Thunderstruck

by Erik Larson

book data

2,837 ratings, 3.45 average rating, 692 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		10%
4		38%
3		38%
2		10%
1		2%

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published

2006 by Crown

binding

Hardcover, 480 pages

isbn

1400080665 (isbn13: 9781400080663)

description

A true story of love, murder, and the end of the world’s “great hush”

In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of t...more

[close] 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.

About the Author
Erik Larson is the bestselling author of the National Book Award finalist and Edgar Award–winning The Devil in the White City. He lives in Seattle with his wife, three daughters, and a dog named Molly. [close]

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10/06/07

Adrienne rated it:

Read in November, 2007

I enjoyed parts of Thunderstruck and really had to force myself through others. The chapters about Marconi were often boring and too technical for my non-scientific mind. Larson sort of expects his reader to already understand certain elements of how radio waves works, which I don't. However, when Larson wasn't droning on about building towers and antennae, Marconi's story still captured my attention. (I'm sure more scientific minded people would enjoy the aspects that I didn't.)

...more I enjoyed parts of Thunderstruck and really had to force myself through others. The chapters about Marconi were often boring and too technical for my non-scientific mind. Larson sort of expects his reader to already understand certain elements of how radio waves works, which I don't. However, when Larson wasn't droning on about building towers and antennae, Marconi's story still captured my attention. (I'm sure more scientific minded people would enjoy the aspects that I didn't.)

In the end, I ended up quite disliking Marconi. I find it interesting when we have images of historical figures in our heads, and then we find that the image and the reality don't match up. I have a tendency to forget the humanity of such people. Marconi, as is sometimes the case, has the brilliant mind, but lacks the social astuteness necessary for having a happy and truly successful life, no matter what invention/discovery he has made for society: He took credit for many things which others had truly done and delved himself completely in his work without regard for his family or others around him.

As far as Crippen, Elmore, and Le Neve are concerned, the half of the book dedicated to their story fascinated me. Larson weaves in little tidbits of life at the turn of the century, creating a close to complete vision of the time. When I got to the parts about the discovery of the murder, I did skim some pages, I will admit. I couldn't fathom, as those who knew him, how Crippen could have committed such a crime because he was so mild and kind.

The last 80 or so pages were absolutely the best--the chase. I have to say that my very favorite person in the novel was Captain Kendall. Unfortunately, he is not in the novel as much as I would like, but he is the smartest and most daring person we meet. I loved (loved isn't a strong enough word; I finished the book one night and woke up talking about this part the next morning) that the whole world knew what was happening except for the unsuspecting Crippen and Le Neve. Mostly because the story is true, this is the most magnificent irony any story could produce. I laugh a little at the perfectness of it all. (less)

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01/25/08

Dale rated it:

Read in February, 2008

There's a certain style of storytelling which I have an affinity for, both in terms of telling stories myself and listening to them (or reading them). The style, in a word, would be called "digressive". I know this style doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me. I like talking about or hearing about the little things that don't necessarily advance the plot or aren't crucial to understanding the point of something. As long as the digressions are interesting in and of themselve...more

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10/31/07

Xysea rated it:

bookshelves: book-on-home-shelf, crime, historical

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: historical non fiction lovers, students of human nature

Well, he's gone and done it again! Another brilliant, engrossing true-life novel, completely with two independent yet seamlessly interwoven story lines that he manages to treat equitably through and through.

This book is a compelling journey of one man into the annals of scientific history (Marconi) and another into the depths of criminality (Crippen). The stories tie together in the end, during Crippen's capture.

Neither story can be said to be particularly happy: Both m...more

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06/28/08

Karlan rated it:

Read in June, 2008

This nonfiction title cleverly combines the work of Marconi and the story of a famous turn of the century murder. The murderer was caught thanks to the new ability to contact ships at sea. I liked it but found the detail overwhelming. At first, I read carefully thinking some of those details might be important later but then realized I could speed read the book.

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07/23/08

Alex rated it:

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: history buffs

Erik Larson’s 2006 non-fiction work chronicles Guglialmo Marconi and the development of the wireless ‘telegraph’, which we now refer to as radio and its importance to shipping in the first few years of the twentieth century. The advances Marconi made, although impressive, were fraught with controversy, opposition and accusations of stealing secrets. However, none of the noteworthy ups and downs of the wireless did as much to bring it to the public eye and success as its use in tracking a...more Erik Larson’s 2006 non-fiction work chronicles Guglialmo Marconi and the development of the wireless ‘telegraph’, which we now refer to as radio and its importance to shipping in the first few years of the twentieth century. The advances Marconi made, although impressive, were fraught with controversy, opposition and accusations of stealing secrets. However, none of the noteworthy ups and downs of the wireless did as much to bring it to the public eye and success as its use in tracking a fugitive for murder and planning his capture while he was crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Like his two previous books, The Devil in the White City and Isaac’s Storm, Larson relies on exhaustive research of documents, historical records and eyewitness accounts to piece together two meticulously written stories that finally cross paths in an exciting finish.

While Marconi was busy establishing trans-Atlantic communication from the British Isles to North America, Larson follows the crumbling marriage of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen and his wife Cora. Crippen was a diminutive introverted milquetoast while Cora was a brash, over-bearing, limelight-seeking shrew. She bullied her husband into financing her life dream (obsession, rather) to become a star on stage. Crippen quietly dished out copious moolah to satisfy her wishes.

Their marriage continued to deteriorate while Cora faced failure after failure. Then Crippen met Ethel Le Feve who was the exact opposite of his wife. Their relationship flourished.

One night following a fight between Crippen and his wife, Cora disappeared. Crippen first said that she had left London for America, and later that she had died. Cora’s friends were increasingly suspicious and contacted Scotland Yard. Crippen and Ethel fled London, finally booking passage on the Montrose to Quebec City, Canada.

By now, Marconi had successfully established trans-Atlantic communications, and Scotland Yard, having found Cora’s brutalized body and following clues, contacted the Montrose’s captain via the wireless.

News of Crippen and the hideous murder spread around the world, thanks to wireless. Thousands of people followed the Montrose’s progress across the Atlantic day by day, while Crippen remained fully confident that his escape was successful. Until he arrived in Canada.

Larson effectively builds suspense in telling of the demise of the Crippen’s marriage and the events leading to the murder of Cora. However the rich detailing of the Marconi story has a tendency to slow the story, but only a bit. The number of players in the wireless arena is substantial and it becomes difficult to keep track of who’s on whose side as loyalties change with each page. History buffs will find the book fascinating. I also enjoyed it immensely but based on the subject matter alone, I preferred Isaac’s Storm, the story of the 1900 hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas to Thunderstruck. However, the latter is one of the finest and well-written books I have ever read.

I look forward to reading The Devil in the White City, the story of a serial killer at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and eagerly await Larson’s next work.
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10/03/07

Rick rated it:

Read in November, 2006

Erik Larson's previous novel, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, established him as the premier contemporary author of literary true crime. The publication of Thunderstruck maintains his status.

Larson retells the infamous and oft-told tale of the American Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who, while living in Edwardian London, murdered his aspiring actress wife and attempted to escape on an ocean liner only to be captured, thanks to a n...more

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09/08/07

Melissa rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: jeff, bruce

This was very interesting. It's a non-fiction book about the famous Crippen murder in England, how wireless communication came about, and how these two events connected somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean. I didn't know about the Crippen murder until I read this book, which I thought was a good thing, it added a bit more suspense to the book. Apparently, it is the second most famous murder in Britain, after Jack the Ripper. It did take me awhile to get into this book, about halfway through I was...more

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10/17/08

Julie rated it:

bookshelves: highly-recommended, history-non-fiction, mastercraft---brilliant-writing

Read in February, 2008

With incredible deftness, Larson weaves together the stories of an Italian scientist and inventor and a British hack physician and hapless lover. The setting is Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time that saw Edwardian indulgences and a fascination with mysticism and magic dissolving before the advances in science, technology, and the inevitable march toward the first World War.

This book is a lesson in history, an examination of the business and politics of technol...more

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01/31/09

Anna Hanson Bevens rated it:

bookshelves: history, library-book, read-in-2009

Read in January, 2009

In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men--Hawley Cripen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creater of a seemingly supernatural means of communication--whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.

"Thunderstruck" is a better book if you have not read The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, Erik Larson's riveting tale of how the 1893 Chicago Wo...more

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01/23/09

Tom Mulpagano rated it:

(review of isbn 1400080673)

Read in December, 2008

If you like history that reads like a thriller, then Thunderstruck should be on your list of books to read. Much like in Devil in the White City, Larson is able to weave an amazing amount of historical fact and detail into this fascinating story of murder and intrigue from the turn of the century. We take for granted today what was little understood and even less trusted as a viable means of communication then, in the form of radio transmission and communication. Larsen masterfully places his st...more

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01/14/09

Kathleen added it

bookshelves: 2007-audio-books, 2007-nonfiction

Read in August, 2007

Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson. B-plus.
This is the second book by the author who made such a hit with his first book: “Devil In the White City.” This book is fascinating but not as enthralling as the first one. Peterson’s weakness is that, for every character he introduces, he tries to give you birth to death information about the character. Again, we have an over-riding event, and a discrete murder that is impacted by the over-all event. This time, we have the history of the in...more Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson. B-plus.
This is the second book by the author who made such a hit with his first book: “Devil In the White City.” This book is fascinating but not as enthralling as the first one. Peterson’s weakness is that, for every character he introduces, he tries to give you birth to death information about the character. Again, we have an over-riding event, and a discrete murder that is impacted by the over-all event. This time, we have the history of the invention and ongoing developments of the wireless radio. He details Marconi’s involvement, and the competition between him and others also working on wireless radio technology. It’s a fascinating history of all the characters involved, but it does make the book too long. The murder involves a man who killed his wife and buried her in the cellar so that he could be with his lover. The connection between this murder and the Marconi invention is that when he realized Scotland Yard was suspicious of him, he and his girl friend fled England-she dressed as a boy. Scotland Yard released information regarding the people they were looking for, and the captain of the ship they were on which was going to Quebec saw the bulletin. He became convinced that the culprits were on his boat. He relayed that information to Scotland Yard. The detective in charge took a faster boat across the ocean to meet them in Quebec. Newspaper reporters found out, and the captain and others relayed information by wireless radio about what the couple was doing on board, what they were reading, etc. The couple, due to the wireless, were on the world stage throughout the voyage and never knew they were even being watched. Scotland Yard met them at the Quebec port and arrested them. This was the first time it became clear that the wireless was here to stay and that it had many uses, including catching criminals. This happened in 1910. As I said, an interesting book but too long, but still worth reading. In the past year, I heard a news story that now it is thought that they fingered the wrong people for the murde. That makes it even more interesting.
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05/03/09

Tristan rated it:

Read in May, 2009

After Devil In The White City, I had insurmountable expectations. The only thing that I felt fell short in this book, however, was that my preliminary knowledge and interest in London and Marconi was lower than my knowledge and interest in Chicago.

Larson achieves much of the same in this book as the previous one. A murder and a technological breakthrough are the twin foci of the book, and without one story line or the other, the book would still be enthralling. The level of research ...more

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04/13/09

Will rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in April, 2009

First off, while this is an interesting and engaging story, it is not the top-notch book that was Devil in the White City. Here, Larson tells a parallel tale of Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the wireless, and Hawley Crippen, a relative nobody who gained infamy by doing away with his wife. Where they intersect is when the new-fangled wireless machine is used to track the fleeing killer and his mistress as they cross the Atlantic in a passenger liner. Larson is excellent at imparting a sense of ...more

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03/31/09

Trilby rated it:

(review of isbn 1400080673)

bookshelves: crime, england, history, history-of-science

Read in April, 2009

Larson has a gift for making history seem stranger than fiction, but then again, history often is. Although the story is full of dates, facts, and details, it easily holds the reader's attention--that is, most of the time. At some points, however, usually those involving scientists squabbling and griping about each other, I found myself skimming ahead. The book traces the marriages and fortunes of two men, Guglielmo Marconi and Dr. Crippen, a murderer made world-infamous by Marconi's invention...more

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04/19/09

Justin rated it:

bookshelves: history

Read in April, 2009

This one’s a treat. Thunderstruck reads like a gripping detective thriller while imparting fabulous historical information. Larson’s ability to illustrate the place in time in which the events take place is extraordinary. My biggest problem in history class was realizing the simultaneity of events occurring in different parts of the world and how they affected each other. Larson’s engaging narrative style and incredible research makes this story make sense above and beyond all expectat...more

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02/21/09

Angie rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Overall, I enjoyed this nonfiction book which interweaves the stories of Crippen and Marconi. Of the two, I found the sections on Crippen much more fascinating. Before reading this book, I was not familiar with the story of the unassuming doctor and the murder of his estranged actress wife. Even though I knew it was coming, it still really chilled me when the book discussed details of the case. In fact, I kept thinking about the murder long after I was finished reading the book.

T...more

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01/19/09

Stephen rated it:

Read in January, 2009

As a writer, I admire the construction of this book. Like his last work, “Devil in the White City,” Larson tells two stories, back and forth, related but very different. I suspect that a lot of readers do not like this but I think it builds suspense and delays gratification. As you might suspect, eventually the two story lines come together.

But from the author's point of view, it’s like writing two books at the same time, two lines of research. That's a lot for an author to ke...more

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02/05/09

Bookmarks Magazine added it

As with Erik Larson's previous book, The Devil in the White City (*** May/June 2003), Thunderstruck alternates between the perspectives of two historical figures, one a scientist and one a killer. Opinions vary as to whether Thunderstruck is as successful as its predecessor. The murderer's story is deeply compelling, but the recounting of Marconi's tribulations and triumphs as an inventor occasionally fails to hold some readers' interest. Moreover, the two stories take place in different years,

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01/10/09

Jacqueline rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Larson uses his Devil in the White City technique of intertwining the story of an infamous murder with the history of a great human innovation - in this case, wireless telegraphy. However, Thunderstruck lacks the grand scale of Devil in the White City, and both the Dr. Crippen murder case and the development of wireless technology make for rather unsatisfying narratives. The sections focusing on Marconi (the opportunistic, self-centered businessman who developed wireless telegraphy for use acr...more

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03/17/09

Elizabeth rated it:

Read in January, 2008

Author of Isaac's Storm and Devil in the White City, Larson has again -- and effectively -- interwoven two seemingly unrelated stories: 1) Marconi's creation of wireless communication and his dauntingly difficult challenge of convincing the world of its economic viability in the face of doubters, competitors, and poor social judgment and 2) the strange but true tale of a tragic love affair and an unlikely murderer who, along with his lover, were hunted in the most publicized manhunt since Jack t...more

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