Devil in the White City by Erik Larson This is a surprisingly  entertaining account of the events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where a swampy lakeside area of Chicago was transformed into  a gleaming “White City” – a sparkling array of exhibition buildings, lighted promenades, splendid gardens, a lagoon with  boats and swans, and  venues for all manner of amazing sights and sounds, including exotic animals, hootchy- kootchy dancers, and new inventions and products, including phosphorescent lights,  Juicy Fruit gum, and the Ferris Wheel. 

By the mid-19^thcentury, Chicago was known mostly for its stockyards and slaughterhouses.  After the devastating fire of 1871, Chicago rebuilt very quickly, and by the time of the World’s Fair, it was the fastest growing place in America –and the 1893 World’s Fair was supposed to help launch Chicago’s reputation as a world class city. 
The design of the Fair brought together some of the most brilliant architects and engineers of the day, Daniel Burnham, Charles McKim, Frederick Law Olmstead, Louis Sullivan, and many others.  The reader sits in on the planning and building of the White City, and experiences the egos, the squabbles, the set- backs and the successes associated with this major undertaking.

Concurrent with the story of the 1893 World’s Fair, is an account of one H.H. Holmes , a deranged Chicago medical doctor and a charming swindler who built a hotel not far from the site of the White City, designed specifically for murder.  It featured its own gas chamber and crematorium.  Holmes was America’s first recorded serial killer, and although when he was finally caught, he confessed to only two murders, it is believed that he murdered at least 200 people.  

This is a fascinating slice of history, at once compelling and gruesome.  And, if you’re in a book group, this is a very discussible selection.