Devil in the White City
Mood:  bright
Topic: Book Review
.Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is the non-fictional account of the building of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Its subplot details the crimes of one of America's earlier serial killers with the unlikely name of Holmes. The novel is peopled with the likes of Frederick Law Olmsted, Little Egypt, George Ferris, Buffalo Bill Cody and a cast of thousands.

The Columbian Exposition (or World's Fair as it came to be known) introduced many new ideas and products to America as it entered the 20th century: urban electrification, Shredded Wheat, the Ferris wheel and others. This novel deals with the efforts of Frank Burnham as the project manager for the fair. Interspersed are chapters concerning Holmes (real name Herman Mudgett) and his plots to isolate and kill men, women and children who wandered into his Midway lair. Recommended. Barnes and Noble has it.