Thrilling History: Erik Larson
If you’d like to learn and be entertained by history, I recommend reading Erik Larson. Larson is an American author who combines meticulous research with a captivating novelistic style that makes his books hard to put down. His story telling is so riveting — I have had to stop on occasion to confirm that his books really are non-fiction.
Three Larson books I’ve enjoyed:
The Devil in the White City: This book is a New York Times best-seller, National Book Award finalist, and winner of the 2004 Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category. Leonardo DiCaprio liked this book so much he bought the film rights. Set around the time of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, this book details the fascinating lives of two main characters set against the splendor of the city and the gilded age: Daniel Burnham, the brilliant architect of the World’s Fair; and Henry Holmes, a charming doctor who is widely considered to be the United States’ first serial killer.
Thunderstruck: This book is an engrossing tale of how Marconi establishes wireless communication as a viable commercial technology while he races to raise funds, establish his fledgling firm, and battle competitors. What makes this book remarkable is how Larson masterfully interweaves Marconi with Hawley Crippen — a fugitive who has nearly committed the perfect murder.
In The Garden of Beasts: This book details a four year period in 1930’s Germany after Hitler came to power and President Roosevelt chooses William Dodd to be US Ambassador to Germany. This is a fascinating window, via Dodd and his daring daughter, into Berlin diplomatic circles and the Nazi regime, where diplomats regularly mixed with Nazi leaders like Goebbels, Goring, and Rudolf Diels (one time head of the Gestapo) and life seemed normal until it didn’t. It is an example of how things can change slowly, then suddenly. Dodd’s meetings with Hitler are also recorded.
