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Great googly moogly. Just a story about Marconi and his mission for wireless transmission would have been fascinating enough. There were many things I never even knew about all those events so it was fascinating learning about all that. But then Mr. Larson throws in a story about a nobody who becomes famous for both the murder of his wife and the HOW of the murder. And it is both fascinating and horrifying. And these stories cross paths towards the end of the book. And it is absolutely wow. I lo...
The Author's Note says that the murder case in this book so captivated Alfred Hitchcock that he worked elements of it into Rear Window (and The Rope). Rear Window is probably my favorite movie of all time, so I had to find out which elements he was referring to. This is why I wanted to read this book and have had a copy for a couple of years now.Larson incorporates via alternating chapters the story of Marconi's creation of the telegraph, and therein lies my excuse for NOT wanting to read this b...
“At that moment the world changed…”Erik Larson has a winning formula that he deploys well in his books. He takes on a historical event(s), links them with other things happening in the same period, sometimes thru a specific study of a person, and while combining those elements he explores the age in which the events he focuses on happened. It works. “Thunderstruck” is no exception, although I think it works slightly less successfully than in his other books.The events that Larson connects in “Th...
Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson is a non fiction account of the infamous murder of Belle Elmore by her husband, Hawley Crippen, and the story of Guglielmo Marconi,the inventor of wireless telegraphy. The story of both men was riveting. Marconi was obsessive about his work, probably had Aspergers syndrome. He battles it out with competitors over patents and rights. It was like a soap opera sometimes, all the accusations, and back biting. The details behind the invention was also very interesting. T...
Would have liked more about the murder trial than how to build a radio station
I was drawn to Erik Larson’s book Thunderstruck because of my familiarity with Dr. Crippen’s story. Since this is my first Larson book, I wasn’t expecting the dual storylines. Not only does Larson explore the life of Hawley Crippen and his boisterous wife Cora whom he allegedly murdered, but the book also details the invention of wireless communication by Marconi. At times, I was not as invested in the Marconi details and didn’t absorb that storyline as I was very drawn to Crippen, Ethel, and Co...
4 Stars for Thunderstruck (audiobook) by Erik Larson read by Bob Balaban. This is an interesting story. Two very different words colliding together. A gruesome murder and wireless communications being invented. The story does get bogged down a bit by the amazing amount of detail. The story of Marconi inventing wireless communications would have been enough. But to see how the new technology was immediately used was fascinating. This is definitely an invention that changed the world. This was a g...
It's an axiom that Great Men (and, one supposes, Great Women) are Unpleasant People. Larson's treatment of Guglielmo Marconi, great-great-great grandfather of the device you're reading this on, does nothing to dispel the miasma of meanness from him. What a rotten human being! How completely insensitive, how thoroughly obsessively devoted to his own self and comfort, what a complete rotter of a businessman!Thank you, Guglielmo, for the gifts all that human wreckage you left behind have given us a...
This is a book about the invention of wireless telegraphy. As if he knew this wasn’t the sexiest of topics, author Erik Larson includes a murder mystery alongside it, creating a fun little two-for-the-price-of-one non-fiction treat. He lures you in with relationship drama and then works in the science. So sneaky! And once the two distinct stories come together, so delicious.I can see how some readers would be less than enthused about the more technical details of Marconi’s science experiments, b...
After reading Devil in the White City (one of my favorite books of all time), I was very excited to read this book. I ended up disappointed. I really had to force my way through this book. There was too much about the invention and not enough about the murder. Devil in the White City was much more balanced. Although maybe it just felt that way because the world's fair chapters were just as interesting as the serial killer chapters. Erik Larson is a great writer. I enjoy how he ties a famous even...
