The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen

I read this book in 2007 when I traveled to Venezuela. It was a good companion to have on the airplane ride. The book is about the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

I never realized how much the fair changed things. Some products were introduced at the fair such as Cracker Jacks, Juicy Fruit Gum, Aunt Jemima's Pancake mix, and the hamburger was introduced to the USA. I found it to be very interesting that a few of the buildings from the fair that stand today are part of the Museum of Science and Industry. I went there in 2000. I didn't know about the history of those buildings until I read the book.

The book is about the World's Fair and also about a series of murders that were committed by a serial killer during the time of the event. He went by many pseudonyms. H.H. Holmes was his most popular one. He came from the East and moved into Chicago where he wasn't known. He was a good con-artist, making business deals with people and later refusing to pay his loans. He had a winning personality and smile that made people do what he wanted them to do. He was a true psycopath because he was so well-liked and friendly, yet also swindling people and killing people mercilessly. He had a hotel built with rooms that were gas chambers. There was a crematorium built in the basement. There may have been 200 victims of his killing spree, yet the real number has been lost to history.

One very interesting thing about the fair is that those who constructed the buildings and gardens for the fair were popular landscapers and architects of the day. The landscaper was Olmstead, who had set the plans for Central Park in New York City.

This book gave me an idea of life in the 1890s, that were known as "The Gay Nineties". I never knew how much this World's Fair changed things forever. I also was interested in the landscaping of Olmstead. It made me appreciate Central Park more. He had an eye for untamed nature, and the park is an area of some wild beauty in the middle of the city.