Meh.
I just finished it, after hearing from several people how good it was.
I repeat- meh.
It had potential- three stories, all intertwined, focusing on the time period around the Chicago World's Fair. Two of the three stories are distinct, the third kind of wandered in, like an afterthought.
The buildup to SOMETHING SPECTACULAR was kind of nifty, but then NOTHING SPECTACULAR happened. It just kind of ended. OOO- we're going to catch the killer! There. We did. Move along- nothing to see.
*shrug*
It could have used more photos too- I'm not very good at visualizing the fair as they described it.
Been on my bookshelf for eons.
i read it and felt kind of the same way. i love reading about the golden age, and i was really much more interested in all the infighting associated with the world's fair more than anything else. i actually went online and tried to find images of the fair so i could better visualize what he was talking about because it was bugging me.
Did it help?
my campus, I'm told, is steeped in history about the world's fair. I'd like to learn more about it, but I need someone else to find the information for me, because I'm lazy.
Quote from: Bennyhana on April 16, 2007, 08:29:28 AM
my campus, I'm told, is steeped in history about the world's fair. I'd like to learn more about it, but I need someone else to find the information for me, because I'm lazy.
Yea, Olmsted's Midway Plaisance was a big part of the World's fair and I'm pretty sure that first Ferris wheel was located on the Midway. I was a big fan of that book, I thought the murder part was cool as well as all the historical World's Fair stuff. I took my bike around that area behind the Museum of Science and industry deep into the park after I read it. There are some creepy ass people hanging out in there. I went by that Japanese Garden which I later was told was/is a big meet up point for homosexual activities (Bath houses of the new millennium?) Thankfully there was a wedding going on there so I didn't see any of that. Good book though IMO.
QuoteDid it help?
heh. no, it didn't change my level of disappointment in the book, but yes - it did give me a much better picture of what it was like. i've done some reading about the fair since that was equally informative, so at least it lead me in the right direction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Columbian_Exposition
the wiki has good photos, good information and good links.
i loved the ac current versus dc current controversy!!
I would love to find a good book that focused on the Nicolas Tesla vs. Thomas Edison feud.
Along the same lines- I finally finished "Thunderstruck" by this author.
again- meh. I read about half the book all the way, then I actually skipped over the parts about Marconi and kept to the story line about the doctor.
It read much more like a textbook than a literature book.
Same kind of ending- big buildup, exciting grab- two paragraphs about a trial and the book's done. woo?