Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hardcover, 463 pages
Published October 24th 2006 by Crown
Source: Purchased at thrift store


I've read two other (here and here) of Larson's books and enjoyed them but this is the first one that I was riveted to. The subject matter is absolutely fascinating. Dr Crippen, who I was surprised to find out that I really knew very little about the case. This was my favourite part of the book. The other story is about Marconi and the whole invention and practical use of the wireless telegraph. This got a bit sciencey for me at times, but since Marconi himself never claimed to be a scientist it was mostly quite fascinating as this was a subject I knew nothing about at all. And learning about Marconi, who wasn't exactly that nice of a man was entertaining. The two topics are interwoven together as they cover the same time period and cross paths with each other. Like Larson's other books, this is not just a history or biography, but a social history of the time period, early 1900s mostly in England but also in the US and Canada. The other two books I had settled in for a slow read of each, but "Thunderstruck" had me turning the pages and reading just one chapter more until I had it finished in a matter of days. I will continue to read his backlog as I still haven't read the one I covet the most about HH Holmes and the Chicago World's Fair.