The Books of Erik Larson

[admin tim]

http://eriklarsonbooks.com/the-books/

Erik is a popular author, but he does have his faults, not that it matters when everything he writes makes the NYT Best-Sellers' List.

I have just written him regarding a number of errors that he made in Isaac's Storm, so we'll see if he responds. What kind of errors? Well, in one instance he states that it took 11 million pounds of sand for the initial raising of Galveston after the 1900 storm, when it truth it took 11 million tons of sand. That's off by a factor of 2000x, and even Howard doesn't make errors of that magnitude.

Here is a summary that may interest you:

Thunderstruck
The true story of how the lives of the inventor of wireless and of Britain's second most-famous murderer (after Jack the Ripper) intersected during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time. The inventor was Guglielmo Marconi, the young Italian genius; the killer was Hawley Harvey Crippen, who murdered his overbearing wife and fled Britain with his mistress, unaware that Scotland Yard was hot on his heels. The book—an instant New York Times bestseller—brings to life a host of forgotten characters, including spirit mediums, ghost-hunting physicists, Scotland Yard inspectors, and one of the great pioneers of forensic science. The climax occurs during a trans-Atlantic chase which, thanks to the miracle of Marconi's invention, was followed by millions of people around the world—with Crippen and his mistress completely unaware.

Was Crippen really Britain's second most-famous murderer?

Anyway, check 'em out. Isaac's Storm was a good read, errors and all.

[Curryong]

I suspect Crippen was second most notorious/ infamous until the 1920's when others took over. I don't know whether Crippen is remembered by the general public in Britain today, or not. I suspect not. Jack the Ripper, the Moors murderers, Yorkshire Ripper, Harold Shipman, perhaps linger on.

[Magpie]

I liked Devil In The White City, but ironically I found the story of the Ferris wheel far more engaging that the parts about Mudgett.

[Howard Brown]

Me too Mag....I think the material about the development of the White City was intriguing on its own.
Mag...wouldn't you think the Radcliffe Highway murderer ( Williamson ) would have been the most infamous killer prior to the Ripper ?
Looking at 19thC murderers:
Cream, Deeming, Chapman, Pearcy, Lefroy, Muller....then Crippen pops up.
Yeah, it seems like Crippen was the second most infamous at that time ( 1910).

[admin tim]

On the cover of Isaac's Storm, we see "The Deadliest Hurricane in History", which positively ISN'T true, unless one distinguishes between hurricanes (in the Atlantic) and typhoons (in the Pacific/Indian Oceans). There was a typhoon which killed an estimated 40,000 people in the India/Bangladesh region, which dwarfs the 8,000 estimated to have died during the 1900 Galveston storm.

Of course, we also have a book by a prominent Ripperologist, that has on its cover "America's First Serial Killer", which positively ISN'T true either. So maybe it's the publisher's fault and not the author's.

Now we have "Britain's second-most famous murderer", which I agree was probably true circa 1910, but come 2010, few even know who you're talking about. I would have voted for the Yorkshire Ripper myself.

[Howard Brown]

Of course, we also have a book by a prominent Ripperologist, that has on its cover "America's First Serial Killer", which positively ISN'T true either. So maybe it's the publisher's fault and not the author's.

Tumblety was born in Canada or in Ireland.

[admin tim]

What I meant was that America had serial killers before Tumblety, not that Tumblety wasn't American.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/53672/bloody-benders-americas-first-serial-killers

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/sc-laviniafisher.html

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-harpes.html

Of course, I do understand Marketing, and it is obvious that a book with "America's First Serial Killer" on the dust jacket will probably sell better than a book advertising "America's 17th Serial Killer".

And it's not just these examples; look at any book concerning H.H. Holmes and you'll find the same thing.

[admin tim]

I have heard back from Erik Larson and have invited him to join us in here. He seems to be harboring an unhealthy interest in serial killers, so he would fit right in.

If so, maybe we can talk him into authoring a JTR book. Such a book, written by a bestselling author, may reach a wider audience than the usual hack efforts involving shawls, uncles, diaries, watches, and so forth.

[Magpie]

Howard: I remember that Mary Pearcey gave me bloody nightmares for a week after visiting Madam Tussaud's as a kid.

I think Constance Kent would have to be a big candidate, as well as Burke and Hare. I remember hearing about both of them when I were a nipper living in the UK.