I thoroughly enjoyed reading Larson's novel-like account of the true events surrounding the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. I was taken aback by how much of its history I did not know; and how much I knew - but did not connect so closely to the time and the place. Larson's descriptions really portray a bustling Chicago landscape and a dark, seedy undercurrent. Much like the two men's lives he focuses on in the book: the Fair's lead architect Daniel Burnham, and a notorious serial killer of his time, H.H. Holmes, whom, until this book, I'd never heard of. Burnham's storyline intrigued me in a way I never really have been by architecture before; I gained a bit of respect for the innovations of the time. The story centering on Holmes was indeed scary if only for the descriptions which are obviously accurate due to Larson's complete research. To think these two men's lives are now accounted for and survive as a memory due to letters and newspaper articles and diaries can only attest to my own thoughts of writing this down or blogging or e-mails to journalists now and in the future. The main reason I docked this book a star was because though these two men lived in the same era, and city, there's too little connection made between the two stories. It's as if Larson wished to write about the World's Fair and picked the two most interesting stories to come out of it, and wrote the book about the two instead of a book each. Perhaps there wouldn't be enough material for a whole book each? Either way, the book jumped between the two men almost as if it was between "good" and "evil" - maybe the point. All this aside, it was an easy, enjoyable read with many fascinating (and sometimes gory) facts. I highly recommend it!