Devil in The White City
Five out of the six villains met last night to discuss Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Bombgasm red-flagged his book so much that it had a sort of wounded look to it, but everyone always appreciates his highlighting and underlining efforts when it comes to reading passages.
We all couldn't fathom the concept of building such a large event with such large scale structures, with the exception of an Olympic event, but even then I think the Olympics kind of pale in comparison to the Columbian Exposition of 1893. And what was the final number count of visitors - 27 million? The cultural legacy it left is even more interesting, and maybe not quite as obvious, but still as pervasive, today, coloring every aspect of daily modern life--from museums to the Pledge of Allegiance to Cracker Jacks and Disney World. Shredded Wheat, Pabst Beer, Aunt Jemima syrup, and Juicy Fruit gum a few more.
The darker side of the Chicago based story, Mr. Serial Killer, was interesting and a bit more puzzling as to why this character wasn't as famous as Mr. J. Ripper. Larson did a good job of writing his character and the victims. The only thing I didn't like about the book is the switching gears. I appreciated the glimpse into Chicago life in the 1800's, but reading about the exposition logistics, politics and personalities and then jumping to the killer's life was a huge mental switch for my simple mind at least.
Shoozie is picking the next selection - let us know what it is soon!!!!
We all couldn't fathom the concept of building such a large event with such large scale structures, with the exception of an Olympic event, but even then I think the Olympics kind of pale in comparison to the Columbian Exposition of 1893. And what was the final number count of visitors - 27 million? The cultural legacy it left is even more interesting, and maybe not quite as obvious, but still as pervasive, today, coloring every aspect of daily modern life--from museums to the Pledge of Allegiance to Cracker Jacks and Disney World. Shredded Wheat, Pabst Beer, Aunt Jemima syrup, and Juicy Fruit gum a few more.
The darker side of the Chicago based story, Mr. Serial Killer, was interesting and a bit more puzzling as to why this character wasn't as famous as Mr. J. Ripper. Larson did a good job of writing his character and the victims. The only thing I didn't like about the book is the switching gears. I appreciated the glimpse into Chicago life in the 1800's, but reading about the exposition logistics, politics and personalities and then jumping to the killer's life was a huge mental switch for my simple mind at least.
Shoozie is picking the next selection - let us know what it is soon!!!!
posted by H at 7:20 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home