Super Short Summary

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson intertwines the narratives of Daniel Hudson Burnham, the architect of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the fair to lure victims into his "Murder Castle." The book explores themes like sanity versus insanity, anonymity in urban environments, contemporary gender roles, and the contrasting collaborative nature of Burnham's work with Holmes' isolation during their intertwined trajectories at the historical fair. The book contains graphic descriptions of violence, murder, and systemic manipulation.