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| Thunderstruck | 
 enlarge | Author: Erik Larson
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $4.50
You Save: $21.45 (83%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  153 reviews
Sales Rank: 431751
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.5
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.152309421
ASIN: B001GCVFJG
Publication Date: October 24, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A true story of love, murder, and the end of the world’s “great hush”
In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men—Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication—whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.
Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners, scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed, and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, “the kindest of men,” nearly commits the perfect crime.
With his superb narrative skills, Erik Larson guides these parallel narratives toward a relentlessly suspenseful meeting on the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate. Thunderstruck presents a vibrant portrait of an era of seances, science, and fog, inhabited by inventors, magicians, and Scotland Yard detectives, all presided over by the amiable and fun-loving Edward VII as the world slid inevitably toward the first great war of the twentieth century. Gripping from the first page, and rich with fascinating detail about the time, the people, and the new inventions that connect and divide us, Thunderstruck is splendid narrative history from a master of the form.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 148 more reviews...
Mysterious and spellbinding October 24, 2006
184 out of 193 found this review helpful
I so enjoyed The Devil in the White City, a book I read without any awareness of its historical importance. I've waited with aniticpation Larson's next book, but this time I came to it with some expectation. Thunderstruck doesn't disappoint.
If you're looking for a quick and unsubstantial book, Thunderstruct isn't for you. I can even anticipate that some reviewers will nail Larson for the incredible amount of detail he provides, especially in those chapters dealing with Marconi. However, this is Larson's manner and in the end you're glad he provided the indepth treatment.
Thunderstruck, like The Devil in the While City, tells two stories that are inevitably intertwined. First, is Guglielmo Marconi's search for "wireless" telecommunication. Marconi wasn't a scientist. He simply had an idea. With his rudimentary understanding of electromagnetism he believed it possible to communicate over long distances without wires. He was a plodder in the best traditions of Edison. He was, of course successful.
The second story deals with Dr. H. H. Crippen and the murder of his wife, Belle. Demanding, apparently unfaithful (though the Dr. appears to have gotten around a bit), and used to spending large sums of money they couldn't afford, Belle was a weight around Crippens neck. Along with his innocent lover and secretary, Ethel, he flees but is ultimately thwarted by Marconi's invention and a crackerjack Scotland Yard detective. The trans-Atlantic chase, reported via "wireless" communication kept the world's attention. Indeed, the only two people who didn't know they were being chased were the lovers.
Written in Larson's uncompromising style using original sources, Thunderstruck is a wonderful vision into the early years of the twentieth century when technology promised a new world. The story is engaging, well written, organized. Larson is a master storyteller.
Read the book. You'll love it.
 history even better than mystery October 25, 2006
83 out of 89 found this review helpful
This is two stories in one. The story of how Marconi struggled to popularize and refine radio technology by trial and error is fascinating, and the story of how mild mannered Harley Crippen became a famous criminal is nearly as interesting, and then the stories merge in a weird but memorable way. And every bit of it is true.
I have to say that Larson puts it all together beautifully. He feeds you the perfect detail at the right time. It's not so much a true crime tale as it is a tale of human nature. It has a certain inevitability without ever boring you. I bet this one will spend a long time on the bestseller list, just like Devil in the White City (his previous book) did.
 50% fabulous, 50% boring February 11, 2007
25 out of 28 found this review helpful
I enjoyed half of "Thunderstruck," but the other half of the book was a real dud.
Erik Larson is one of several popular authors whose books always follow the same basic formula. In Larson's case, his books are divided into two separate plots that focus on different characters whose lives ultimately collide in an unexpected way. Also, half of Larson's book generally involve a very detailed process of some sort, while the other half revolves around a crime. When I read "The Devil in the White City," I enjoyed reading all the meticulous details about the planning and architecture of Chicago's World's Fair. However, I don't have a strong interest in science, so the entire portion of "Thunderstruck" devoted to Marconi's development of wireless communication was incredibly dull to me. I'm sure science buffs will find it much more enjoyable, but I thought that pages and pages devoted to things like the types of metals Marconi used to build antennas were incredibly dry and tedious.
However, I really enjoyed the portion of "Thunderstruck" that revolved around the Crippen murder. Those chapters were much more intriguing than the Marconi parts, and I thought Larson did an excellent job of setting up the story. Also, I enjoyed the final chapters of the book where the Marconi/Crippen stories finally overlap. This book is based on actual events that I didn't know much about, and I'm eager to learn more about the Crippen case. (I won't be doing more research on Marconi, though...I'll leave that to the science students out there.)
Overall, Larson is a pretty good storyteller. However, I personally only enjoyed about 50% of this book. I doubt most people will really get into the Marconi chapters unless they have a strong interest in the history and development of scientific processes.
Four and a half stars... March 22, 2007
20 out of 24 found this review helpful
Erik Larson is a writer of nonfiction whose books read more like novels. In Thunderstruck, he follows the formula that he started with The Devil in the White City in actually presenting two stories in one book. In The Devil, he recounts how a serial killer worked the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. In Thunderstruck, he relates the story of a famous murder case in London against the backdrop of Guglielmo Marconi and his invention of wireless radio waves.
The story of Marconi is fascinating by itself. While still a boy, Marconi became fascinated by electromagnetic waves. While he didn't discover their existence, he did create the equipment to transmit them wirelessly. Critics thought that trans-Atlantic wireless transmissions could not be accomplished. And even when Marconi proved them false, nay sayers still believed this mode of communication to be but a passing fad. What is amazing is that "Marconi was an inventor, an amateur, hardly even an adult, yet he had bested the great scientific minds of the age." Larson spends a good amount of time detailing Marconi's experiments, his successes and failures, his company and even a bit of his private life.
The second story that Larson relates is that of the second most famous murder in London history--next to Jack the Ripper. The unlikely murderer was Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, a
small, quiet, gentle man who was married to a large, robust, sensual showgirl who was described as a "thunderhead of silk and diamond." When Belle Crippen mysteriously disappears, Belle's friends suspect the unassuming doctor of foul play. Larson alternates chapters between Marconi and Dr. Crippen until the climatic capture of Dr. Crippen because of Marconi's device.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there are two things that would have enhanced Thunderstruck. First, while Larson gives us a pretty good background on the history of the transmitting of wireless radio waves, he should have also provided a basic tutorial on radio waves themselves. What is the difference between AM and FM waves? How is it possible to transmit in different frequencies? Why do waves travel around the globe instead of going straight out into space? And why is the reception of waves better in the evening? I suspect that most readers won't know the answers to these questions. My other major complaint is a characteristic of the two previous Larson books that I've read, and that is the paucity of pictures. Larson goes to great lengths to describe people, places and things. It would have been more helpful to have photographs of these things as well. I had to use the computer to find photos of Egyptian Hall, Dromoland Castle, Belle Crippen, Ethel LaNeve, and Oliver Lodge. Larson tells us how Marconi's first wedding became a media event with lots of photographs in all the newspapers. Why couldn't Larson include a wedding photo or two?
Overall, Larson has become one of my favorite nonfiction writers and I look forward to each new work he publishes.
A Devilishly Good Read! October 29, 2006
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
I am a big fan of the historical thriller, and have tendency to take my time enjoyably absorbing true information and fact presented in good fiction writing. I am of the opinion that the task of a fiction writer to educate and entertain is more difficult than a non-fiction writer. This said, `Thunderstruck' by Erik Larson was a complete read that left me fully satiated on all levels: Larson's writing style was easy and absorbing; the character development, particularly of Guglielmo Marconi (inventor or wireless telecommunication technology) and Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen (The "North London Cellar Murderer") entertaining, consistent, and engaging; the use of historical data and fact to drive the story and remarkably make a story that occurred nearly a century ago relevant and current to today's world, superbly and interestingly executed; and finally, a plot of two that meet head on and merge into one fascinating spin: Marconi's `throw it at the wall' attempt and success to create a wireless communication system, and a murderer attempting to flee England to Canada after killing his treacherous wife who unknowingly has the entire world following his escapades of escape due to Marconi's newly created technology!
Very rare is it that two working plots in past historical fiction can run concurrently with a sense of edge of interests that they do not take away from each other or the story as a whole. Historical dual-plot prose' have been the death of many books. Erik Larson's 'Thunderstruck' is one of those rare exemplary stories executed with a forceful yet delicate balance of writing style that demonstrates why, if done right, dual-thematic historical fiction writing can produce stellar fiction. Larson's `Thunderstruck' is a must read for readers interested in technology discoveries, thrillers, and simply put, good storytelling. Sit back and enjoy this devilishly clever read, and journey back a century ago to a time where cutting edge technology would result in the scientific and thus, customs and norms of society today!
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