Biography Books

I absolutely loved this book. It was deeply inspiring. I stumbled onto it. My sister-in-law read it for her book club. I picked it up after her because we were at the beach and I needed something to read. What a surprise! I am a transplanted Texan and grew up in Ft. Worth so that was especially fun to see my home cowtown all hashed out. Much more than that, though, was the wonderful true story and the jaw dropping inspiration of Debbie Moore and all she touched. She really walked the walk and never wanted any glory. Denver and Ron found each other just when they needed it most. I'm glad they haven't caught and released and that Denver made it back from that scary drive to Colorado.

Not only is the story an amazing one, but both writers express themselves in such a unique way that the book is worth reading at least twice, just to enjoy their descriptive writing - like examining individual brush strokes under a magnifying glass in a fine work of art.

This book was great! Such a powerful testimony. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book was recommended to me by a classmate and it should be read by everyone; the title says it all. Man's inhumanity to man, human frailty and even some humor. It's a book to make you think. Product-wise, the book was received in a timely fashion and in good condition.

This book is amazing. I love biographies and autobiographies and this is definitely one of my favorites. I got the chance to meet the authors and they are very genuine guys, with a desire to tell their story to encourage others. I have given this book as a gift many times because I think everyone should hear their story.

This book it s really great if have already seen the movie it doesn't metter cause there so much more in this book and if you close your eyes seems to be on the road with Alex.

I found this book to be highly engrossing and quite frankly hard to put down, I stayed up till 3 a.m. reading it one night. I think everyone can take something away from this book after reading it which is really a true compliment. I have to wonder about the people who gave this book one star reviews and who call Chris stupid, naive and foolish. People like you have no problem with governments drafting young people for "their" wars only to killed for whatever the goverments cause was. Well Chris died for his own cause and I personally can't fault the man for that. Secondly, each of us in the end has a chance to live life the way they choose or at least how they will approach mentally and this was his choice. We must remember that we are reviewing actual books here and how it was written not the actual person in the book. I want to encourage everyone to read this book and then do some serious thinking afterward taking that inward journey which will only make you stronger.

My 9th grader chose as one of his "optional" summer reading books. I read "Into Thin Air" years ago, so liking Krakauer, gave this one a try. Good, quick, easy read. Well done Jon!

I was disappointed in this book. As others have said, it should have remained a magazine article because there really isn't enough substance, in my opinion, for a book. I think the main character was part immature (for a 24 year old man) and part crazy. I had some difficulty following the time-line. It was never real clear to me just exactly what this guy was searching for.

and for me - Jon Krakauer's writing is the kind of stuff that makes for late nights and tired workdays. I can't pay him a higher compliment. This one was a bit different than his other efforts in that Krakuer plays more the role of detective/sociologist rather than an an insightful expedition biographer. However, the story was as rivetting and perhaps even more powerful. I'm anxiously awaiting his next one! I'd also recommend reading Georgiou's masterpiece-- THE FATES, Fates (classic) if you haven't yet. I stumbled upon it at a book store and can't stop talking about it. His writing style is very similar to Jon Krakauer

It's a long, deep, and ultimately engrossing book about the 16th president and his cabinet. The book has a very strong, almost simplistic, point of view about its focuses. Lincoln is a kindly man always with a story to tell and with an almost preternatural grasp of politics. Seward is the loyal consigliere and companion. Chase is the scheming power-hungry plotter pushed by his scheming power-hungry daughter. Bates is the kindly old guy who no one else really cares about. Stanton is the hard-working, hard-driving guy who never lets the President down. Mary Lincoln is the batty, jealous wife. Everyone comes across as a one-dimensional archetype once they start the Administration. Most of them seem like more interesting people BEFORE Lincoln gets elected.

The book is engaging--it has to be with over 750 pages of text, not including notes, index, etc. But I am no Lincoln expert. I suspect the sketches that are drawn are overly simplistic, but without having seen an alternate account, and not being a Lincoln scholar, I hesitate to state an opinion on the accuracy or the perspective Kearns provides. I can say the book is immensely readable and I enjoyed it greatly.

LEARNING from HISTORY... One of our limitations as a nation is that we don't seem to learn from history. Doris Keanrs Goodwin's book THE TEAM OF RIVALS was written before the current election but provides many lessons that are still relevant in today's political situation. First is the conditions that Lincoln had to deal with when he was elected and when assumed power. We think that times today are unique and troublesome, but can you imagine taking over power and having the country divide and a new nation formed..neither McCain nor Obama could imagine or are prepared for this type of division.
Second, it is interesting that LINCOLN choose his rivals to help him lead and was willing to deal with the consequences of this decision. McCain clearly has followed the Lincoln example and is likely to choose his rivals to help him serve...when he is elected.

Overall we can learn from history and if we are smart avoid making the same mistakes... THANK YOU Ms. GOODWIN for the opportunity to do this because of your easy to read, highly researched and presented HISTORY LESSON.

Bill Rothschild, author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS...which tries to do the same for American businesses.

Doris Kearns Goodwin comes up with an unusual perspective in viewing the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln really won the Office of the President with his oration at Cooper Union.
His main opponents were William Seward, Salmon Chase, Edwin Stanton and Edward Bates.. Lincoln won the election and all of the above served in major cabinet positions during the Civil War. The old saying of keeping your enemies close rings true in this study.
I found the political intrigues to be insightful. However, Doris fails to capture the true essence of Lincoln's political thought. I am grateful that I've learned of Lincoln's political adroitness. However, Doris overplays her hand. Lincoln was more concerned with the state of the union. These team of rivals only served limited purposes in his grand scheme. In all the Rivals were not the Big Bad Wolf that was promoted by Doris!!
The read was insightful but only rates 3 Stars!!!

I have just completed Ms. Goodwin's book. I realize that a huge number of people will not like this review. While no one would denies that Abraham Lincoln was one of the top three presidents in this country's history-perhaps Washington and FDR being the other two-it seems that Goodwin wants to create some type of God out of Lincoln, which he probably was not. Moreover, she makes the south out to be this huge bunch of minsters which they probably was not. Was what the south was doing in sustaining slavery wrong? Yes it was and no one would argue that point. It just takes more of an effort to understand why they were sustaining slavery. There are so many things we encounter today that are just as wrong, but people like to cover them up as Goodwin has done in her biography of Lincoln. I must add, and this should have been pointed out and was not, Lincoln did things as president that would never have been tolerated today, but still he is expected to be worship; and, that is just dangerous.

Very interesting read using source material, in their own words, account. The characters are alive and believeable with the background of the election and civil war. The narrative is engrossing and I got lost in the book. It is a biography of the four people who ran for president in 1860. All four biographies enchance understanding of the times and complement Lincoln's story. The history is fascinating and is paced well and comprehensive.

Several people in my family recommended this book and I managed to avoid it until yesterday because the one asking was a young person. How could I say no to a kid telling me to read a book she liked? What kind of ogre would I have to be to say no? It turns out I'm the kind of ogre that realized I could have lived without reading this. There's not much that's new here or that someone other than a rich, spoiled sports reporter wouldn't have known about the importance of family and the necessity to find your own path to the waterfall. My guess is that there are millions of people with the money to buy this book but without the most basic idea of how to be human. This book is just some basic, simplistic rules about how to be a good person. Nothing drastic or thought-provoking here. Again, I wanted to like it, but I can think of dozens of other books that have really touched me in many more ways than this one. Morrie Schwarz sounds like he was a nice man, but I think I would have gotten more out of one of his sociology classes or from spending an afternoon with him just talking than from reading Albom's book.

This is a quick, easy read, all about dying but not a bit depressing, uplifting and cheerful. Give it to somebody who is having a hard year or having a hard time remembering their priorities.

this book reminds me a lot of Conversations with my dog by Ziglar.....if I had to choose one book out of the two.....it would definetely be Albom. Both books offer life lessons about many things in life....thought it would be better though....i am getting the DVD to see how the movie does.

After reading so many spectacular reviews, I decided to give this book a whirl myself, and I'm so thankful I did. First of all, I hate to read. Well, let me rephrase that. I USED to hate to read. Doing so much reading in college leaves me with little energy outside of schoolwork to read, but I quickly polished this book off in two sessions.

This book grabs you almost immediately and reels you in, and once you reach the first Tuesday conversation with Morrie, there's no turning back - you're anxious to see what lies ahead. In the midst of this beautiful story between two friends - Morrie, the former professor, and Mitch, his former student - you are taught valuable life lessons between the pages as Morrie battles Lou Gehrig's disease.

The best lesson I took away from this book is that love and relationships are the most important things in life. This book has really changed how I perceive life. I, at 25, was so convinced that life still seems so lengthy, so certain, when in reality, it could end at any moment. How do I want to be remembered? That's something that Morrie's words really make you think about. I tell my friends and family a lot more often now how much I love them, and I've let a lot of bitterness about petty things go because this book has reminded me how small those things really are in comparison with the big picture of life, and life is too short to be anything but happy.

In summary, this book reads quickly (so quickly!) yet there are hugely valuable lessons to be learned in its short length. If you're looking simply for a heartwarming story, this is the book for you. If you are perhaps one of those folks who takes life and those around you for granted sometimes, then this book is for you as well. You might even learn a thing or two. :)

Tuesdays with Morrie is about a professor (Morrie), his former student (Mitch), and their final "class" with one another as the professor is in the final stages of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Mitch taped their discussions together and transcribed them into the book while throwing in slices of college memories of Morrie and other seemingly inconsequential moments that add to the humanity of this life-altering work.

Tuesdays with Morrie allows the reader to glimpse into someone's mind who knows he is dying. We all know we are going to die, but we don't necessarily act like it. Morrie addresses what is really important in life and says that if people lived like they were going to die, they'd live differently. They'd live better.

"How do you detach from the agony of physical and mental pain when you know you're going to die?" "How can someone with ALS be so incapacitated and yet still be happy?" "What would you do on your last day?" Morrie addresses these questions and they are what taught me the most from this book. I'll be writing on them in the coming days.

Mitch was able to learn lessons from a man he admired. I have been blessed with such relationships and of these I am eternally grateful. Dr. Bill Greenwalt was one of these men. We met every Tuesday so that I could earn my license as a professional counselor. He would encourage my good ideas and chuckle at those he knew wouldn't work. I didn't care because I valued his insight. He was patient and always thought deeply about everything I said. These two virtues (patience and thoughtfulness) are hard to find. Dr. Bill Greenwalt died suddenly of a heart attack in January of 2006. I envy Mitch in that I was unable to tell Dr. Greenwalt goodbye and how much he meant to me.

So we don't have to plow through every mistake in life, the Lord blesses us with people who can light our ways as we realize our potential. The person may be a teacher who always knows your name, or a supervisor who takes time for you no matter how busy he is. We need more people like this. I hope you will notice them around you and work to become one yourself.

Oh, this book stripped the marrow from my bones. I am someone who has never even seen any drugs, but it still gripped me with an insider's harrowing sense of recognition. A very close family member of mine was a coke addict who also was rescued because of her ultimate love for her child. I have endured all the tribulations (too weak a word) that a family member can in watching the endless self-destruction that addiction brings, along with the attendant neglect of a baby. I was victimized countless times by the constant theft and deception that an addict trails in his or her wake, but much worse was trying to help keep the baby alive and flourishing when the baby's mother was out of her mind. Thank God that eventually this relative's desire to give her child a life provided sufficient motivation to get clean and so far to stay clean.
Furthermore, besides being able to relate too well to the wrecked lives Carr details, I thought his writing was spectacular. Many times I reread a superbly crafted line because it so brilliantly conveyed his emotion or some circumstance. I found the entire "reporting" device to be supremely effective and was profoundly moved all along as the Carr of 2007 met again with the people from two decades before, and as he discovered what had really occurred when he was too drug-damaged to know.
It was also informative to access the website that accompanies the book. Hearing from the actual characters in his narrative augmented my understanding of his life.
Here is hoping that David Carr remains on the straight and narrow to enjoy his life with his wife and three girls.

David's brutally honest recall of those dark days stunned even his closest friends and family members. He was a very bad man that did some really bad things. However, his successful recovery and subsequent ability to share what it really felt like to be in those shoes, will most certainly, help any individuals, family members or friends that has or is living a life of addiction. Be prepared to spend a weekend reading it, because I dare you to put it down once start

"The night of the gun" is the story David Carr. He is a hard partying yet brilliant journalist who recounts all the horrible affects of his addiction to alcohol and illicit substances (namely crack cocaine). What makes this book different in accounting his past horrible events as a crack addict/alcoholic is that the author did a great deal of research on himself in order to write the book. He used 60 videotaped interviews with friends, family and former employers/fellow employees, legal and medical records, and three years of reporting to tell his story.
Mr. Carr is very candid in his approach to his addiction. He discusses openly numberous family problems, including the fact that he was a poor father to his daughters while he was openly addicted. He also discusses numberous alcohol and drug related legal problems directly related to his addiction. One of the things I really enjoyed about this particular book is his discussion of the different times he has been in detox/rehab. He has been in and out of detox/rehab 5 times, and self expresses that he "...could give a pretty good presentation off the top of my head on the disease concept of addiction." Normally books on addiction end with the person going through rehab and not drinking/using again. This book discusses relapses associated with addiction, and the phenominon of going through rehab several times and still not benefiting from it (due to the addict/alcoholic not being "ready" to benefit from it yet).
"The night of the gun" is an engaging read about gratitude in being sober. Mr. CArr does not flinch from divulging the worst parts of his addiction to the readers. Anyone who enjoys a coming of age story, or who has been touched by addiction in their life or someone else's life will be touched by this book.

This is a book about addiction -- the author's. In fact, David Carr was so addicted and living in such an addled state that he literally could not accurately remember his life story. Thus, this is not really an autobiography but rather a memoir written with information provided by others via interviews of his friends and acquaintances during his harrowing experiences of dependency, relationships, relapse, family, and the destruction of just about everything good in the author's life. He lived to conduct his research and based upon what he discovered (including the truth and himself), he's a very, very lucky man.

Born of necessity, the concept of an autobiography based upon the research of one's own life is a brilliant one and if one is interested in the depths of addictive despair, this is often an interesting read. However, Carr's writing style prevents what might have been great. He recounts his interview information in a somewhat linear fashion, but jumps around based upon the interviewee in question. Dates get mixed up from one paragraph to the next, so I found it difficult to follow and this deals a blow to the arch of despair and redemption I believe he's tried to create. It's as if his writing exists only for his own consumption rather than with the reader primarily in mind. I have never experienced addiction at this level and would at least appreciate a cautionary tale if not a thoroughly visceral ride.

More specifically, Carr treats us to sections of introspection that are often quite effective both in specific terms of addiction and the more general human condition, but then he'll suddenly recount a story of binge drinking and coke snorting or some really terrible way he treated someone due to his downward spiral coupled with one liners from various authors he constantly quotes throughout the narrative. The quoting is an odd device because what I wanted from Carr was the authenticity of his own observations of self-discovery, navigating the information the often embarrassing information revealed in interviews, police reports, etc. This erratic, jarring style is at first interesting, but only in small doses. Initially, I thought this might be deliberate and that the writing would become settled as he began to recover his family and his life, but it doesn't.

Carr has a built-in favorable audience because we root for his recovery from the opening pages and he has his readers' respect for every success and empathy for every failure -- especially the realization that failure, like victory, is only temporary. And it's important not to read "The Night of the Gun" like a novel. Carr's a talented writer and obviously very bright and I wish him success. I also wish this extremely intriguing idea had been written less self-indulgently and more with the reader in mind.

David Carr has a compelling story and tells it from a unique angle--a drug addict turned top reporter. But the "reporting" in this memoir gets in the way: the prose has an over-polished, over-lawyered quality that distances the reader right from the beginning. Carr's consultation of "secondary sources" also forces the reader to constantly shift perspective and breaks contact with the narrator--I felt I knew this guy less at the end that I did at the beginning. "Night of the Gun" may have been verified and confirmed to the last detail, but it lacks the immediacy and emotion of the best memoirs. It's truly sad to me that recent fake-memoir fiascos have transformed this genre into another section of the New York Times, copy-edited and fact-checked into homogenized irrelevancy.

I love Tracy Kidder's books and this is one of the most uplifting and ispirational on my all-time favorite list!

Paul Farmer is to Haiti what Greg Mortenson is to Pakistan. These are the people who best represent the American citizens to the world and I'm sure there are so many out there who do great sacrifice in their personal lives to help others. Besides being a well-told story of the needs of Haitians, it clearly identifies the problems of treating drug resistant Tuberculosis in other parts of the world as well. Well worth reading! This would be a great book group selection: informative, inspiring and memorable.

I found this story very inspiring. Few can do as Dr. Farmer has done--he is amazing. This should be required reading for every high school student, in fact, for everyone!

Dr. Paul Farmer is a rare character: a genius whose infinite compassion drives him to lalbor around the clock and around the world to find ways to cure drug-resistant tuberculosis and AIDS in the most primitive of conditions in such places as Haiti and Russian prisons. This rare man deserves a rare bographer, and he has him in Tracy Kidder who spent years of his life in tracking Dr. Farmer and then writing an admiring but not fawning biography. This improbable life all rings true.

Mountains Beyond Mountains
From a high school student - 2 March 2008

Tracy Kidder, author of the Pulitzer Prize winner The Soul of a New Machine, veers off on a different course as he explores new areas of the world and the problems they face. Upon his inquiry, Kidder encounters Paul Farmer, a prominent physician and anthropologist. It is there where Kidder's interest in Farmer's work grows and he realizes the great impact this one man has on so many people. Kidder describes Paul Farmer's unorthodox childhood and the conditions in which he grew up, from living in a secondhand bus and leaky boat to starting a herpetology class in forth grade. Despite Farmer's childhood, Kidder describes him as a gifted person and Farmer his headed on the path of a "big-shot Boston doctor" in which he attended college at Duke and later Harvard where he studied to earn his MD and PhD. Later in the book, Kidder describes Paul Farmer's accomplishments and his work in countries such as Haiti, Peru, and Russia. Paul Farmer did not just practice his medical and life-saving work in these countries - he lived it to the fullest. Farmer, with the help of some generous donors, built a health and social-wellbeing organization titled Partners in Health. There he helped and cured thousands of patients and not only gave them the physical ability to live, but the hope as well. Farmer once said, "It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even the most horrible situation by habituation" (Kidder 61). Farmer worked day in and day out to prevent this mindset and reeducated the improvised communities to strive for success and a new life; he was not just a doctor, he was a mentor, a life-saver, and a gift to everyone he met. In one passage, Tracy Kidder describes Farmer's dedication and devotion, "He told me he slept fours hours a night but a few days later confessed, `I can't sleep. There's always somebody not getting treatment. I can't stand that'" (Kidder 23). It is Farmer's complete focus on the task at hand that Kidder says makes him so outgoing and so successful in everything he does. Paul Farmer is a man of action, and in doing so he has given up his life to changing the world and making it a better place. When reading this book, you will wonder why everyone is not as caring as Paul Farmer and hopefully you will be inspired to make a change in your community. Reading this book, you may feel a rejuvenation of your soul and will be encouraged to act out in generosity and love to your neighbor as Paul Farmer did. Kidder's well-crafted words clearly express the conditions of Haiti and the poor around the world, as well as the brighter aspect of human nature and the ability to love. This book is truthfully an inspiration and well worth the eleven dollars you spend. Those readers looking for an outlet or a way to make the world a better place may be inspired to send donations to Partners in Health so people like Paul Farmer can continue to spread life and hope throughout the world.

This book would have been a good article in a magazine but not a book. Mostly it is about SEAL training and the background of the author( heavily ghost written). Not to take anything away from the accounts of the men, but this just isn't substance for a book.

This is a great book that's destined to become a classic. Marcus Luttrell's first person account of his experience in Afghanistan is riveting and thrilling. You won't be able to put it down. A real bonus is his willingness to explain the impact of liberal hand-wringing and incessant criticism of military personnel serving their country in dangerous places. It's not at all surprising to see reviews by liberals posing as military personnel just to attack Marcus Luttrell's experiences and viewpoints. Posing is, I suppose, what they do best. Buy the book, you will NOT be disappointed.

This was a great book. I could hardly put it down. I hope more people will read this book and know what our solders are up against in this war on terrorism. Marcus and his men are real heroes.

Reading the negative reviews and then reading the book I have to wonder if these negative reviewers and I read the same book. I think the guy is allowed his opinions after what he went through. Not to mention his opinions are just common sense. Also I love the reviews that say no spec ops soldier would ever kill an innocent civilian. I remember that during the first Gulf war a Green Beret team was sent to check out a MSR and they had the same choice to make. They also didn't kill the goat herders and almost died. So in the future if it comes between our boys coming home or the goat herder, unsheath your steel and go to work. Real Americans want to see our brave warriors come home alive.

This is the most worthwhile book. A story that every person should be familiar with. So don't let the liberals who hate the military and their country turn you off too a fine read.

This book should be required reading for ALL politicans and reporters.
I had to read this in complete privacy and solitude.
I read each word at least 5 times to make sure I honored the hero's the author is telling about, including himself.
I knew I could never become a SEAL so I chose another path, but I was fortunate to have served with a number of them.outside their community and this author is actually quite modest in his appraisal of them and their deeds.
For any military personnel or former military personnel I can only say one thing, BUY AND READ IT , you will cry and swell with pride all at the same time.
Thank You Sir for your service and writing this book.

With Marjane Satrapi's animated film playing in theatres and available on disc, I almost jumped at the chance to read her book, the part-comic/part-memoir of Satrapi's childhood in Tehran, Iran.

To avoid confusion with more current events, `Marji' (as she was called as a child) recalls her upbringing in a Marxist family, the fall of the last Shah regime, the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and Iran's war against Iraq in the 80's. While Satrapi's words are powerful enough to get in your head and stay there, her simple black-and-white drawing style captures the laughter, the tears, and the raw emotion felt throughout the story. Though only an individual account, the story itself is quite vivid in describing how Iran had left a world of tyranny and chaos--only to wind up in another. Though controversial in its own right, "Persepolis" is still a riveting book for those seeking intelligent reading.

This comic is unrated: Violence, Adult Language, Adult Situations.

I feel I learned more about the history of Iran through the eyes of a little girl who was practically forced to become an adult by the age of 14 than most textbooks. Marjane Satrapi, or "Marji" captured my attention, thanks to the successful marriage of her "crudely-drawn" panels and approachable narrative. While I have yet to read the sequel, I feel I know this individual on a personal level as the book fills us in on her deepest fears and hopes and conflicts.

Although this book is written like a comic book, don't take it lightly. The story is a deep and meaningful one. It is a pretty fast read but not as fast as you'd think...I highly recommend it!

This book was a very easy read. Unfortunately, the plot was a little too easy to follow, and certain parts have nothing to do with the rest of the book. The illustrations, however, have a quirky charm, and the story telling is sweet and entertaining.

Our local community college is using this book as a common book experience for all incoming freshmen. It's a good choice for three reasons: 1) the subject matter (a young girl's experiences in revolutionary Iran) is timely and meaningful for coming-of-age college freshmen trying "to find themselves" 2) the graphic novel format is immediately engaging and easy to digest, and 3) the protagonist's story lends itself to myriad thematic explorations. In all, I was interested in and satisfied with this book. In fact, I couldn't put it down--I read it in an hour and a half. Apparently, there's a movie, too. That's next on my list.

Absolutely dreadful; a complete waste of time and money; does not work on any level.

I read this book expecting it to be a "how-to" on meeting and getting to know women. I was very pleasantly surprised to find a captivating true story of a man's (and several other men's) metamorphosis from socially inept people to masters of attracting women. For anyone looking for the "how-to" material, it's all there, woven into the story. But there is more. We get to truly see these men for who they are and we see how becoming successful with women affects their lives in different ways. It is encouraging, extremely entertaining, and even heartwarming.

I gave some thought to purchasing this book after reading Tucker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell". I never would have figured it's a book on how to turn yourself from a social outcast into a player...by using magic tricks. Wow can you get any lamer? Do you honestly think that pulling a quarter out from behind your ear is going to get you women, you mine as well dress up in your star trek outfit and head out to the bars...don't forget your pointy ears.
Suggestion: Don't waste your money, I'd rate it lower if I could.

This book is about the chronicles his journey from a lonely man with no confidence to a master pickup artist. Eventually, the pendulum settles somewhere in the middle in this guys life. Even the ending is satisfying. Very interesting, very involving and very enlightening. I also recommend other book about relationships I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't

Thanks Style, not only have you given hope to shlubs like me, but you have demonstrated that self-improvement, while done to get women, is still a good thing. Over the last 3 years you have done little more than learn how to become an interesting person. I only wish that some of the bores in my life would take the time to learn how to be a little more interesting. Of course, living in Washington DC, there are never going to be a shortage of boring people. Thanks to you, I am effortlessly rising above them.My friends are complimenting me on the transformation that has taken place since I became aware of you. Thanks again!

Totally loved this book! I love to read about things that really happened and with such accuracy and attention to details. He makes history interesting! Now I just can't wait to go back to Chicago to see all the sites mentioned in the book.

Enjoyable book about a criminal who until this book has generally just merited a "mention" in books about serial killers.
Very interesting back/side story about the men who planned, designed and built the Chicago's World's Fair.
My only criticism of this book would be the development of the tie-in between the fair builders and the criminal. It wasn't wasn't well developed - it was difficult to discern what the author's point was using this style of writing and joining the two stories.
Overall, however, I would highly recommend this book. Fortunately, both stories are interesting in and of their own.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It's a good example of truth being better than fiction. The accomplishments, connections, events, and action are almost too much to believe. It's a page turner with an easy format and readable style. The author deserves much praise for research, organization, and presentation of an event and era that I feel most of us know nothing about. I especially found the brief descriptions of Hunt, Olmstead, and others helpful as "behind the scenes" shapers of America. As a summer read, I just happened to be visiting both the Vanderbilt mansion and Chicago while vacationing. To be in the museum district of Chicago and recall the White City was terrific. I am on my way to buy his other book.

I must admit. I don't get it. Two books with grotesque murders related in gory detail against backgrounds of world historical events the intersections of which have little to do with each other. There is a bit of a problem with partially fictionalized history. It becomes a little like infomercials. How much info and how much mercial? And does the fiction begin to stand for the real history rather than admitting when it comes to history there is a lot we don't know and may never know as much as we would like our understanding of the past to read like a novel? It does not and maybe never can. I know a superb writer/historian/anthropologist who has filled an excellent book with words his hero might have said, and the hero in his old age came to believe that the fictionalized account was indeed what he had done. That is a touching confirmation but nonetheless a distortion. Holmes, the villain of this book may have gotten sexual gratification while listening to his victims being gassed to death and I guess that titillates the reader, but the author has no real idea of Holmes' state of mind. Also the Chicago World's Fair had little to with Holmes' murders and the reverse. Then as an extra the author throws in the murderer of Chicago's mayor by an unbalanced newspaper distributor. Yes there were nuts, as there have always been--- John Hinckley, Jr. shot Reagan because of a crush on Jodie Foster---and girls have always disappeared. Both Chicago's painted ladies and the Fair's commotion were not unique. So it is all a literary artifice. I am not sure readers would have been interested in the social history of the Fair without the murders.

As to that social history, it is interesting. Larsen has done a formidable amount or research and presents it in an interesting manner. But Larsen often lapses into purple prose. The biggest, greatest, etc. It gets a bit tiresome and is not true of history. That Westinghouse beat Edison with alternating current I don't think can be attributed to the Fair. And so it goes. Were it not for books on tape, grinding California traffic, and too many hours in a car, I would not have made it through the book. Fast forwarding helps. I must admit that I skipped a lot of detail such as Olmstead's various ailments and even his theory of color but found myself going back to the murder. Yet I could have done without some of the gory stuff. I don't quite understand how Holmes got away with it. But then I guess Larsen does a good job of conveying his charm even if that might have been somewhat fictionalized. With the murderer, he is so unimportant to history that it doesn't really matter. Lots of people who read fiction will like this book a lot more than I did and maybe they will thereby learn some history. I am all for that.

Charlie Fisher, author of Dismantling Discontent: Buddha's Way Through Darwin's World

not many books transport you to a time of great changes like this one does. for the too brief of period I have lived in the book I have lived the rise of a nation and the dawn of great evil and vision. wonderfull depictions, great people and amzing time.