Reading Room Book Club: Devil in the White City

About this event

Adults: 18 and up. Please join us for a discussion of The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson in the President's Reading Room at the Obama Presidential Center Branch. Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malignant parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds--a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake. Place a hold or pick up a copy at the Obama Presidential Center Branch circulation desk. How to Attend This event takes place in person. Questions about visiting the library? Check out our Using the Library FAQs. Accessibility Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email [email protected] to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.