His letter to Rice began, "I have on hand a great project for the World's Fair in Chicago. I am going to build a vertically revolving wheel 250' in dia." Nowhere in this letter, however, did he reveal the true dimension of his vision:
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
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In his letter to Rice, the author reveals an ambitious plan for the Chicago World's Fair, proposing to construct a massive vertical wheel with a diameter of 250 feet. This project hints at a revolutionary attraction that would capture the imagination of fairgoers. However, the letter does not fully disclose the grand scale and significance of his vision, which goes beyond mere entertainment.

The book "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson explores not only the creation of this iconic attraction but also the darker elements surrounding the fair, intertwining stories of innovation and tragedy. This juxtaposition of progress and madness illustrates the complexities of an era marked by both ambition and chaos, ultimately showcasing how the fair transformed America.

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Other quotes in The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir ine's blood.
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir ine's blood.
He broke prevailing rules of casual intimacy: He stood too close, stared too hard, touched too much and long. And women adored him for it.
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
He broke prevailing rules of casual intimacy: He stood too close, stared too hard, touched too much and long. And women adored him for it.
the club had provided for music was a lone pianist who had no idea what kind of piece might accompany such an exotic dance. Bloom thought a moment, hummed a tune, then plinked it out on the keyboard one note at a time: Over the next century this tune and its variations would be deployed in a succession of mostly cheesy movies, typically as an accompaniment to the sinuous emergence of a cobra from a basket. It would also drive the schoolyard lyric, "And they wear no pants in the southern part of France." Bloom regretted his failure to copyright the tune. The royalties would have run into the millions.
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
the club had provided for music was a lone pianist who had no idea what kind of piece might accompany such an exotic dance. Bloom thought a moment, hummed a tune, then plinked it out on the keyboard one note at a time: Over the next century this tune and its variations would be deployed in a succession of mostly cheesy movies, typically as an accompaniment to the sinuous emergence of a cobra from a basket. It would also drive the schoolyard lyric, "And they wear no pants in the southern part of France." Bloom regretted his failure to copyright the tune. The royalties would have run into the millions.
Dr. Hervey Cleckley described the prototypical psychopath as a subtly constructed reflex machine which can mimic the human personality perfectly. … So perfect is his reproduction of a whole and normal man that no one who examines him in a clinical setting can point out in scientific or objective terms why, or how, he is not real.
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
Dr. Hervey Cleckley described the prototypical psychopath as a subtly constructed reflex machine which can mimic the human personality perfectly. … So perfect is his reproduction of a whole and normal man that no one who examines him in a clinical setting can point out in scientific or objective terms why, or how, he is not real.
All were wealthy and at the peaks of their careers, but all also bore the scars of nineteenth-century life, their pasts full of wrecked rail cars, fevers, and the premature deaths of loved ones.
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
All were wealthy and at the peaks of their careers, but all also bore the scars of nineteenth-century life, their pasts full of wrecked rail cars, fevers, and the premature deaths of loved ones.
At first alienists describes this condition as moral insanity and those who exhibited the disorder as moral imbeciles. They later adopted the term psychopath.
Erik Larson The Devil in the White...
At first alienists describes this condition as moral insanity and those who exhibited the disorder as moral imbeciles. They later adopted the term psychopath.
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Other quotes in book quote

All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
Edward Gorey Ascending Peculiarity:...
All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
For me the curse is a crutch, but the con is everything.
Holly Black White Cat
For me the curse is a crutch, but the con is everything.
I don't have anything against God. Far from it. But I don't understand Him. And I don't trust a lot of the people that go around claiming that they're working in His best interests.
Jim Butcher Grave Peril
I don't have anything against God. Far from it. But I don't understand Him. And I don't trust a lot of the people that go around claiming that they're working in His best interests.
I found Esau's field guide at the bottom of my pack. Taking a candle into the bedroom, I read his book until my eyes grew heavy. From his vast notes, it seemed that almost every plant and tree in the jungle had a reason for existing. I caught myself wishing there was a page in his guide that had my picture on it with the reason for my existence written underneath in Esau's neat hand.
Maria V. Snyder Magic Study
I found Esau's field guide at the bottom of my pack. Taking a candle into the bedroom, I read his book until my eyes grew heavy. From his vast notes, it seemed that almost every plant and tree in the jungle had a reason for existing. I caught myself wishing there was a page in his guide that had my picture on it with the reason for my existence written underneath in Esau's neat hand.
Here's a nifty solution: Each couple that marries should take on an entirely new surname, chosen however they want as long as both agree to it, so that a day after the wedding, both husband and wife can hold hands and joyfully journey off to the municipal offices to change their passports, driver's licenses, signatures, initials, bank accounts, etc.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Dear Ijeawele, or A...
Here's a nifty solution: Each couple that marries should take on an entirely new surname, chosen however they want as long as both agree to it, so that a day after the wedding, both husband and wife can hold hands and joyfully journey off to the municipal offices to change their passports, driver's licenses, signatures, initials, bank accounts, etc.
{...} what I wish for Chizalum is the following: that she is full of opinions, and that her opinions stem from a well-informed, humane, and open mind. That she have health and happiness. That she have the life she wants to have.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Dear Ijeawele, or A...
{...} what I wish for Chizalum is the following: that she is full of opinions, and that her opinions stem from a well-informed, humane, and open mind. That she have health and happiness. That she have the life she wants to have.
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But an ink brush, she thinks, is a skeleton key for a prisoner's mind. David Mitchell
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