Thunderstruck.GOOD/EXCELLENT Thunderstruck thun·der·struck adj. Affected with sudden astonishment or amazement. thunderstruck Adjective amazed or shocked Adj. 1. By Erik Larson The lives of an inventor and a killer come together. Guglielmo Marconi was the child of wealthy parents, a young inventor searching for wireless transatlantic communication. Though he knew little of science, he knew a great deal about business. An Italian, he was beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. by British rivals who were outraged by his temerity te·mer·i·ty n. Foolhardy disregard of danger; recklessness. [Middle English temerite, from Old French, from Latin temerit at patenting devices he believed in but didn't quite understand. Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (11 September1862 – 23 November, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, England, on November 23, 1910 for murdering his wife. was a wealthy American physician living in London. He poured money into his noisy and noisome wife's failing theatrical career, fell in love with his pretty French secretary, and murdered his shrewish wife. Erik Larson details the coincidental intersection of Marconi's and Cippens's stories, linked by news of the murder through the wireless transmissions to newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic--a critical development in Crippen's arrest. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Crown. 480 pages. $25.95. ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m : 1400080665 Seattle Times CLASSIC "Thunderstruck is an electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. book, a rare nonfiction tale that stays riveting from the opening prologue to the final chapter. The story is so dramatic, and so well told, that I found myself pausing between chapters because I didn't want it to conclude so quickly--which says a lot for a nearly 500-page tome." CHARLES R. CROSS Charles R. Cross is a rock music journalist and author based in Seattle. He is the founder of Backstreets magazine, a periodical for fans of Bruce Springsteen, editor of "Springsteen: the Man and His Music," a compilation of Backstreets articles, and is also author of a biography Fort Worth Star-Telegram The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News EXCELLENT/CLASSIC "While some authors get bogged down with details, Larson finds the right balance, maintaining a quick, almost fictionlike pace.... With Thunderstruck, Larson again demonstrates that he's one of the best nonfiction writers around and proves that real-life murders can be as compelling to read about as fictional ones." ANDREA AHLES Miami Herald EXCELLENT "Larson deftly builds the suspense, confidently allowing the converging storylines of inventor and killer to intertwine in their own sweet time--perhaps too sweet for impatient readers who might want a little less Marconi and a little more Crippen at the front end. It is at most a minor quibble, especially since the last 120 pages fly past at breakneck break·neck adj. 1. Dangerously fast: a breakneck pace. 2. Likely to cause an accident: a breakneck curve. pace." LARRY LEBOWITZ Cleveland Plain Dealer GOOD/EXCELLENT "Larson had a better story with a serial killer running amok at the World's Fair [in The Devil in the White City]. But in Thunderstruck, he captures the human capacity for wonder at the turn of the century, making us long for a quieter time, an innocent age when science had the power of magic." ANDREA SIMAKIS Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). GOOD/EXCELLENT "For someone to whom the workings of the telephone, television and all things wireless is a mystery that borders on the miraculous, a bit more explanation of the science behind the achievement would have been welcome. But Thunderstruck is a ripping yarn of murder and invention as well as a captivating cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. book that brings to life ... the last days of what Degna Marconi later called 'the Great Hush.'" ERIC LAX Boston Globe GOOD "The details of the inventor [Marconi]'s many attempts, failures, and reapplied efforts to perfect his system are probably only slightly less tedious to read about than they were for him to pursue.... As frustrating as I found the book at times, these pages stand out as some of the most crisp and effective popular history I've ever read." DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. LISS New York Times GOOD "With this book and his much more effective Devil in the White City, Mr. Larson has made himself a writer with a formula: pair a true-crime story with an interesting moment in history and pretend that they are indisputably connected. In the earlier book this method was disarming; this time it's predictable, and the strain shows." JANET MASLIN Washington Post GOOD "The constant shifts between his two plot lines become strained and confusing.... Even so, Larson's gift for rendering an historical era with vibrant tactility and filling it with surprising personalities makes Thunderstruck an irresistible tale." LAUREN BELFER CRITICAL SUMMARY As with Erik Larson's previous book, The Devil in the White City (GOOD 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, which creates perspective shifts that some critics found disorienting dis·o·ri·ent tr.v. dis·o·ri·ent·ed, dis·o·ri·ent·ing, dis·o·ri·ents To cause (a person, for example) to experience disorientation. Adj. 1. . Reviewers uniformly praised the pacing and language, however, and admired Larson's choice of main characters, both of whom are as fascinating as they were a hundred years ago. |
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