Summer Reading Selection

This summer, you and all new students at Goucher College will explore one of the richest and most complex moments in American history by reading and discussing The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. During the Fall 2009 orientation, you will join a small group of students, along with a faculty leader, to discuss the book. The reflection questions below will help you to prepare for that discussion. Following your small group conversation, Erik Larson will speak to all new students and you will have the opportunity to ask him questions.  You will receive the book during summer orientation in June.

About the book:

Devil in the White City combines meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling to consider the rush of events and forces that heralded the twentieth century. It brings 1890s Chicago to life by intertwining the true tales of two men: one, a gifted architect with high aspirations to secure America’s place in the world, the other, a sinister serial murderer. The architect, Daniel Burnham, becomes the director of works for the Chicago World’s Fair, overcoming crushing professional obstacles and personal tragedies to create an engineering and civic marvel. Simultaneously, the psychopathic killer Henry H. Holmes sets up shop in the shadows of the fair and uses it to lure his victims to his hotel and to their demise. The author, Erik Larson, captures each man’s legacy – one of brilliance and energy, the other of sorrow and darkness – using their lives as metaphors for the forces that would shape the 20th century.

Reflection Questions:
  1. In what ways is this book like a novel? In what way is it an historical study? What satisfactions can be derived from nonfiction that cannot be found in novels?
  2. What is the total picture of late nineteenth-century America that emerges from the book? How is that time both like and unlike contemporary America?
  3. How was Chicago viewed by the American people during this time period? Why was it important for Chicago to host the Fair? Can you think of any events in your lifetime with a similar impact?
  4. How does knowing about the Fair enhance your understanding of the United States? In what ways did the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 change America? What lasting inventions and ideas did it introduce into American culture? What important figures were critically influenced by the Fair?
  5. What are some of the most admirable traits of Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted? What are their most important aesthetic principles?
  6. What are the essential differences between the two main characters, Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes? Are they alike in any way?
  7. According to Larson, what might have motivated Holmes? Why should we even try to understand his motivations?
  8. Larson writes, "The juxtaposition of pride and unfathomed evil struck me as offering powerful insights into the nature of men and their ambitions" [p. 393]. What such insights does this book offer? What more recent stories of pride, ambition, and evil parallel those described in the book?
Optional Essay Contest (Deadline: Monday August 3, 2009)

Submit your answer to Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies via email attachment to awoodson@goucher.edu

Question: In an interview Erik Larson expresses that he "found it extraordinary that during a period of nearly miraculous creativity there should also exist a serial killer of such appetite and industry.  The juxtaposition of the architect and the murderer seemed to open a window on the forces shaping the American soul at the dawn of the 20th century."  Discuss what these forces might be and how the actions of these two men influenced the United States you are living in today?  How might the themes presented in this novel relate to the college experience you are about to embark on?

The winner of this contest will receive a $100 gift certificate to the College Bookstore which will be presented by the author during the evening discussion and book signing event.