The Devil in the White City (edit title)

• Rated 4 stars

“Very interesting because it mentions so much about the local history of Chicago, Milwaukee and Waukesha. Very well written.”

• Rated 0 stars

“Great read, if you like Chicago history, you'll love this book”

• Rated 4 stars

“Chicago's history is amazing! this book was so intriguing.... I would highly recommend it!”

• Rated 1 stars

“I wish I could have finished this book - but two factors led up to me finally just putting it down and giving up in defeat.

First of all, I've never liked Chicago. I dislike the city and everything about it (except maybe the pizza). I've never enjoyed visiting the city, despite having lived less than 2 hours away for about 10 years of my life. I've never enjoyed the shopping there, and was always struck by how rude people seemed to be (even more magnified when I moved to Atlanta, where the atmosphere is completely different).

Secondly, this book is like a really dry piece of meat. You chew and chew and know you are receiving the nutrients you need but it sure is hard to swallow. I'm amazed that people can say this reads like a novel, and wonder what types of novels they are reading. There is no dialog, except the excerpts from various letters and documents, there's no life breathed into the characters, and I felt as if I was slugging my way through a history book - a well written one, but boring none-the-less.

The tidbits here and there about various famous characters were interesting, the cover fascinated me and kept drawing me in the 4-5 times I actually put the book down. And I did give it a fair shake. 200 pages read, and not once was I interested enough to keep my eyes from wandering every other page or so.

So, yes - the book is great if you are interested in Chicago or architecture (to the point of being able to read 4-5 pages at a time filled with names and descript”

• Rated 4 stars

“I have one more chapter to read. Can't seem to get back to it.”

• Rated 2 stars

“When I picked up this book, I didn't realize it was NON-fiction. In fact, I didn't figure that out until half way through the book. ugh. This may contribute to the fact that I didn't like it much.”

• Rated 0 stars

“I couldn't get into this book. I couldn't get past the over-detailed lives of the architects. Didn't interest me at all through page 50... I had to stop and give the book back.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I've marked that I didn't like this book. However, I have been tempted recently to pick up and try to read it again. It was very intriguing, but at the time that I read it I just couldn't get into it. Nothing wrong with giving a book a second chance.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I thought it moved too slowly, but nonfiction really is not my cup of tea.”

• Rated 5 stars

“This is one of my all time favorite books.! I found its parallel story lines, plot twists, and extensive details of Chicago history, architecture, and crime to be quite entertaining all while learning about Chicago history, which I enjoy. The parallel stories and cliffhangers at the end of each chapter made for a very engrossing and fast paced read, which keep me wanting more. Larson’s descriptors of turn-of –century Chicago conveyed a strong sense of place, as the setting was often as important as the characters he described. ”