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Thunderstruck
 

Thunderstruck

by Erik Larson

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... (read more)

Top tags: history,  true crime,  non-fiction,  nonfiction,  wireless (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

Paula L
  • Rated 5 stars

“Story of Marconi, the man and invention, and Crippen, the man and murderer. Larson does a brilliant job of making non-fiction jump off the page and compel you to read more. It's not boring :])”

Paula L’s full review »
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Didn’t Like It

ehouston29
  • Rated 2 stars

“One character's story was enthralling, but the other was so tediously boring.”

ehouston29’s full review »
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Community:
  • Rated 3.643382 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • emeeekay

    emeeekay said:

    “Thunderstruck was a bit more dry (okay, a lot more dry) than "Devil in the White City;" I found myself slogging through most of the Marconi-centric chapters to get to the Crippen details. Larson does invoke the time very well and his research, as in "White City," is great, admirable, even - all primary sources.

    A PBS show - Secrets of the Dead - aired last night (10/1/08). Using new DNA technology, Crippen has been proven innocent of Cora's murder (the remains discovered weren't even female). A forensic - toxicologist? - also poked holes in the investigation, suggesting evidence was planted. (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/executed-in-error/hawley-crippen)

    I'd love to see what Larson might write as an foreward/afterward in a future edition of this book, though I will say it must suck to write a non-fiction book only to have the conclusion of half of the story - proven false. Perhaps he will be intrigued enough to use his powers of research to find out what did happen to Cora and shed more light on how the investigation was corrupted.”

    posted 9 days ago ( | view 1 reply )
  • Matthew U

    matthew u said:

    “I have to agree with others, this book is a bit more difficult to get into then "Devil in the White City" but I am still enjoying it. Larson is a wonderful author!”

    posted Wednesday, November 28 2007
  • Jessica R

    jessica r said:

    “just started not quite sure yet...seems kinda dry”

    posted Wednesday, November 28 2007
  • FatherOfHollywood

    fatherofhollywood said:

    “THUNDERSTRUCK is a splendid work of non-fiction that engages the reader as well as any novel. The author deftly combines the stories of two disparate lives -- Gugliemo Marconi, inventor of the wireless, and Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, milquetoast doctor, husband, and murderer. The latter would become the first criminal tracked and captured with the assistance of wireless communication. ”

    posted Friday, October 19 2007
  • SalDragski

    saldragski said:

    “I believe it would be yes (and I'll tell you why at our meeting on Saturday).
    Sally”

    posted Wednesday, April 25 2007
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