Thunderstruck - Softcover

Larson, Erik

3.76

50,496 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385608462 ISBN 13: 9780385608466

Publisher: Doubleday, 2006

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

In 1910, Edwardian England was scandalized by a murder: a mild-mannered American named Hawley Crippen had killed his wife and buried her remains (well, some of her remains) in the cellar of their North London home. He then went on the run with his young mistress, his secretary, Ethel Le Neve. A Scotland Yard inspector, already famous for his part in the Ripper investigation, discovered the murder and launched an international hunt for Crippen that climaxed in a trans-Atlantic chase between two ocean liners. The chase itself was novel, but what captured the imagination of the world's public was the role played by a new and little understood technology: the wireless, invented by Guglielmo Marconi. Thanks to Marconi's obsessive fight to perfect his invention, the world was able to learn of events occurring in the middle of the Atlantic as they unfolded - something previously unthinkable. Police, jurists, and editors of the time all agreed that if not for Marconi, Crippen would have escaped. But Marconi had struggled to gain acceptance for his invention as a practical technology (many viewed the wireless as a novelty or a supernatural device, while distrust of foreigners remained prevalent in England and America). It was the Crippen case that helped convince the world of the potential of Marconi's miracle technology, so accelerating the wireless revolution that eventually produced radio, television and cell phones. With a cast of colourful, captivating characters "Thunderstruck" is Larson at his commercial best, doing what he does so irresistibly well: cleverly bringing together two seemingly disparate yet inextricably linked lives to paint a fascinating, exciting portrait of a hugely significant age of cultural, social and technological change while evoking the darker side of human nature.

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Product Description:

463 pages. Book is in Very good condition throughout. The Story Culminates In One Of The Most Unusual And Criminal Chases Of Al Time.

Review:

Praise for "The Devil in the White City"
"[Larson] relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel. . . . A dynamic, enveloping book." --Janet Maslin, "New York Times"
"Hugely engrossing . . . exceedingly well-documented, exhaustive without being excessive, and utterly fascinating . . . deserves to be popular everywhere." --Rosellen Brown, "Chicago Tribune"
"An irresistible page-turner that reads like the most compelling, sleep-defying fiction." --"Time Out New York"
"A great story, recounted with authority, entertainment, and insight . . . Larson writes with marvelous confidence, enthusiasm, polish, and scholarship." --"New York Daily News"
"Everything popular history should be." --"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Gripping drama, captured with a reporter's nose for a good story and a novelist's flair for telling it . . . Superb." --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"So good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." --"Esquire"

Praise for "Isaac's Storm"
"A gripping account . . . fascinating to its core, and all the more compelling for being true." --"The New York Times Book Review"
"Superb . . . Larson has made �Isaac� Cline, turn-of-the-century Galveston, and the Great Hurricane live again." --"Wall StreetJournal"
"�Larson� vividly captures the devastation that an unnamed hurricane inflicted on Galveston." --"New York Newsday"
"�A� powerful story . . . a classic tale of mankind versus nature." --"Christian Science Monitor"
"�A� graphic, heart-shattering reconstruction of the most lethal natural disaster in U.S. history." --"Miami Herald"
"Compelling . . . �a� brilliant exploration of the hurricane's deadly force . . . Larson has the storyteller's skill of keeping the reader spellbound." --"Times-Picayune"
"Gripping. . . The "Jaws" of hurricane yarns." --"Washington Post"

" Larson's gift for rendering an historical era with vibrant tactility and filling it with surprising personalities makes "Thunderstruck" an irresistible tale...He beautifully captures the awe that greeted early wireless transmissions on shipboard...he restores life to this fascinating, long-lost world."
-" Washington Post"
" Of all the non-fiction writers working today, Erik Larson seems to have the most delicious fun...for his newest, destined-to-delight book, "Thunderstruck," Larson has turned his sights on Edwardian London, a place alive with new science and seances, anonymous crowds and some stunningly peculiar personalities"
-- "Chicago Tribune"
" [Larson] interweaves gripping storylines about a cryptic murderer and the race for technology in the early 20th century. An edge-of-the-seat read."
-- "People"
" Captivating...with "Thunderstruck," Larson has selected another enthralling tale--two of them, actually--...[he] peppers the narrative with an engaging array of secondary figures and fills the margins with rich tangential period details...Larson has once again crafted a popular history narrative that is stylistically closer to a smartly plotted novel."
--"Miami Herald"
" As he did with "The Devil in the White City," Larson has created an intense, intelligent page turner that shows how the march of progress and innovation affect both the world at large and the lives of everyday people."
--"Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
" Larson's gift for rendering an historical era with vibrant tactility and filling it with surprising personalities makes "Thunderstruck" an irresistible tale."
--"The Washington Post Book World"
" An enthralling narrative and vivid descriptions...Larson has done a marvelous job of bringing the distinct stories together in his own unique way. Simply fantastic!"
--"Library Journal"
" Larson is a marvelous writer...superb at creating characters with a few short strokes."
--"The New York Times Book Review"
" Splendid, beautifully written..."Thunderstruck" triumphantly resurrects the spirit of another age, when one man's public genius linked the world, while another's private turmoil made him a symbol of the end of " the great hush" and the first victim of a new era when instant communication, now inescapable, conquered the world."
--"Publishers Weekly"
" [Larson] captures the human capacity for wonder at the turn of the century...[he] has perfected a narrative form of his own invention."
--"The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)"
THUNDERSTRUCK - By Erik Larson - Three Rivers Press - ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0 - $14.95 - - By Erik Larson - Three Rivers Press - ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0 - $14.95 - OSD 9/25/2007
THUNDERSTRUCK - By Erik Larson - Three Rivers Press - ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0 - $14.95 - OSD 9/25/2007

"Larson's gift for rendering an historical era with vibrant tactility and filling it with surprising personalities makes Thunderstruck an irresistible tale...He beautifully captures the awe that greeted early wireless transmissions on shipboard...he restores life to this fascinating, long-lost world."- Washington Post "Of all the non-fiction writers working today, Erik Larson seems to have the most delicious fun...for his newest, destined-to-delight book, Thunderstruck, Larson has turned his sights on Edwardian London, a place alive with new science and seances, anonymous crowds and some stunningly peculiar personalities"-- Chicago Tribune"[Larson] interweaves gripping storylines about a cryptic murderer and the race for technology in the early 20th century. An edge-of-the-seat read."-- People"Captivating...with Thunderstruck, Larson has selected another enthralling tale--two of them, actually--...[he] peppers the narrative with an engaging array of secondary figures and fills the margins with rich tangential period details...Larson has once again crafted a popular history narrative that is stylistically closer to a smartly plotted novel."--Miami Herald"As he did with The Devil in the White City, Larson has created an intense, intelligent page turner that shows how the march of progress and innovation affect both the world at large and the lives of everyday people."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution"Larson's gift for rendering an historical era with vibrant tactility and filling it with surprising personalities makes Thunderstruck an irresistible tale."--The Washington Post Book World"An enthralling narrative and vivid descriptions...Larson has done a marvelous job of bringing the distinct stories together in his own unique way. Simply fantastic!"--Library Journal"Larson is a marvelous writer...superb at creating characters with a few short strokes."--The New York Times Book Review"Splendid, beautifully written...Thunderstruck triumphantly resurrects the spirit of another age, when one man's public genius linked the world, while another's private turmoil made him a symbol of the end of "the great hush" and the first victim of a new era when instant communication, now inescapable, conquered the world."--Publishers Weekly"[Larson] captures the human capacity for wonder at the turn of the century...[he] has perfected a narrative form of his own invention."--The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)THUNDERSTRUCK - By Erik Larson - Three Rivers Press - ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0 - $14.95 - - By Erik Larson - Three Rivers Press - ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0 - $14.95 - OSD 9/25/2007THUNDERSTRUCK - By Erik Larson - Three Rivers Press - ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0 - $14.95 - OSD 9/25/2007