Product Description
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.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Product Description
Two brothers.
Three Secret Service agents.
And millions for the taking.
Brad Meltzer, the author of the runaway bestseller The First Counsel, is back with another edge-of-your-seat thriller-a tale of two brothers trying to hide in a world where your every step can be traced.

THE MILLIONAIRES

It started as the perfect crime. Then it took a turn for the worse.

Charlie and Oliver Caruso are brothers who work at Greene & Greene, a private bank so exclusive you need two million dollars just to be a client. But when the door of success slams in their faces, they're faced with an offer they can't refuse: three million dollars in an abandoned account. No one knows it exists, and even better, it doesn't belong to anyone.

It's a foolproof crime. More important, for Charlie and Oliver, it's a way out of debt and the key to a new life. All they have to do is take the money.

But when they do, they quickly discover they've got a lot more on their hands than the prize. Before they can blink, a friend is dead-and the bank, the Secret Service, and a female private investigator are suddenly closing in. What invisible strings were attached to that account? How are the brothers going to prove they're innocent? And why is the Secret Service trying to kill them? Trapped in a breakneck race to stay alive, Charlie and Oliver are about to discover a secret that will test their trust and forever change their lives.

This is Brad Meltzer at his most electrifying-a breathtaking, suspenseful story about two brothers chasing a dream that may cost them everything they hold dear.

THE MILLIONAIRES

What would you steal if you couldn't get caught?Amazon.com Review
What would you steal if you couldn't get caught? That's the tag line of Brad Meltzer's new thriller, which pits an ambitious young money manager against a corporate villain, whose intricate financial shenanigans accidentally put a huge chunk of dough right in front of a man who desperately needs it. Of course Oliver Caruso's conscience troubles him, but that doesn't keep him from letting his somewhat looser and less ethical brother convince him this is too good an opportunity to pass up. Meltzer's in interesting territory here, but in order to buy his premise, you have to believe that it's OK to steal if you have a good enough reason. This makes his protagonist, who narrates the novel, hard to root for and less than sympathetic. Despite this hollow ring, the book is nicely plotted and should please the author's enthusiastic fan club. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (149)

MY FIRST MELTZER, AND NOT MY LAST
I hadn't come across Brad Meltzer before, and I enjoyed this the first of his books that I've read. Other reviewers have identified the defioiencies; the goofy pair of brothers (appropriate since they end up in Disneyland) and the somewhat unsatisfactory ending. To which I'd add the recuperative powers of the hero. But I enjoyed it anyway, partly because of the interplay between the brothers, not forgetting their ingenious mother. If it were made into a movie it would be described as a caper.

Would You Take 3 Million Dollars if Nobody Owned it?
Oliver and Charlie Caruso are two brothers under pressure because they have huge hospital bills to pay because of their mother's illness. They work for a private investment bank so exclusive it only takes clients with at least two million dollars in their accounts. So one day when a three million dollar account belonging to a client who has passed away falls into their laps, they take it. After all, the money will go to the government otherwise.

The brothers hide the money in an offshore account. However, the next day they discover they have much more in that account than they stole. It's ballooned into a colossal three hundred and thirteen million dollars. It slowly dawns on the brothers that they have been patsies to someone else's much bigger game.

Then a colleague of theirs at the bank gets shot before their eyes by the Secret Service because of the missing money. Terrified, Oliver and Charlie go on the run, all the while trying to figure out what is going on, and who is really chasing them.

It turns out that supposedly dormant account holding three million was actually a trap to the tune of the three hundred and thirteen million the boys now have. With the feds hot on their heels, Oliver and Charlie begin an investigation of their own to find out who really owned that account and why there was a need for a dummy balance. And they wonder if they they will make it out of the mess they're in alive?

The Millionaires's is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you turning the pages to see just who Oliver and Charlie can trust, if anyone. It's not only an exciting, adventure story of double cross and treachery, but it's a doggone good read as well.

a page-turner that i'll never forget!
i have always been a fan of brad meltzer. the way he is able to create a story that makes me feel like i am actually with the characters during all the events they go through has never ceased to amaze me. this book of his started off a little uninteresting at first then made a complete comeback throughout the rest of the story. also know its off subject but anyone have any ideas for me to start a blog or discussion about?

This.book.is.awful.
I created the ability to review just to stop others from reading this book.It's truly awful.The characters are annoying, the plot is completely unrealistic, and the ending had me imagining his editor calling and saying "Okay, it has to get to the printer by 5:00, wrap it up..."

Most annoying was the dialogue between the two, often written as "I.am.telling.you.no.".It's mind-numbing.

On top of that, these two jokers are able to overpower two Secret Service agents throughout the book.They hit each other with 2x4's, fists, glass blenders, kicks to the groin, shards of glass, etc, and no one misses a beat.It's like the bad guy in Terminator 2, except the Secret Service is the most well-trained law enforcement agency in the history of the world...

Scrambled Book
The problem with this book is that the author doesn't know whether to be funny or serious.It's written with a slapstick tone and you think you're gonna be laughing throughout.But then real blood begins to flow.So, hey, maybe it's a serious book.But the plot, which is promising at first, soon becomes ridiculous -- comically so.The two Caruso brothers spend the book running away from two Secret Service heavies while other characters come and go.In the end, the book's denouement takes place in the tunnels below Disney World.Which is appropriate because, not only is this book a fantasy, it's downright goofy.This is my first Meltzer book and I will have to seriously think whether or not I want to read another.

... Read more

Product Description
A ex-cop names his poison. For former San  Francisco cop Dismas Hardy, Guinness Stout with Bass Ale  is the drink of choice, but a straight Irish  whiskey will do anytime. The news of young Eddie  Cochran's death calls for a double. The cops think  it's suicide, but even to a lapsed Catholic like  Hardy, it sounds wrong. Doubts lead him back into the  heart of the Little Shamrock, into memories of  warm kitchens, cold churches, and sins unforgetten.  Blood ties still bind Eddie's family--his  beautiful mother, his pregnant widow, his hot-tempered  brothers, his compassionate priest. But old secrets  and raw angers gnaw at the fabric of their lives.  And Hardy's insticts warn him-someone else is  going to die.


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Dead Irish is a winner
This book was purchased for my brother who had not read any of Lescroart's books. It was one of the first I read of his and was an excellent read. I highly recommend all his Dismas Hardy books.

My first Lescroart novel!!
I bought all of John Lescroat's books and this is the first one I have read.Not too bad.I really like it and I am looking forward to the rest of his novels.Lescroat came highly recommended by a couple of my friends and I was not disappointed by this book.On to the next one!

Starts off well, then fades
This mystery novel has a good opening and is compelling in its presentation of the characters. The atmosphere remains until about the middle. Then it gets stuck in a number of scenes that are too slow, and a description of a villain who is supposed to be provocative, but turns out to be a bitter and disappointing stereotype. I realize that because this is a book about a murder, whoever the author picked to be the culprit wouldn't be nice at all. Still, some of the passages which explain the criminal's character could have been pulled from any cliched argument on temptation and related topics. Another series of scandals, another person who thinks he or she is justified because they were frustrated, and so on. Meanwhile, the countless men and women who don't scoff at their commitments and don't wind up murdering anybody, don't seem to have novels written about them. Pity, that.

Meet Dismas Hardy
John Lescroart's introductory novel to Dismas Hardy shows the character at the nadir of his life.As if he hadn't sunk low enough, we meet Hardy aboard an airplane that has just dropped three-thousand feet due to wind shear, a backwash...the pilot explains the technicality of the precipitous event. Everyone aboard is naturally terrified but fifteen minutes later they make a safe landing in San Francisco.Hardy has been on the wagon for two weeks while on a vacation in Cabo but goes into the airport bar for a drink.

Although shaken, he mulls over the thought that a crash might have been not so bad.His parents were killed in a plane crash when he was nineteen--"symmetry" there--and he is still struggling to come to terms with his life. Several years earlier he and his then-wife had lost their infant son in a freak accident.Hardy is an ex-cop, ex-Marine, and ex-assistant district attorney. Now he tends bar for a friend, Moses McGuire, whose life he saved in Viet Nam.He lives alone.He's all right but just spinning his wheels.

An incident in Candlestick Park puts Hardy in touch with his old partner, Abe Glitsky.The two men had walked a beat together, many years ago. Glitsky is called away to investigate the murder of an Edward Cochran who, as Hardy fears, is the husband of his friend Moses's sister, Frannie.

There follows a complicated plot involving the young Eddie; a dishonest publisher of a Spanish-language newspaper; another publisher with a young trophy wife and a daughter who is only slightly younger than the wife and who is not the sharpest tack on the board.There are Eddie Cochran's mourning parents and siblings, as well as a priest who is very close to the family, a lifelong friend.Eddie's young brother Steven suffers deeply in his own way.

To make things worse, a cryptic message has been found in Eddie's car that looks like it might be a suicide note.

Although no longer with the police or justice department, Hardy pursues a personal investigation on behalf of Moses McGuire so that suicide can be ruled out and Frannie can inherit the payment from her husband's substantial insurance policy.For this, McGuire offers Hardy a one-quarter interest in his bar.

The book's pace is fast but not so fast that we don't get to meet the characters and weigh their personalities. Along the way, we learn about police politics as a promotion to lieutenant looms for one lucky person.Only one person, as the police department has been undergoing cutbacks.Morale is low.

Lescroart deftly ties up all these ends and more as the book heads relentlessly towards its powerful finish, never letting up on the suspense. His characters are real and well drawn.

At the end of the story, I was so happy that there were still more Dismas Hardy books that I had not read yet.I plan to read the rest in order.If you haven't read them yet, I suggest you do too.

First one of a great series
This review has more to do with the series than with Dead Irish.Working my way through the Dismas Hardy novels.Unlike many current detective writers, Lescroart eschews the charismatic psychotic serial killer and his/her elaborate, shocking crimes - burned, hanged, flayed, dismembered, et al. - and offers rather average folks - cops, secretaries, lawyers, etc. - caught up in difficult and unusual circumstances but trying to deal with the challenges of everyday life - work, family, friends.

His characters' reflections on these challenges are simple, poignant, thoughtful evocations of the issues that we all face, and Lescroart does a superb job of coalescing the vapors, giving voice to our ruminations and fears.

His work reminds me of the writing of James Gould Cozzens who won a Pulitzer Prize and was considered for the Nobel Prize.Writing during the middle decades of the 20th century, Cozzens was attacked by critics for being hopelessly out of date.His heroes are quite ordinary men, living quite ordinary lives and find themselves in the midst of a crisis that tests their moral and ethical beliefs.Like Cozzens' characters, Lescroart's heroes stand near us, offering the opportunity to reflect on our own lives.

The plots have the requisite twists and turns and tensions to keep them moving briskly, but it is the thoughts and feelings of the characters that lift these books well above the general run of detective/thriller/mystery novels.The layers build as the series progresses so stay the course and enjoy the books - it's definitely worth it. ... Read more

Product Description
For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading rolein the popular culture of the twentieth century - reigning as anadmired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of themodern American woman. She also remained one of the most private ofall the public figures of her time.

In 1983 - at the age of seventy-five, her career cresting - thefour-time Academy Award winner opened the door to biographer A. ScottBerg - then thirty-three - and began a special friendship, one thatendured to the end of her illustrious life.

From the start, Scott Berg felt that Katharine Hepburn intended hisrole to be not just that of a friend but also of a chronicler, aconfidant who might record for posterity her thoughts andfeelings. Over the next twenty years, Kate used their many hourstogether to reveal all that came to mind, often reflecting on thepeople and episodes of her past, occasionally on the meaning of life.

Here are the stories from those countless intimate conversations, andmuch more. In addition to recording heretofore untold biographicaldetails of her entire phenomenal career and her famous relationshipswith such men as Spencer Tracy and Howard Hughes, KateRemembered also tells the amusing, often emotional story of one ofthe most touching friendships in her final years. Scott Berg provideshis own memories of Katharine Hepburn offstage - quiet dinners in hertown house in New York City, winter swims (she swam, he watched) inthe Long Island Sound at Fenwick, her home in Connecticut, weekendvisits with family members and dear friends...even some unusualappearances by the likes of Michael Jackson and Warren Beatty.Finally, Kate Remembered discusses the legendary actress'smoving farewell, during which her mighty personality surrendered atlast to her failing body - all the while remaining true to hercourageous character.

Kate Remembered is a book about love and friendship, family andcareer, Hollywood and Broadway - all punctuated by unforgettablelessons from an extraordinary life.Amazon.com Review
Published a mere 13 days after the death of Katharine Hepburn, Kate Remembered is best appreciated as a valentine of devoted friendship. It's a moving study of mutual trust and admiration between Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer A. Scott Berg and legendary Hollywood icon Hepburn, who'd established an instant rapport in 1983, beginning a 20-year conversation that blossomed into this enchanting "biographical memoir." As a casual but authoritative survey of Hepburn's career, Berg's book offers little new information to anyone who's read previous Hepburn biographies or Me: Stories of My Life, Hepburn's bestselling 1991 memoir. But the duality of Berg's title reinforces his purpose: "More than my remembrances," writes Berg in his author's note, "this book intends to convey hers." As such, Kate Remembered offers a rare, unvarnished portrait of one of the 20th century's most influential women, achieving a personal intimacy while making the reader feel welcomed in Hepburn's private world of privilege.

Although Berg (the acclaimed biographer of legendary editor Max Perkins, producer/mogul Samuel Goldwyn, and aviator Charles Lindbergh) had written all but the final paragraphs by 2001, Hepburn insisted this book remain unpublished until after her death, which came, in quiet dignity at age 96, on June 29, 2003. Given the book's pre-publication secrecy, it's hardly tabloid-worthy, serving instead to correct or clarify details from Hepburn's glory days--especially her long-term affair with Spencer Tracy--while offering choice bits of Hollywood gossip, Hepburn's frequently scathing assessments of other actors, and amusing encounters with such luminaries as Michael Jackson and Warren Beatty (both of whom appear as mock suitors with selfish motivations). It's a brisk read but a substantial one, richly emotional and as dignified as Hepburn herself, whose faults and foibles make her even more appealing than her beloved public persona. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Customer Reviews (135)

Enjoyable
In many ways, the tale of a young Scott Berg's friendship with Katharine Hepburn is similar to many May-December friendships. She was remarkable and fascinating on the subject of Hollywood and movies. But for me the best bit in this book is Berg's encounter with Warren Beatty "the movie star"--hilarious story and alone worth the price of admission.

Magnificent
I was blown away by this author's interpretation.It was hypnotizing.Can't wait to read anything and everything that he has written starting today.

A good selection of anecdotes spun skillfully into a humourous and affectionate song to the Great Kate
Mr. Berg's rigor in recounting all the details of not just his encounters with his friend Kate but also the circumstances under which Ms Hepburn took on each performing role in her long career proved to be the quality I most appreciated in this biography.

I teared at the end of the story, not because of Ms Hepburn's death, but because the story resonated so sharply with the pain that everyone feels when dealing with Life; Mr. Berg's extraordinarily perceptive account of Ms Hepburn's experiences serves as a buoy for anyone who wishes to be inspired to rise above Life, instead of falling victim to it.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Berg that Ms Hepburn is Romance: "dreamer, believer, adventurer, a prime example of women of spirit who remain true to themselves but manage to change and grow and give to another person"

Thank you Mr. Berg.

Good job of exploitation Mr Berg!!
I came accross Scott Berg's book several years ago on the bargin table at Walmart.I should have left it there.Katharine Hepburn could not possibly be less than interesting, but I had to really work to finish this book.The book was more about the author and his agenda than the woman he called his friend.I found a man with a very big ego giving a less than flattering portrait of someone who he said was his friend.My impression of the author based on this book is that he was very good at exploiting his friend Katharine Hepburn. I hope I never have a friend like Scott Berg.Where I come from, friends protect and emphasize the positive qualities.For a loving look at Katherine Hepburn I would recommendAt Home with Kate: Growing up in Katharine Hepburn's Household It was written with love.

Kate Remembered
Really enjoyed this book...particularly fun because her voice is so distinctive you can picture everything she is saying in the book...well written ... Read more

Product Description
Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.

Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.

To find out more about this book, go to http://www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. --John Moe ... Read more

Customer Reviews (940)

Great Book
This TRUE Story is rivetting!! The country was changing so rapidly and moving into the 20th century.The evil of Holmes and the scope of the World's Fair planning made a terrific read.

Dotti O'

Fascinating History
I knew nothing about the Chicago World's Fair and I really have no interest in architecture, but I loved this entire book!

Wonderful read
As mentioned in many other reviews, this book alternates between the telling of two stories from the same city. At the end of each chapter, I wanted to continue the story being told, but I was also eager to continue with the story left at the end of the preceding chapter. The story of the architects of the White City was as compelling as the murder story. Upon ending the book, I was sorry it was over; I wished there was more to read.

OK
First of all to correct some reviewers ideas: This is NOT a novel. The author clearly states that. The story(ies) are couched in Chicago's debut as a major contender of big cities with the building of the great fair. At the same time, America's first known serial killer is doing his thing in proximity. The two stories have no relation to one another other than the killer's building of a hotel to house people attending the fair...especially unsuspecting young women. The historical account of the fair's development is done well. However, the author tends to bog down in the minutiae day-to-day activity that becomes quite boring. Is it really necessary to go into great detail about each and every plant, shrub, tree and soil type the landscaper bickered about with the architects building the fair? With every informative passage about how this marvel came to be, there is even more slogging through details that average readers could care less about. These segments which shows the author's research capability add little to the flow of the story unless one has a particular interest in finite matters of this sort. As the fair's story bogs down, the author then switches to the serial killer's activities seemingly in an effort to awaken the reader from their nodding off as a result of the boredom. Unexpectedly we go from a tome to writing about a killer. These two stories have no business being entwined. Yet without the serial killer portion, the book would be a drag. Once the halfway point is reached, the book begins to pick up and the story (particularly of the fair) is told as it should have been told all the way through. And fortunately the wearisome tale of the serial killer is also wrapped up more neatly and completely. Overall not a fun read and that's too bad because the story of the fair (forget the killer unless you're particularly drawn to such things)would be captivating.

"The Titanic" meets "From Hell"
Yes, this is spoiler material. Don't continue, if you plan to read the book or watch the soon to be made movie.

Imagine a serial killer let loose in a city (in the middle of its attempt to build the World's greatest fair) who lured, gassed, killed, skinned anywhere between 27 to 200 individuals. Now, this includes women he married and children.

The year is 1893, the city is Chicago on its quest to build the Columbus Exposition day (the genesis of Columbus day) and this book recounts in minute detail the travails that Burnham and Root (two of America's greatest architects) faced along their way, and the accidental enterprises the fair launched or inspired.

Here's a sampling:

The Ferris Wheel, Alternating Current, Juicy Fruit, Shredded Wheat, Pabst Blue, Disney World (his Dad Elias worked at the Fair), museums, the Pledge of Allegiance, hamburgers, and more.

The book is relentlessly fascinating... and a great read on both architectural and crime history in America.

I don't wish to give away any plot points but suffice it to say this book is literally two movies in one. Both Cruise and DiCaprio had evinced interest in it. And rumor has it that David Fincher is now pretty close to directing it. This will be his fourth serial killer movie were it to happen. ... Read more

Product Description
Art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is sent to Vienna to authenticate a painting, but the real object of his search becomes something else entirely: to find out the truth about the photograph that has turned his world upside down. It is the face of the unnamed man who brutalized his mother in the last days of World War II, during the Death March from Auschwitz. But is it really the same one? If so, who is he? How did he escape punishment? Where is he now?

Fueled by an intensity he has not felt in years, Allon cautiously begins to investigate, but the more layers he strips away, the greater the evil that is revealed, a web stretching across sixty years and thousands of lives. Soon, the quest for one monster becomes the quest for many. And the monsters are stirring . . .

Filled with sharply etched characters and prose, and a plot of astonishing intricacy, this is an uncommonly intelligent thriller by one of our very best writers.Amazon.com Review
Gabriel Allon hasn't been back to Vienna since his wife and child died there in a terrorist bombing. But when his mentor in the Israeli intelligence agency dispatches him to the Austrian capitol to investigate a murderous explosion atthe Wartime Claims and Inquiry Office, his presence alerts the attention of police officials who have reasons to stand in the way of his investigation. When a concentration camp survivor is killed who could link the father of Austria's next chancellor to Nazi atrocities and an ongoing coverup by the Catholic Church, Allon discovers another connection to the conspiracy, this one closer to his own past than he could ever have imagined. This is the third of Silva's thrillers featuring Allon, the art restorer who's also a spy (The Confessor and The English Assassin are the first two). In an endnote, the author calls them a "completed cycle dealing with the unfinished business of the Holocaust." Allon is such a compelling hero that one hopes Silva, a skilled craftsman and a terrific story-teller, will bring him back in another series. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (98)

love this series
love when an author carries the main characters throughout a series.Love the book, hope there are more

A compelling way to remind us of the story of the Holocaust!
Eli Lavon, an old friend of Gabriel Allon, Israeli master spy, lies near death, the victim of an explosion in the Wartime Claims and Inquiries office in Vienna. When Israeli spymaster, Ari Shamron, asks Allon to track down who was behind the bombing and bring them to justice, a twisted international trail of clues and history leads Allon to tales of his own mother's death march to Auschwitz and traces of Sturmbannführer Erich Radek, now living as Ludwig Vogel, a prominent high profile, wealthy and very influential businessman in Vienna. During the latter stages of WWII, when Hitler and all of his senior staff knew that Germany was losing the war to the squeeze between advancing western Allied and Russian forces, it was a sadistic, psychotic Radek's overwhelming and horrifying job to literally eradicate the existence of the Holocaust from history, to erase the evidence that it ever existed, to bury the camps and to destroy the bodies and mass burial sites.

Like many other spy vs spy espionage thrillers set either in the 1940s or set in the present but related to the context of the events of WWII, the plot of A DEATH IN VIENNA is not a simple one - a complex trail of clues and events, intermingling of historical events with current day happenings, a seemingly endless cast of characters, the mystifying motives of political, racial and military imperatives and a literal maze of globetrotting travel and communication. Who's on whose side, why somebody is doing what they're doing, who's gunning for who, who's telling the truth and who's twisting the facts for their own unstated purposes is never obvious and a reader, if they hope to take anything away from the story, will have to pay close attention from first page to last.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that Silva's Nazi thriller stories are acceptable but not great in comparison with the likes of Jack Higgins or even Ken Follett, for example. But (and I believe this is much more important) this remarkable thriller also allows Silva to continue his story of the Eastern European death camps, the brutal genocide that was the Holocaust and the heartbreaking tale of one woman's courageous story. The way in which Silva tells the story of the plight of the Jewish people during the war, far from being a distracting side story or merely a side bar essay, lifts A DEATH IN VIENNA from a routine and probably unremarkable thriller to a moving and entirely outstanding tale of both mystery, passion and heartbreak.

Even if you are not a particularly big fan of the thriller genre, A DEATH IN VIENNA, as the culmination of the series that includes THE CONFESSOR and THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN, is well worth reading for the history and the back story alone. Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

Great read.
As with all of Silva's books, it is filled with intrigue, suprises and true historical data.

AN ISRAELI ASSASIN WHO TRAVELS THE WORLD?
A Death in Vienna

An Israeli assassin accidently recruited by being in the wrong place at the right time for the Mosad.International intrigue and compelling characters grab you and don't let go.Gabriel Allon is a reluctant protagonist the reader wants to know more about and cares where he goes after a mission is complete.

One of my favorites in the series!
what a wonderful read; this was the first Gabriel Allon book I picked up, not realizing this was a series, then went back to earlier books and all through the newest novel in 09.This book is heavy, but a wonderful novel neverthless. It is well-researched and thought out, well developed characters, nothing is left 'unresolved'.Highly recommend this book to any history/action buff. ... Read more

Product 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 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.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (184)

A Testament to the Power of Persistence
This book took me some time to generate interest in at first due to the historical nature of its text, but once I set myself on the task, I grew compelled more than ever and finished the majority of the book in a fraction of the time that it took to read the first few chapters. I had never thought seriously about where radio, television, and wireless communications originated and am surprised that the history is so colorful.

Marconi unleashed the power of Hertzian waves by applying them in a fashion practical for communication via morse code. He had no knowledge of the waves with regards to their characteristics of travel and wavelengths, but he was able to continue making advances in the distances that he could send his signals. He experimented with each component of his system, from the ether to the mechanics of the transmitter and most prominently to his antannae. He believed that the larger and more powerful his stations, the further the waves could travel. It was a logical conclusion based on his results. However, his critical mistake that took him nearly three decades to discover was that his use of long wavelengths was not necessary and that short waves travelled much further with less power.

I think now about short wave radios like the one that my Dad had set up for awhile in the backyard and I remember my own fascination with the ability to speak with someone on the other side of the world through such a seemingly simple device. Now that I know its origins, I am fascinated by the logic that conspired to its existence. Marconi was so enthusiastic and dedicated to his work that he was able to surpass the scientists and physicists at the time without the knowledge of what was going on with his system. Instead of spending time formulating a theory and answering questions, he pushed on with experiment after experiment until he accomplished what he set out to do.

This feat is a testament to the abilities of a person to accomplish something incredible, something innovative and inventive, without being formally schooled in that area. Simply by playing with the nature of things and using a fresh perspective it is possible to creative a new technology such as this wireless communication system.

Of course, it is worth noting that Marconi himself did not invest the wireless transmitting capability. That was Oliver Lodge, and for the rest of his life that man fought to be recognized as the founder. In addition, there were other key players at the time, including Fleming who was also not recognized despite his planning for the station that first transmitted signals across the Atlantic Ocean from Pordhu to Canada. Marconi was a man set on acquiring the title as the man who created this application, and he succeeded. In his time, wireless telegrams were even referred to as Marconigrams. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics, much to the dismay of Lodge and myriad other competitors, just seven years after the Nobel Prize came into existence.

There are other wonders held in the book, including the details of the interesting life of Dr. Crippen who would become one of the most famous murderers of his time. Having this drama depicted on a timeline parallel to Marconi's allowed for a better illustration of the world at this time. The scenes of London, the talk of war with Germany as inevitable, and the other inventions being released within the same timeframe.

Some of the most entertaining facts were trivial, such as the origins of the word "taxi" which is simply a shortened version of the word for the device developed by a German to automatically calculate of a customer's fare in a cab; the "taximeter." Additionally, I revelled in the foresight that Nicola Tesla posessed in his reference to "television" in 1900 as a capability now that wireless had become so established. Tesla made statements alluding to his own ability to bring this to the world, but was unable to accomplish this feat.

Overall, the book was a testament to the wonders of history. It especially gives insight into the mindset required to invent a new technology that a century later may be used as a common way to control the human environment. I am inspired by what Marconi was able to achieve, and I feel that knowing of his works will serve as subconscious motivation to achieve what is said to be impossible. It's a matter of a passionate pursuit for technological advancement.

Great Story!
This book I could not put down --What a story!!!Marconi's name is famous, of course, but I never knew what a social bonehead he was.Not somebody I would want to know, even though I've had a life-long interest in radio.And Hawley Crippen, someone I'd never heard of, was a fascinating character.
I liked this book better than Devil in the White City, actually.

A Review of Eric Larsen's Novel Thunderstruck
A very interesting novel with a realistic background of the turn of the century England and the US. Breathtaking and enjoyable !..

rather lame compared to "The Devil in the White City"..
Like most, I read "Thunderstruck" after enjoying Erik Larson's excellent "The Devil in the White City".I was looking for a repeat of the formula where the author chronicles to interlaced true stories: a murder mystery, and a historical event of substantial proportions.The author tries to deliver on this but comes up short.The true stories are not that compelling.The murder mystery, while gruesome, is not that complex ... nothing like the series of murders detailed in Larson's other book.And the historical event, which is actually a series of events, is not too profound either (outside the maritime world).It's basically about Marconi and his inventing of wireless ship-to-shore messaging.Of course it also formed the basis of all wireless communication, like radio broadcasts.But this came later.


Bottom line: a rather tepid read.Disappointed.

Thunderstruck tells the intertwinedstories of Marconi's and his wireless and Dr. Crippen and his murdered wife
Eric Larson became famous with his bestselling novel of murder and magic in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair.
The Devil in the White City mixed science and crime. So too does "Thunderstruck." In this fine volume author Larson recounts the story of G. Marconi and Dr Crippen in a fascinating mixture of history, biography and suspense that will keep readers flipping through the 400 pages.
G. Marconi was born in Italy. He came from a wealthy family. His mother was Irish and the lad was an autodidatic genius. Marconi would win the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the development of the wireless and radio communication. Marconi married the beautiful Beatrice O'Brien, had several children but divorced Beatrice to satisfy the lust in his wandering eye. He later married a lady from Rome. Many of the chapters in this book tell of how Marconi got his ideas and formed his wireless company. These chapters are detailed in the science and business involved in wireless telegraphic communication. Some readers will find them fascinating; others will be bored.
Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was born into an upper middle class home in Michigan. He lived in several cities in America including St. Louis, Philadelphia and Brooklyn where he met his wife Belle. Belle was a big blowsy voluptuous woman who wanted an opera career. When this failed she went into vaudeville in the US and variety theatre in Great Britain. Dr. Crippen worked as a dentist, eye doctor and employee of patent medicine firms in America and in London. Belle was amorous and had affairs. Crippen was a milquetoast fellow who was short, thin, scholarly and well spoken and polite. He and Belle's marriage was fragile and arguments were part of their daily lives. The ill matched couple were childless.
Crippen had an affair with young typist Edith Le Neve who developed an intense love for the little doctor. She miscarried their child. Crippen murdered Belle on the night of January 31, 1910. He was expert in the use of poison. He may have strangled or shot Belle. Grisly parts of the body were located by Detective Waltere Dew and the experts at Scotland Yard who located the remains in the Crippen's coal cellar.
Crippen and his lover Edith fled England on board a ship headed for America. They were disguised as Mr. Robinson and his son (the disguised Le Neve). The captain of the ship became suspicious and used wireless ship to shore developed by Marconi to notify authorities. Detective Walter Dew took a fast ship from London and arrested Crippen as the vessel neared Newfoundland. Crippen was hanged in late 1910. Miss Le Neve was released from custody. she later married and lived a quiet life.
The Crippen case is the second most famous British murder in history only topped by the hoopla involved in the serial murder of prostitutes in 1888 by Jack the Ripper.
Due to wireless communications the whole world knew about the search for Dr. Crippen. Science had trumped crime!Marconi's scientific genius had greatly aided in the capture of a notorious murderer.
Along the way of this fascinating book we learn of living conditions and social structure in late nineteenth century London. We also learn of the growing arms race between England and Germany which would unleash the dogs of war in 1914.
Erik Larson's "Thunderstruck" is an excellent book! ... Read more

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Title: Pantalla grande.(Resena de pelicula)
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Date: December 14, 2003
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Volume: 9Issue: 563Page: 33(1)

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Author: Pedro Crespo
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 4, 2001
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
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Author: Tomás Pérez Turrent
Publication: Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: January 10, 2001
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
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