Customer Reviews

Thunderstruck

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(70)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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!

Hawley Harvey Crippen, the pathetic murderer in this true story, was born and raised a short drive from my home in the southern Michigan town of Coldwater. After reading Erik Larson's spellbinding tale, "The Devil in the White City," I had high hopes for "Thunderstruck."

Larson's basic formula is a good one: Find a famous murder near the turn of the 20th century. Match it to some major social change that illustrates the tremendous impact of science and technology at that time. Weave the two story lines together until they intersect, ending with a dramatic capture. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed in Larson's second book for the following reasons:

-- The narrative pacing in Thunderstruck is sub-par. The storyline frequently drags as Larson gives us too many details about Crippen, often repeating the same ground several times. And the interplay between Crippen's life and Marconi's seems far too disconnected throughout most of the book.

-- Unlike the serial murdering fiend in "Devil in the White City," Crippen isn't much of a villain, really. He comes across mainly as a pathetic loser without enough backbone to stand up to his abusive wife, Belle Elmore. When he finally kills her, most of the drama is gone. It's a sad tale for everyone involved.

-- The story of young Marconi isn't nearly as interesting as the building of the Chicago World's Fair in Larson's previous book. Perhaps because the cast of characters is much smaller and the outcome is predetermined.

I hope Larson's next book does a better job of harnessing the inherent drama in our history. He certainly has the talent and research skills to pull it off.

Erik Larson has not just struck thunder here, he has struck gold. This is a beautifully written piece of historical literature. Essentially it's two stories in one, but far from being a distraction it merely left me feeling as if I had purchased two books for the price of one. And two very good books at that! One story is following the life of Guglielmo Marconi (that fellow who invented the wireless no less) while the other is on a totally different plane following the story of the infamous Dr Crippen as he tries to flee old England for a new life in Canada after the murder of his wife.
I've never before come across a book that intertwines two so different stories into one novel. Mixing fact with fiction as well adds even further flavour to what is already an extremely satisfying dessert. There were so many occasions when reading this book that I found myself open mouthed, or shaking my head at just how clever it all is. This is not the sort of book that normally appeals to me, and in fact I'm not sure there are too many of its kind around, but if you're looking to try something new and original then Erik Larson's Thunderstruck could just leave you.... dumbstruck. I can't praise this highly enough, except to say that if I could give a book six stars it would be this one.

Yet another best-seller for Erik Larson! He's applying the same winning formula to this nonfiction work as his earlier blockbusters, pulling the reader into a bygone era, in this case early 20th-century London, which we may feel a bit romantic and sentimental over. Larson does his homework, researching neighborhood street names and settings, monetary values, verbatim conversations, newspaper articles, favorite haunts (sometimes literally!), and melodramatic personality struggles of the time. The reader is given two books in one: the first the story of the mercurial Guglielmo Marconi, which spans his pampered and protected childhood, his single-minded struggle to establish wireless telegraphy, his self-absorbed and eccentric personality, his lack of scientific training, his using of other people's efforts and money, and ultimately, despite his utter ignorance of what he was about, his triumphant success.

The second story is far darker and much sadder. An otherwise thoroughly civilized and considerate homeopathic doctor, Crippin, suffers hideously at the hands of his emasculating and domineering wife, Cora, until he meets his soul mate, Ethel Le Neve, who is everything his wife isn't, which is innocent, considerate, sweet, grateful, and in love with him. Dr. Crippin makes a fateful decision one winter evening, and the rest, as they say, is a fish fillet. The two stories finally intertwine when Dr. Crippin and the innocent Ethel flee the continent in disguise, but ship-to-shore messages on Marconi's magical wireless entrap them, as a bloodhound of a Scotland Yard inspector is called upon to race across the Atlantic to capture them. Their spotless love remained, however, even after Ethel knew the awful truth, and their story is ultimately a sad one. One can only wonder if such a crime would have been committed had the divorce laws of Edwardian England been less stringent. The Crippin case did worlds of good for promoting Marconi's wireless, but we are left to wonder what it did for reformation of the divorce laws of the day, if anything.

What's fascinating about this story is how Larson has resurrected what was a worldwide media event, and how he's made Marconi into such an enigmatic and interesting figure. The comforting thing is that all that's here is true, we hope. Larson's writing is crisp, exact, and electric, much like the sparks that emanate from Marconi's wireless.

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.

You don't expect non-fiction to grab you the way a good work of fiction does - but here's the proof that it can - and this one does. Reading about the lives of Marconi and Crippen, and knowing they were on a collision course, lent this tale all the intrigue of a cat and mouse thriller.

Marconi and Crippen had much in common - Marconi, not a scientist by his own consistent declarations, won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to wireless telegraphy. At once aloof and self-absorbed with those he was supposed to love, and yet thrilled by his associations with the rich and beautiful, he emerges as an unlikely and unlikable subject of international praise and adulation. Crippen marries a woman who nearly swallows him whole. The soul of intimidation, we barely hear his voice above a whisper. He's meek and mild, and tries to please at any cost. And this is the man who, in the end, commits one of the most horrific murders of all time. Both men are seriously flawed - and both gain notoriety beyond all expectations for them. After you have read about Marconi's endless, unscientific changes and improvements in his wireless set-up, you will wonder how it ever became a reliable form of communication.

I read Thunderstruck because I enjoyed Isaac's Storm so much. It's a real gift to bring history so alive that the reader can find himself transported to another era, and see and feel the elements of that time so intensely. Erik Larson has the gift - so for those who say, "I don't read non-fiction", add, "except Erik Larson". If you don't read Thunderstruck and Isaac's Storm, you'll be denying yourself an important and thrilling reading experience. Now, I'm one of the lucky ones who hasn't read The Devil in the White City yet, so I'm off to pick up a copy!

There are not enough superlatives to describe why I recommend Erik Larsen's latest book. It is beautifully written, well documented, and captivatingly plotted. It is hard to imagine I am describing a non fiction novel for it seems too good to be true.

The two main characters, Hawley Crippen, and Guglielmo Marconi, are presented in a gripping and suspense-filled real life story that has all the plots, twists, and surprises in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. One of the most touching scenes in the book was shortly after the birth of Marconi. Someone remarked that he had big ears.

His offended mother replied with a dignity and eloquence only a mother can summon: "He will be able to hear the still, small voice of the air." It was a prophetic and ironic statement (years later, he invented the feasibility of radio communication). The book is a narrative history which takes place in early l900.

All characters, places, and inventions during this period are delightfully described in a masterly way. When Marconi was twelve, other children laughed at his mannerisms and made fun of the way he spoke. Mr. Larsen writes so vividly, I could feel the pain in the young boy's heart. Also, exhilaration when he fulfilled his lifelong dream and had the last laugh!


Reggie Johnson, Success-Tapes.Com