Thunderstruck | 
|  | | | Title: | Thunderstruck | | Author: | Erik Larson | | Publisher: | Three Rivers Press | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 25 September, 2007 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 1400080673 / 9781400080670 | | List Price: | $14.95 | | You Save: | $4.78 | | Amazon Price: | $10.17 | |
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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 séances, 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.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews:
• Not Worth The Effort 20 June, 2008
Larson takes forever to get to the story, which is a stretched point, at best. He spends way too much time on painstaking details for setup, most of which go nowhere, and very little time fleshing out the climax of the story, which he fairly breezes over. Haven't read his other book, but judging by this effort, the man does not know how to tell a story. Painfully and woefully disappointed! Hours of my life I'll never get back again.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2E2K4ODL6HVRE
• Pow! Another Home Run By Larson! 25 May, 2008
Did you see my review of Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City"? Every superlative used there goes double for "Thunderstruck". There are some shortcomings, of course.For example, Larson spends a great deal of time fleshing-in his characters,but little time fleshing-in the history of telegragh technology( the conventional telegraph was developed after Hans Christian Oerstead discovered electrical magnetism could move a charged needle, in 1820).He mentions Morse code, but little about the man it's named for( Samuel F.B. Morse made the first practical telegraph in 1837, using a code that used dots and dashes to indicate numbers, groups of which indicated letters, NOT the system that bears his name).
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2Z7CS6I169IMG
• Surprising Connections 05 April, 2008
Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson, reviewed by Sandy
Once again Erik Larson manages to weave two seemingly unrelated stories into one compelling and suspenseful narrative. A work of non-fiction, Larson paints a graphic picture of England between 1900 and 1910, during the short reign of Edward VII. The beloved Queen Victoria is dead, the memory of Jack the Ripper still sends shivers up the spine, new inventions create both fascination and fear, and there is the threat of war against Germany.
Against this backdrop, Guglielmo Marconi brings his wireless invention to London and begins the long process of proving the validity of wireless telegraphy, finding funding, and attaining his goal of sending wireless messages across the Atlantic. There are many competitors with greater scientific background than Marconi, and he has made some enemies who would delight in seeing his comeuppance. This alone would make a fascinating story, but the addition of a murder mystery heightens the suspense.
Hawley Crippen, trained in homeopathy, has come to London to further his career in the development of patent medicines. His bugged eyes accentuated by thick glasses and his gentle, soft-spoken manner make him a man easily passed over. His wife, Cora, having unsuccessfully pursued fame in musical shows in America, eventually joins him in London. She takes the stage name of Belle, and again tries her hand a variety shows. A large, voluptuous woman, her public demeanor is one of great cheer and friendliness. Few are aware of her bouts of unreasonable anger directed at her husband. When Belle suddenly disappears, her friends doubt the story Crippen gives, and once Scotland Yard gets involved, a murder victim is discovered - or rather, various parts of. What remains cannot be identified as male or female, but there are clues. Could this be Belle? Is it possible that the meek Crippen is capable of such a methodical and thorough dismemberment?
And how on earth do these two stories become one? Read for yourself. This a book you want to buy and pass on to friends.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2ZBQBABWUM52M
• Little Suspense 16 June, 2008
The stories of Crippen and Marconi are disappointingly disconnected. Larson fails to achieve the suspenseful story-telling that made The Devil in the White City a hard book to put down.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AGS32386V78GA
• Interesting Historical View Of Two Interrelated Happenings 01 May, 2008
I've come to watch for Larson's books as I've enjoyed his past histories. This one came highly recommended, but it wasn't as good an entry as his other books.
The book looks at a murder that occurred in the late Victorian Era in England, and the impact that the advent of the wireless had on closing this case. Larson spends a good amount of time giving the background of both the people involved in the murder, and the development of the wireless by Marconi. Marconi's work and attitude are interesting, as he really wasn't a scientist, but rather a tinkerer/inventor who managed to create something that proved vital to the communication needs of the world. Unlike Edison, who invented a variety of things most of his life, Marconi only did the one, and he didn't try to understand the science behind it...and that cost him.
The work done by the police in England was phenomenal. It's important to appreciate the amount of sheer dogged investigation that was done to bring Crippen back to stand trial. In our current world where everything must be immediate (like processing DNA on CSI), we forget how much time and effort was spent by both policemen and physicians in proving a case.
The book was a bit confusing, as one chapter would be on Marconi's work, and the next on Crippen and his wife. But the 'timing' of each chapter would be off. Larson would have to go back to explaining how the technology of the wireless was achieved, while the Crippen case would run ahead. A bit disconcerting...
Karen Sadler
- Reviewed by customer ID: A23OLHL5RPQKLP
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