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The Devil in the White City

[Murder, Magic & Madness and the Fair That Changed America]
Jun 07, 2017jandt_mcmurray rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Whoa. What a messed-up dude! Technically the book followed 2 men: Daniel Burnham, 1893 Chicago World's Fair master architect, & Henry Holmes, a young, ambitious doctor that found his kicks in murdering young, vulnerable women. You can probably guess which man I was referring to when I said he was a messed-up dude. The 2 men's lives were intertwined in that they are both heavily linked to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The book jumps back-&-forth between the creation & building up of the fair & the creation & building of Holmes' murder hotel. To see the 2 separate designs & dreams take shape is simply fascinating --- & chilling. This fair brought about the creation of 2 major things: the ferris wheel & the psychopath. Again...I think you can pin these things correctly to the 2 main characters (although technically the ferris wheel wasn't created by Burnham, but it was the new creation & big hit that put Burnham's fair on the map). Age recommendation: 16 & up (murder, mutilation of the human body) On a scale of 1-10 stars, I give it 9.