Thunderstruck - Erik Larson

 

I've read several of the author's books and thoroughly enjoy his writing: The Demon of Unrest, The Splendid and the Vile, In the Garden of the Beast, and Dead Wake, He uses original documents, transcripts, and documented facts to tell the story of a time and place.  He usually weaves a piece of history with a crime story that keeps you engaged throughout the book.

This novel tells of the invention and implementation of wireless telecommunication invented and commercialized by Marconi, a very young Italian who persisted in bringing it to the public.  His story is told in parallel to a notorious murder in London in the early 1900s.  

Larson gets bogged down sometimes in the minutes of his sources.  I admire the way he knits together actual dialogue and reports from the past into a coherent whole in the context of the times.  It took more than a third of the book to understand how the murder and Marconi's invention converged, probably because I wasn't familiar with English history of the time. 

It was a satisfying read and I enjoyed learning.  I wish there had been more explanation of how wireless transmission actually works and why. 

Published: 2006  Read: 2026  Genre: History

The Electricity of Every Living Thing - Katherine May

 

Sub-title: A Woman's Walk in the the Wild to Find her Way Home

A 40ish woman who discovers her life long discomfort with understanding and communicating with others is because she has Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD.  She embarks on a hike across England on the South West Coast Path, a journey of 600 miles, to come to terms with her new reality.

This was a fascinating read because it describes autism from the diagnosed person's perspective and because it shares the path of the hiking trail in England.  I feel I gained a better understanding of the condition and how individuals adapt. 

Published: 2009  Read: January 2024 Genre: Auto-biography

Kiss Myself Goodbye - Ferdinand Mount

Sub-title: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca

My love of genealogy is really a love for a good story.  Family lends itself to telling stories and genealogy helps reveal those that might have been lost had I not sought them out.  In this story about his aunt, the author uses his considerable writing and research skills to charmingly peel back the curtain on the life of his flamboyant, daring, larger than life aunt.  

Munca was the name she insisted he call her, rather than Aunt something.  After Munca died, a cousin had encouraged him to search for the real story of his aunt's life.  What a life it was! What fascinated me was how he used the same records that we would collect as genealogist to track her path through the world.  He wove her residence, marriage, divorce and other finds into his quest to unravel the truth of the stories she had told him.  Mount was the editor of the Times Literary Supplement so he knows how to engage a reader.  

Another appeal of the book is that the writer is English - through and through.  He writes for those who known England and it was a challenge to immerse myself in the language, locations and lifestyle of the upper class British elite of the time. I chuckled at the term "Paternal Discrepancy" that genealogist term a non-parental event or NPE, which the author claims may account for no less than 3.7% of all births.

 A great read highly recommended, genealogist or not!

Quotes

"How fragile it all is, how brief anyone's hold on property, or money, or life itself."

"What you don't know can sting the heart worse than the worst thing you do know.  And go on stinging, because while knowledge brings some sort of ending, not knowing never ends."

"How seductive it is, this idea that you do not need parents to make you happy, or to make the best of yourself.  On the contrary, to be a heroine, it is better to be free of these nagging, fretting figures in charge of you, and to forge on through life unencumbered.  Far from orphanhood/adoption being any sort of handicap, it's actually a launch-pad."

Published: 2020  Read: October 2021  Genre: Biography

Enchantress of Numbers - Jennifer Chiaverini

Sub-title: A Novel of Ada Lovelace

Picked this hardback, large print up on trip back from Alaska.  It was a good read by the author of another title I read of hers, about Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker. 

It's the story of the only legitimate daughter of Lord Byron, the great romantic poet of early 1800s.  The story is told in first person by Ada, sharing her life from her birth through her attendance at the Great Exposition just shortly before her death.  It's an example of one of the century's scandalous families, who were always in the press, much like current talented, yet flawed celebrities of today.

I despised Ada's mother's manipulation and poisoning of Ada's mind and manner and the sad destruction of so many lives.  A tidy bit of history worth reading.

Published: 2017  Read: September 2019  Genre: Historical fiction

The Hostage Heart - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

I read the entire Morland series (over 35 books) several years ago that this author had written.  Those were the story of a fictional family through English history, from the War of the Roses through WWI. 

This story was written when the author was a young woman and she recently updated it and had it re-published.  She's written over 90 books at this point.  She also has a detective series I haven't read.

This story was of young love, between a young teacher looking to get away from a recent break-up and a rich, handsome heir to an estate where she goes to be a nanny to his younger half-sister.  Cheesy and predictable but still a good storyteller and I can see the seeds of the author's future style.  Fun read.

Published:  1997  Read: August 2019  Genre: Fiction

In the Blood - Steve Robinson

This was a Christmas gift. The author writes mysteries that focus on using genealogical data to solve the case.  His protagonist, Jefferson Tayte is a modern genealogist using those skills to unravel old secrets.  It was entertaining and made accurate and clever use of genealogy sources and methods.  The writing was a little formulaic and it took sometime to capture my attention.  I would read another volume in the series while relaxing on the beach.

Published:  2011  Read: March 2019  Genre: Mystery

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson

I put off reading this because when my book club discussed it I didn't think I'd be interested in it.  I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the story, however implausible.

Quotes:

"It's a fact of life, I suppose, that the younger generation must try to take over and run the lives of their elders.  I think my son tries to organize my life because it's easier than his own---give him a sense of being in control of something in a world that is not quite ready to put him in charge."

 "...the Major marveled anew at the way so many people were willing to spend time and energy on the adverse judgment of others."

 "At our age, surely there are better things to sustain us, to sustain a marriage than the brief flame of passion?"  'Your are mistaken Ernest', she said at last.  'There is only the passionate spark.  Without it, two people living together may be lonelier than if they lived quite alone'."

 "But we, who can do anything, we refuse to live our dreams on the basis that they are not practical."

"Sometimes I think God created the darkness just so he didn't have to look at us all the time."

Published:2010  Read: September 2016  Genre: Fiction

Slade House - David Mitchell

Aquirky story about a house down an alley where once you enter you may never leave.  The author sets the mood well and draws you into the mystery.  Worth the read.

Published: 2015  Read: April 2016  Genre: fiction

ISBN 9 78081299868

Dead Wake - Erik Larson

Subtitle: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

I read this for one of my book clubs, though it seems I've been on an "oceans" kick of late.  I really enjoyed the author's earlier books: In the Garden of the Beast, Isaac's Storm and The Devil in the White City.  This one did not disappoint.

The Lusitania was an ocean liner in the early 1900's that was sunk on a voyage from New York City to Liverpool on May 17, 1915, during World War I, before the Americans joined the fighting.  Almost 1200 people died and two years later America joined the war.

The story goes back and forth between the passengers on the ship, President Woodrow Wilson's state of mind after the death of his wife earlier in the year and its effect on his response to the tragedy, and the German U-boat captain and crew.  It's a fascinating slice of history and a fresh reminder of the atrocities that are committed when countries wage war.

I was expecting to find a list of the passengers and where they were from but it was not included in the book.  I found one at a site dedicated to the ship---had to check for ancestors!

Published: 2015  Read:  January 2016  Genre: History

update: re-read in 2024

Pirate Hunters - Robert Kurson

Subtitle: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a legendary pirate ship

In late 2015 I read the author's earlier story of shipwreck divers.  They are back in this story searching for a pirate ship.  Like the earlier book, its about more than just diving for treasure.  There's the story of the men who do this and why they are driven to pursue the dream, sacrificing their relationships, their finances and their health.

I learned that only a couple pirate ship wrecks have been found.  The one John Chatterton (from the earlier book and his new partner John Mattera are searching for lies near the Dominican Republic.  It's known as the Golden Fleece.  It was an English vessel that was stolen by an English sea captain, Joseph Bannister, who somehow turned pirate and terrorized the seas for a time.

I love reading the history of the past and the challenges of locating the ship in the present.  The divers are passionate, larger than life personalities that the author captures, warts and all.  Great read.

Published: 2015  Read: January 2015  Genre: Adventure non-fiction

ISBN: 9 781400 063369