The Devil in the White City (edit title)

• Rated 5 stars

“Creepy & absolute love”

• Rated 5 stars

“You will spend most of this book disbelieving that this is a true story. The people are over the top at times, especially the serial killer, but it is addicting. I is a great look, though, at what Chicago was like at the turn of the century, and after reading it I wanted to be able to go there. Alas, I cannot not, but I feel like I am transported there every time I read this book.”

• Rated 4 stars

“I read this book about 5 years ago, and enjoyed reading about all that was involved in Chicago preparing for the World's Fair. Many wonderful inventions that are still used today were presented at this great exhibition. Was a fascinating read.”

• Rated 5 stars

“fascinating (and disturbing). Excellent piece of historical fiction”

• Rated 5 stars

“Like my mother, who let me borrow her copy of the book, I found something interesting on every page. I wasn't so caught up in the story of the first serial killer in America as much as I enjoyed learning about the Chicago World's Fair. I have suggested this book to many friends, and I hope to encourage a group from school to read it and discuss it.”

• 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.”