Thread: The Books of Erik Larson

He has become one of those guys where when a new book comes out? You simply buy it regardless of the subject matter. Larson writes popular, as opposed to academic, history. He's a good wordsmith who keeps each book he writes just rolling along. But that's not what makes him special. What makes him special is the slices of history he chooses to write about are obscure, or at least forgotten today, yet incredibly fascinating. Larson always does a wonderful job of placing the narrow events he describes in the broader context of that is happening in the world. Usually the theme is how scientific advancement intersects with the lowest of human capacity.

I recommend each of these books without hesitation.

Issac's Storm-The story of the hurricane of 1900 that destroyed Galveston, killed thousands, and was unpredicted by Isaac Cline, the local meteorologist and representative of the US Weather Bureau. Science, skepticism and human frailty on display. Gripping.

The Devil in the White City-The 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the man who organized it and the serial killer who stalked it. This book is terrifying. Scientific advancement, the great personalities who came to Chicago to see them, in some ways the highest of human achievement inextricably linked with the lowest of the human species, the psychopath. Incredible.

Thunderstruck-A fine book but the weakest of the four in my view. In this one Hawley Crippen, British killer intersects with Marconi and his new wireless technology. The killer tries to escape Scotland Yard by crossing the Atlantic while being pursued by a detective and his new tool, the wireless. Good stuff.

In the Garden of Beasts-The newest book. The story of the first US Ambassador to Nazi Germany from Hitler's coming to power to the Night of the Long Knives. There is no technical element to this one. A good man and a slutty daughter witness, and in some ways participate in, the decline of Germany into the sinkhole of Hitlerism. That this happened in the time of my Grandparents has never ceased to amaze me. By halfway through one finds it almost impossible that this is history as opposed to a nightmare. Extraordinary, but it won't leave you feeling good.

Anybody got any new recommendations?

I liked Devil in the White City but it was a bit unfortunate that he didn't have more to go on with the serial killer. That's understandable and not his fault but I thought he kind of had to do a patchwork job on that part of the story. Still a very solid book.

I like Adam Hochschild. Not exactly the same type books but its popular history type stuff. The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin was good and King Leopold's Ghost (about the King of Belgium and his colonial reign in the Belgian Congo) was quite good. He has a new book out about World War I. It surprised me to see him take on such an ambitious project but I have no idea if its any good or not.

I read somewhere that Brad Pitt is doing a movie version of the Devil in the White City. I'm not sure how they'll handle that but it could be interesting.

Some of these aren't really totally similar but they're popular non-fiction.

I loved River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler. Loved it. Peace Corps worker in this kind of backwoods city in China (of course a small city in China is not a small city here) that hadn't seen a Westerner in decades.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was pretty good.

There are a lot more but I'd have to go through my bookshelves.

Originally Posted by OumaFan

Some of these aren't really totally similar but they're popular non-fiction.

I loved River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler. Loved it. Peace Corps worker in this kind of backwoods city in China (of course a small city in China is not a small city here) that hadn't seen a Westerner in decades.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was pretty good.

There are a lot more but I'd have to go through my bookshelves.

I found unbroken to be so emotionally potent I had to go for walks sometimes to rid myself of the feelings. Thanks for the other r ecommendations.

Originally Posted by OumaFan

I liked Devil in the White City but it was a bit unfortunate that he didn't have more to go on with the serial killer. That's understandable and not his fault but I thought he kind of had to do a patchwork job on that part of the story. Still a very solid book.

I like Adam Hochschild. Not exactly the same type books but its popular history type stuff. The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin was good and King Leopold's Ghost (about the King of Belgium and his colonial reign in the Belgian Congo) was quite good. He has a new book out about World War I. It surprised me to see him take on such an ambitious project but I have no idea if its any good or not.

The issue Larson faced with the serial killer is that the concept itself really hadn't been explored at that time, hell really not before Bundy, so his sources didn't think that way or talk in that context. He faced a real anachronism problem.

Thanks for the recommendations

I'm not quite sure why I loved River Town so much. Other people might not get the same out of it as I did. But he's a very good writer and I enjoyed his interactions with his students (he was an English teacher).

King Leopold's Ghost was a bit horrific really. Even if you believe in the concept of "enlightened imperialism" you won't find it there. But it's a great story. I read The Unquiet Ghost for a Soviet history class. I wouldn't recommend it as much as King Leopold's Ghost, but if you're interested in the topic its quite good.

Originally Posted by OumaFan

I'm not quite sure why I loved River Town so much. Other people might not get the same out of it as I did. But he's a very good writer and I enjoyed his interactions with his students (he was an English teacher).

King Leopold's Ghost was a bit horrific really. Even if you believe in the concept of "enlightened imperialism" you won't find it there. But it's a great story. I read The Unquiet Ghost for a Soviet history class. I wouldn't recommend it as much as King Leopold's Ghost, but if you're interested in the topic its quite good.

Having read "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters?" I find it hard to believe King Leopold was any worse than the Congo over the past 15 years.

But I am going to read it, and River Town as well! Both downloaded onto my kindle/Ipad.Thanks again.