#10 in History
The Devil in the White City
- NYT bestseller · 17 weeks on the list, peaked at #4
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About the book
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 historical non-fiction book by Erik Larson. Set in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, The Devil in the White City tells the story of the World's Fair architect Daniel Burnham and, and the concurrent story of H. H. Holmes, a criminal figure widely considered the first serial killer in the United States.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.0 across 869 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 85% of the weight and the score stays at 8.0 — the History average of 8.0 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.0 | 869 | 100% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“Wonderful! I could not believe the amount of history I learned in this book. Larson makes it very clear from the get-go how he gathered his facts and which parts of the book are fact and what is creative fiction. The alternating stories of Burnham…”
“Humans are wack (Pacing was great for the first 2/3 but really fell off in the last 1/3. Some of the side characters, when introduced, felt as if they should've been more important or impactful? Or maybe that's the fiction-craving part of me, that wants more ~drama~)”
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — History — with scores between 7.8 and 8.3, closest to this book.
