The Devil in the White City 

The juxtaposition of two very different tales won’t work for all readers. It worked for me – mostly because Larson paints a vivid picture of the late 19th century that helps explain how it was possible for H.H. Holmes to do what he did.

It’s in the context of the chaotic and confusing growth of the city, the introduction of strange (almost magical) new technologies into everyday life, the economic woes and individual struggles, that a madman like Holmes could destroy countless lives before being exposed. The Fair, then, represents the optimistic effort to create order out of chaos, to paint a future that makes all the struggles seem worthwhile.

Larson writes speculative non-fiction to a degree to which few other writers dare. It’s a risky approach, and some readers will take away claims as facts from his book that are purely conjecture. Even the notes are hidden away, so that no small numbers at the end of sentences distract from the flow of the narrative.

It’s a unique style, and it requires attentive reading (including of Larson’s own explanations) to separate speculation from fact. But his speculations are entirely rational, and they do help to imagine what may have animated men like Burnham, and madmen like Holmes.