I’ve just finished reading Thunderstruck (thank you Jeff for the recommendation) and–as usual I’m impressed by Erik Larson’s research and writing. In short, Larson does another masterful job of threading together two stories that unfold during the same time and have historical significance.
In Thunderstruck, one of these stories is about Marconi’s struggle to perfect wireless communication while the other is about a Dr. Crippen, a mild-mannered man driven to murder by a dominating, demanding wife. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering how these two stories had any bearing on each other.
…and here’s the Did-You-Know-This part.
I also enjoyed discovering some things about this Edwardian period that I didn’t know. For one, I’d always thought the co-axial cable that connected Europe with the U.S. had been laid on the Atlantic floor sometime in the mid-1900s. Actually, it first connected both sides of the world in 1858. It ran from Ireland to Newfoundland.
And did you know Marconi was not a trained scientist? I didn’t. That was one of the reasons, the scientific community resisted his claims. Another was that he didn’t behave like a scientist–well, that figures. He refused to share his failures and fudged a bit on his successes. Not very scientific.
Whenever I learn something new while reading a well-crafted, well-researched book, I’m grateful and excited. If you have a book to recommend, I’m always up for suggestions.
This month I did a bit of promo for my Pete and Weasel middle-grade fantasy series. N.N Light Book Heaven is running a giveaway that you might be interested in if you’re a reader and like to buy books.
Enter and get some free books…maybe.
Quote of the Week: “You know, everybody’s ignorant, just on different subjects.”
― Will Rogers