Animating history . . . Erik Larson

The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, is not one of my favorite books despite my fascination with the 1893 World's Fair.  (This the legacy of those years in Hyde Park where the Midway marks one region of its location and recalls the Ferris Wheel and other wonders.)  His recounting of two intertwined stories--the White City at the Colombian Exposition and a murderer who exploited the transient presence of fair-goers--are compelling, but perhaps too much so.  It was frightening.  Not long after I read the book I stayed at Chicago's Congress Hotel; that was about the creepiest room I've ever rented.

In his Chautauqua talk about his new book, In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, he says that his goal as an author is to "animate history."  He also claimed that in some way this is different from what historians intend to do.  His goal is more to transport his readers to the time he writes about.  Based on the lingering fear the earlier book imparted to me, he succeeds.

He also described his path into the topic of his new book, that is his research.  That also was interesting and worth remembering when we come to the "Day in a Life" assignment at the end of 201.  To hear the talk we'll have to go through MPR's Mid-day site which seems not to allow a direct link to the talk.  He began with the biggest picture provided by reputable scholars and worked his way toward the personal stories and minute details of his characters' lives. 

After hearing Larson talk, I also wonder if I should re-read the earlier book and look for a section we could read along with the relevant chapter in Gilbert's Perfect Cities.