Sorry for the long time between posts. Our discussion this past August about Erik Larson's The Devil And The White City was fantastic. The book is a fascinating window into a period of history -- the end of the 19th century -- launched by the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
Many of us felt that we didn't learn as much about the vaunted architect of the fair, Daniel Burnham, as we did about the devil lurking at the edges of the fair, luring victims to horrific deaths, Dr. H. H. Holmes. Larson, in his copious notes, let the reader know that he created and dramatized many of the thoughts that Holmes and his victims may have had based on notes from the time period as well as psychological theories of psychopaths. Is this purely a work of nonfiction if there are large pieces of dramatization inserted to fill in the gaps in the historical record? What are your thoughts? If you have any additional thoughts about the book, comment away.
Next up: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (Wednesday, September 17).
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