15 Apr 2015

OHC Book Club

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Calendar
When:
April 23, 2015 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
2015-04-23T18:00:00-04:00
2015-04-23T19:00:00-04:00
Where:
Oconee Heritage Center
123 Browns Square Drive
Walhalla, SC 29691
USA
Cost:
Free
Contact:
864-638-2224
Email
Jbooksoin us for our bi-monthly Book Club!
This month’s selection is Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book’s categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair’s construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham’s challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous “White City” around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair’s incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World’s Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson’s skillful writing.
For the year of 2015 our selections will feature books set in the Gilded Age (late 1800s to World War I). Through the selections we will discuss what was happening in various parts of the world at that time.

All book selections are available at 
Oconee County Public Library.

Bring a snack and enjoy the lively conversation!