For those of you who immediately thought of AC/DC, I salute you.
However, this post isn't about Angus and co. It's about Erik Larson's book, Thunderstruck. For anyone who's talked to me in the last few months about books you know I'm digging on Larson. Marie passed me Devil in the White City last year and I freakin loved it. So when In the Garden of Beasts came out, I picked that up and read it. And now I'm going back to read his other two, Thunderstruck and Isaac's Storm.
All of his novels I'm aware of are based on historical fact. He write non-fiction but weaves the story into a gripping novel format. It reads like a wild fictional caper, but it's all meticulously researched and quoted. Thunderstruck is 400 pages long plus 45 pages of bibliography and notes! The effort he puts into these things is phenomenal. This one is about Marconi and a killer (who they put on the 2nd biggest manhunt for since Jack the Ripper). I'm not gonna say much about what happens. It's about turn of the century inventions that changed the world forever, and murder.
Devil in the White City is similar, but way better. It's about America's first serial killer and the Chicago's World's Fair. Leonardo DiCaprio has signed up to play the protagonist in the celluloid version coming out in the next couple years.
In the Garden of Beasts is about an American diplomat and his family living in Nazi-occupied Germany in the build-up to WWII. It's significantly different from the other two and honestly not quite as good. But having said that, still worth a read.
I highly recommend Larson. Start w/ Devil in the White City then move on to any of his others. You won't be disappointed.
Damn I'm gonna have to read a lot of books to keep up with you. I've been meaning to check out Devil in the White City.
ReplyDeleteYou can borrow our copy if you'd like. I'll trade ya for Iron Man when you're done if you want. Saves me buying a copy. Also, if you have any of Sonny Barger's books or Hunter S. Thompson's book on the Hells Angles then I'd borrow those. For some odd reason I feel like you have em?
ReplyDeleteI started reading Thunderstruck before the holidays but I read all those other books between x-mas and new year's. Current book is the Alchemist graphic novel...