I bought Erik Larson's new book "Thunderstruck" today.

It looks really interesting, I can't wait to read it. I loved both "Isaac's Storm" and "The Devil in the White City." :)

From Random House's website: 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.

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400080663

:shrug:

I've read his books and gotten to see him on book tour, and he's absolutely great in person. I'll have to try to find out if he's coming to Kansas City with this one.

:bounce:

When reading the book jacket the name Crippen jumped out at me. Then I remembered. I recently read a novel called Crippen by John Boyne. A fictionalization of the case. A good read.

I'll have to see if my library has that. :)

Thanks for the recommendation. :-)

I also liked his books that you mentioned.

Although not as good as his Isaac's Storm or Devil in the White City, it was very interesting and got me more interested in Tesla (also mentioned in Devil). Marconi was a jerk as far as I'm concerned. Mean to his wife yet acted like he was a bachelor, didn't give credit to others, and much more. When I turned the book into the library there on the shelf was a new novel entitled, "Crippen"!

along with White City. Reading White City first, am already hooked. If I could be a writer this is the kind of writing I would like to do. Been meaning to read Isaac's Storm for ages and will get later. Already know some about the Galveston hurricane.

I'm a reading fiend. Recommendations from DU'ers are gonna bury me in books! Thought today I would start saving my library date due receipts and at my funeral (many years hence, hopefully) people can throw them like confetti. My tombstone will read "She died with her itty-bitty book light on."