The governor presents DITWC...for the last time.

For me Devil in the White City was very emotional. I will admit to almost shedding a few manly tears for Burnham.
I think the novel revealed just how accurate the title of "Gilded Age" was. The fair was nice, but in the construction dozens of people died or were injured and the obstacles to the construction revealed the troubles that plagued the nation. The people of America went to the fair in order to distract their minds from the darkness in the nation. By stepping through the gates into the White City, if even for the briefest of times they could forget about the Black City waiting to swallow them back up.
The social movements of the times are present everywhere. The labor unions show up in the construction of the fair. The feminist movement shows up in the building of the women's building. Immigrants can be seen in the basic laborers.
The fair changes the mindsets of the people, it opens their minds to wonders and broadens their horizons. It cultivates within the people a fascination with a world that they never even knew existed. They saw the Japanese, the Algerians, Buffalo Bill's Show, and of course the amazing Ferris Wheel. Arguably, it shaped the decades to follow by creating a generation of people who were trying to recreate the wonder that they had seen at the fair in the world abroad.

To  Mr. Fitzgerald, I know this is late. I make no excuses for this.

To my fellow Mugwumps, it appears there is not much time left together for us. Come Monday, we shall part ways. Similarly, this blog will be abandoned and decommissioned. I simply wish that you know that it was a pleasure to read your posts.

Signing out,
Anthony Chan - formerly Governor Mugwump

Farewell Fair

So the book is finally done! Yes! No more staying up until 2 in the morning reading a whole section in one night. The book gets wrapped up in the awesome detective case to catch the evil Holmes and end his killing spree. The newspapers of the arrival of Frank Geyer could also show how the American society was so new to this concept of searching for evidence and hunting down a killer. Pursuing justice just like any other growing American ideal of that time period, such as labor unions wanting better relations with the companies. The way the book finally gets around to the start of the story in it's conclusion is pretty cool. There was also that first chapter foreshadow to the ship with Burnham's friend which was actually the Titanic is a very fascinating addition to the novel. Now many founders of the fair are dying off and The Devil in the White City is caught and sentenced to full sentence of death, to end the mystery of Holmes.

President Mugwumps Farewell to the Fair

What a great novel. The fact that everything was historically accurate really is amazing. Larson did an amazing job. Now, for part 4 my key word will be: closure. The fair came to a close, Holmes's killing spree came to an end. Many of the key characters's lives came to an end. It was quite sad, to be honest, for after the emotional high of building the greatest fair of their times, most of the architect's lives ended shortly, or in pain. Burnham died with diabetes, foot problems, and colitis. Olmstead died an angry, delusional, ghost of a man. Sullivan turned his back on his leader during the building of the Fair, and died a broke alcoholic. Wild Cody died broke. Out of all of the characters probably Sol Bloom was the most successful after the fair. having made a fortune, lost the fortune, and then gone on to help start the UN. Overall DITWC was an insightful look into the parallels of the Gilded Age. The beauty of the Fair versus the insanity of H.H. Holmes. The social divisions and labor unrest were displayed; however, positives such as increased women's independence and labor reforms were shown as well. The Fair was a microcosm of the changes in American Society, and reading this book gave a first hand, accurate look at how life was during the late 19th century.

In Which Mayor Mugwump Examines Geyes

I have always enjoyed a good detective story. And this, watching Geyes as he followed Holmes' trail across the country, is no exception. This portion of the book was perhaps the most captivating of all of the parts of the book, as it holds the most kinetic energy in the story, and we as the audience are itching to know what Holmes did as well.

But, really, I have to admire the detective's tenacity and resourcefulness. Certainly, I would not have been able to talk to hotel owner after hotel owner after hotel owner in an attempt to find a culprit that may or may not exist. He must have had the patience of a saint.

Although it is interesting to note how even the country takes notice of this detective, grasping him as a hero to follow in the middle of anything else that was happening. Would America today be so enamored with a real-life detective? Serial killers exist today, but we don't hear about them nearly so much. Perhaps it is a mark of the times that this was such a novel concept, this idea of a detective chasing the clues of a dangerous man, whereas today we have all sorts of detective shows to watch at leisure.

Is this the precursor to all of those shows?

Mayor Mugwump is Very Upset

I finished the book, and I am downright BELLIGERENT about how it ended. I understand that this is real life and everything, but I feel as if the book could have just stopped after the capture of Holmes instead of continuing on about how everyone fell into misery and bankruptcy.

Of course, I'm glad that Holmes was caught. And it was intriguing to see how the investigation of what he did played out with Geyes. But. Still. He was killed, and then terrible things happened to the people investigating him, and Pietzel got killed, and his KIDS got killed.

And then the book goes on to tell you that EVERYONE YOU LOVED DIES SAD AND SICK. That is five different kinds of Not Cool.

Why did fiction give me false hopes that the ending of this book would be happy. Because now I'm very sad.

Answers to President Mugwumps Questions over DITWC Part Three

• How was Holmes symbolic of the American society during the Gilded Age? He could have been seen as a symbol of Americas constant flow of new immigrants as Holmes kills all the women.
• Was Burnham just as crazy as Holmes, just obsessed with something else? (Power) Both men were very obsessive for power and control of their situation, but unlike Holmes, Burnham did it for he believed in was the greater good of Chicago and his country.
• Did the Fair do more bad than good? Or good than bad? I believe that because it didn't go in debt and had really cool inventions in technology and architecture it was a success in general.
• How profound was the Murder of Mayor Harrison? It was shocking for many people across the nation and Chicago, but symbolized the nations corruption taking over good in this time period.
• Why was the Spanish emmisary's trip to the fair so inflammatory? It was different than what most Americans during this time period have seen of foreign royalty. America not being a monarchy could have also been an explanation for the citizens of the city to be so jubilant of her arrival.
• How was Holmes able to escape scotch free, once again? Society is failing and becoming corrupt. The country is distracted and not seeing the darkness within it.
• Why did Holmes take out life insurance on Pietzel? Cause he's evil.
• What were the effects of the fair closing? An end to the brief social explosion in Chicago for the world and the death of the Mayor.

President Mugwumps questions over DITWC part three

• How was Holmes symbolic of the American society during the Gilded Age?
• Was Burnham just as crazy as Holmes, just obsessed with something else? (Power)
• Did the Fair do more bad than good? Or good than bad?
• How profound was the Murder of Mayor Harrison?
• Why was the Spanish emmisary's trip to the fair so inflammatory?
• How was Holmes able to escape scotch free, once again?
• Why did Holmes take out life insurance on Pietzel?
• What were the effects of the fair closing?