02418cam a2200421 i 4500 380619018 TxAuBib 20190418120000.0 060410s2006||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2006011908 9781400080663 1400080665 9781400080663 (OCoLC)67392598 TxAuBib rda Larson, Erik. Thunderstruck / Erik Larson. First edition. New York : Crown Publishers, [2006] ©2006. ix, 463 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Maps on lining papers. Includes bibliographical references (pages 437-443) and index. The mysterious passengers -- Ghosts and gunfire -- Betrayal -- Secrets -- An inspector calls -- The finest time -- Pursuit by thunder -- Epilogue: into the ether. Tells the interwoven stories of two men--Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication--whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time. Set in Edwardian London, an era of séances, science, and fog, and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners, scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed, and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, "the kindest of men," nearly commits the perfect crime.--From publisher description. 20190418. Crippen, Hawley Harvey, 1862-1910. Murderers England London Biography. Murder England London Case studies. Murder Investigation Great Britain Case studies. Telegraph, Wireless Marconi system History. Biographies. Case studies. TXMCP