The Devil in the White City
From back cover: Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spell-binding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men - the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.
Stats for nerds
16recommend
28mentions
26people
2007–2026years
64% recommend36% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- The Devil in the White City stands out as one of my favorite books. And I live near the location of the prison in Philadelphia where HH Holmes was hanged, though it’s now the site of a grocery store. So I’m regularly reminded by the historical marker sign.
- For anyone interested in this topic I highly recommend the book The Devil in the White City. It definitely includes some very disturbing subject matter (basically the nation's first heavily publicized serial killer) with an incredibly deep history of the fair so it's not for everyone but an amazing read. I love how brilliantly the author builds up the anticipation for how the American architects were going to respond to the magnificence of the Eiffel Tower at Paris's exposition a few years prior. I will not spoil it here and it's best if you don't know it when you read it
- Not related, but because I also liked that one, I'll add:
Devil in the White City, by Eric Larson
Covers the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Light on some of the sorts of details OP is asking for; also follows the thread of a serial killer to keep things interesting for those less interested in the business/engineering, but still good.
- You should also read Devil in the White City, which is nominally about the construction of the 1893 World’s Fair but really gives you a feel for the free-for-all that Chicago architecture was in that time period.
- I loved Devil in the White City so it's too bad to hear that you didn't find Thunderstruck very good.
Marconi was working on developing microwave transmission at the time of his death. Microwave antenna are small but are only good for line of sight transmission.
- Devil in the White City (coming to the big screen)
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