Shopping cart
Your cart empty!
Thunderstruck
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 murder.
With his unparalleled narrative skills, Erik Larson guides us through a relentlessly suspenseful chase over 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.
More Books from Erik Larson
Reviews
Another great Larson book weaving two compelling but independent stories together.
By vtkovacs
Great read
By The Yorkshire Lad
Erik Larson’s research 🧐 is bar none some of the best out there. I have read “Devil in the White City”, “Dead Calm”, “The Splendid and the Vile”, etc. all great 📚. This work did not disappoint.
By Cyber_Grunt
I was hoping for a good historical based murder mystery but was very disappointed by a overly detailed account of the development of wireless communication. The author has performed wonderful research but I grew weary of reading lots of material that was unrelated. It was a better book for the reader who wants to know more about Marconi.
By EngrRon9
I read this entire book within 48 hours. It is one of the best I've read in a long time. Interesting, exciting and factual, I learned a lot while enjoying the history and mystery that is so nicely woven together by the author. If you like murder mysteries this one is sure to draw you in. Larson put a ton of work into this as you will see by his footnotes and documentation. Can't wait to read more by this gem of a writer.
By Rush61