poster for The Devil in the White City

The Devil in the White City

by Erik Larson

I've read this book 1 time and given it an average score of 2 (out of 4).

2018-05-27

This book was interesting. Larson did a good job integrating 1st party sources into the narrative and really, building a narrative in the first place. He clearly wanted to write a book about the world fair and the architecture therein, but needed the murder angle to appeal to a wider audience. Ultimately the historical context is interesting, especially if you love Chicago. Overall, it’s slow and dull. The whole murder angle feels like an afterthought and the first half of the book can be summarized as “it was expensive and stuff went wrong”.

To be notified of new book reviews, consider subscribing via RSS Feeds, Bluesky, or Mastodon!