The Devil In The White City Book Report
By JANET MASLIN
Published: February 10, 2003
THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY
Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
By Erik Larson
Illustrated. 447 pages. Crown Publishers. $25.95.
As part of his research for ''The Devil in the White City'' Erik Larson visited the part of Graceland cemetery where members of Chicago's turn-of-the-century elite are enshrined.
As he puts it, ''On a crystalline fall day you can almost hear the tinkle of fine crystal, the rustle of silk and wool, almost smell the expensive cigars.''
Mr. Larson likes to embroider the past that way. So he relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel, complete with abundant cross-cutting …show more content…
Over the kind of menu that featured green turtle consommé and woodcock on toast, they laid glorious plans.
Central to the book is Daniel Hudson Burnham, a galvanizing force in shaping the huge, ornate white buildings that made the fair such a wonder. One vast structure had a floor that alone required five train cars' worth of nails.
The author has found many more odd and amazing details where that came from. The book describes the perilous birth of the Ferris Wheel (although a rival plan to outdo the
Eiffel Tower called for a huge tower with a log cabin on top); the arrival of novelties like zippers and Cracker Jack; and Chicago's first glimpse of a belly dancer. Assorted ostriches, mummies, sphinxes and alleged cannibals also contributed to the ambience, which is evoked with much color. So are darker events of that time. These include ruinous financial panic and the sight of the world's most dangerous weapon: a Krupp artillery piece firing a one-ton
Published: February 10, 2003
THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY
Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
By Erik Larson
Illustrated. 447 pages. Crown Publishers. $25.95.
As part of his research for ''The Devil in the White City'' Erik Larson visited the part of Graceland cemetery where members of Chicago's turn-of-the-century elite are enshrined.
As he puts it, ''On a crystalline fall day you can almost hear the tinkle of fine crystal, the rustle of silk and wool, almost smell the expensive cigars.''
Mr. Larson likes to embroider the past that way. So he relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel, complete with abundant cross-cutting …show more content…
Over the kind of menu that featured green turtle consommé and woodcock on toast, they laid glorious plans.
Central to the book is Daniel Hudson Burnham, a galvanizing force in shaping the huge, ornate white buildings that made the fair such a wonder. One vast structure had a floor that alone required five train cars' worth of nails.
The author has found many more odd and amazing details where that came from. The book describes the perilous birth of the Ferris Wheel (although a rival plan to outdo the
Eiffel Tower called for a huge tower with a log cabin on top); the arrival of novelties like zippers and Cracker Jack; and Chicago's first glimpse of a belly dancer. Assorted ostriches, mummies, sphinxes and alleged cannibals also contributed to the ambience, which is evoked with much color. So are darker events of that time. These include ruinous financial panic and the sight of the world's most dangerous weapon: a Krupp artillery piece firing a one-ton