The Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson
★ Top 25 book of 2003 · #12 on Best Books of 2003
Erik Larson brings Chicago in 1893 to life by weaving together the true stories of two men: the architect behind the World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world, and a very different man in the same city.
Best for: Readers who like narrative non-fiction that reads like a thriller.
The Devil in the White City is #12 on BookWard's Best Books of 2003, out of 52 2003 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Devil in the White City is about
Two very different men shape this account of Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Daniel Burnham, the architect behind the fair, battles a fire, doubts about the safety of his buildings and a shortage of money to deliver a showpiece the nation could be proud of. Meanwhile H. H. Holmes, a charming man widely considered the first serial killer in the United States, lured his victims, mainly women, to their deaths in his elaborately constructed "Murder Castle," with secret rooms, torture chambers, and a large furnace to cremate bodies.
Erik Larson weaves the two stories together across four parts, set in Chicago from 1890 to 1893 and in Philadelphia around 1895, and adds the assassination of Mayor Carter Harrison III days before the fair closed. Built on careful research yet told like a story, it explores ambition, progress and evil in an America entering the modern age. History readers and true crime fans will find plenty here.
The Devil in the White City on the Best Books of 2003
The Devil in the White City came out in 2003. Of the 52 books first published in 2003 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #12 on our Best Books of 2003 list.
Why it made the list: 531 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (63 ratings); 24 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2003 list
- How to Train Your Dragon Cressida Cowell, #10
- We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver, #11
- Thomas and Friends Reverend W. Awdry, #13
- Fire and Ice Erin Hunter, #14
See all Best Books of 2003 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2002 Best Books of 2004.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 419 want to read it, 24 are reading it now and 88 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.9 out of 5 from 63 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 79 | 55% |
| Reader love | 40 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 71 | 20% |
Questions about The Devil in the White City
When was The Devil in the White City published?
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson was first published in 2003.
Was The Devil in the White City one of the best books of 2003?
The Devil in the White City is #12 on BookWard's Best Books of 2003, out of 52 2003 books that cleared our data bar. 531 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (63 ratings); 24 are reading it right now.
Why is The Devil in the White City on the Best Books of 2003 list?
531 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (63 ratings); 24 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2003
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling, #1
- Into the Wild Erin Hunter, #2
- The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini, #3
- Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Mo Willems, #4
- A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, #5
- The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown, #6
See the full Best Books of 2003, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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