Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. 

3/5 rating. 

Book #24 of 2020. Read April 24, 2020.

This book was decently interesting, but it read more like the non-fiction book that it is as opposed to a novel like “The Devil in the White City” (a 5/5 rated, nonfiction book also by Erik). This book tells the true stories of the grisly London Cellar Murder along with Guglielmo Marconi’s arduous work to perfect the wireless telegraph. The life of the unassuming Dr. Hawley Crippen is explored as the leading suspect of the murder. But did this kindly and gentle man really commit the crime? And how exactly did a man such as Marconi make the huge strides forward in communication without being a physicist?

Erik manages to connect these two seemingly disparate subjects to show how wireless changed the world. And why in a connected world, there is nowhere to hide, even for a murderer.

If you are interested in the history of this London murder, or the wireless telegraph, this could be a good book, for you. If not, I would recommend reading a different one, as there are so many great books out there!

Quotes:

“I came as a stranger and was received like a friend and experienced once more, that people may be separated by politics and newspapers but that science unites them.”

“All he asked of life was the best of everything.”

IG Link.