Utterly fascinating to learn of the design process and architectural feats that led to Chicago's World Fair in 1893 intertwined with the grossly horrific planning that serial killer H. H. Holmes undertook to succumb his victims in this fact- and action-packed account by E. Larson. I will forever see colorful Chicago
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Dec 09, 2010
Erica
marked it as to-read
Mar 14, 2012
Katie
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
started,
on-hold,
books-i-own,
fl,
borrowed-from-the-library,
paused,
true-story,
true-crime,
fl-vacation-march-2012
Apr 14, 2015
Maria
added it
Sep 13, 2015
Rossie
marked it as to-read
Dec 29, 2016
Kate
added it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
2017-probablyreading-challenge,
truecrime
Dec 31, 2017
Dawn
marked it as to-read
Nov 02, 2018
Gayle
marked it as to-read
Dec 09, 2019
Michele Campbell
added it
