Erik Larson's non-fiction book The Devil in the White City deals with two dreamers: Daniel Hudson Burnham, the architect and director of the magnificent and monolithic Chicago World's Fair of 1894, and Henry H. Holmes, the serial killer who built a "death hotel" on land in Englewood, near the World's Fair, so he could gas young women, children, and other unsuspecting folks that he pulled into his magnetic field of trust . . . and while one of these men was working for civic duty in order to better a city he loved and the other for evil and perverse motivations that perhaps even he didn't understand fully, they both had the need to build an architectural impossibility to achieve their dreams . . . and they both succeed! . . . Larson does an amazing job of smoothly presenting all the details for both events, details both glorious and heinous -- he did all the reading for you (as evidenced by the bibliography and pages and pages of copious notes) and I highly recommend this book, especially for folks who love architecture, civic politics, urban planning, and serial homicide.
5 comments:
"I highly recommend this book, especially for folks who love architecture, civic politics, urban planning, and serial homicide."
I enjoy 2 of these 4 things - will I still enjoy the book?
you'll half-enjoy it. i didn't know you liked serial homicide and urban planning . . .
It's actually serial homicide and architecture. I'm Art Vandelay meets Ted Bundy.
meets al bundy and art garfunkel.
I'm assuming you read this recently Dave....I thought it was great, too (read about 2 yrs ago). And can't believe I actually read something before you did!
Post a Comment