New book by Erik Larson

joe · Post by **joe** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:00 pm

"Thunderstruck" by Erik Larson (The Devil in the White City) is about the stories of Hawley Crippen and Guglielmo Marconi. Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia. If this one is as good as "Devil...", then it will be another blaster! 'Twill be released on Oct. 24 by Random House.
Got my copy on order.
If you didn't know, Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was one of the best-known wife murderers in history. Read about his adventure at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com ... police.htm

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:07 am

Thanks Joe!
I'm going to place an order at my Library!

Did it snow?

joe · Post by **joe** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 6:08 am

Yep, it snew. Got about 1-1/2 feet. It is so nice living here in the place that nobody wanted in the mid-1800's. Too desolute and wild, they claimed. Bloody cold, too. Hit the 20's last night.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 1:37 am

You're the only one it snew on!
Of course, there may be members out of power who can't tell us it snewed!

I hope not.
I did see the trees down in upstate New York on the weather. They fell because they still had their leaves and the weight was too much- and of course they took the power lines with them.

I just got a notice that the power company was going to come to my neighborhood and trim the trees in case of future hurricanes!
They've started trimming already.
I don't know if they do that in the north?

joe · Post by **joe** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:24 am

Not sure if you've ever noticed, but the trees up here are a lot shorter than south of us. Shorter growing season and tundra. No need to trim the trees. Besides that, we don't have hurricanes. The weight of the snow on the trees breaks limbs off, though. Saves money because there is no need to trim anything.
Lake Superior had 15-20 foot waves and 40 mph gusts. That's a gale, but not a hurricane.

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:37 am

Hi Joe, sounds like you might be in for a rough winter, you didn't get much of a chance to enjoy fall! Or is that pretty normal for you up that way?

joe · Post by **joe** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:01 am

Pretty normal, Shakiboo. Ironwood is at the end of I-39/U.S. 51, just a stone's throw from the IL border. Our winter is usually from October through May. Spring is in June, and Fall is in September. Summer (or what's left of it) is July and August. Our tomatoes are still green on the vine.
But, as I have pointed out so many times, we don't have tornados or hurricanes. But our average snowfall for the year is >200 inches. And it won't melt until early June.
Bring on el nino!

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:03 am

Holy cow!! did I read that right?>>>200 inches? I was up that way a couple of years ago, in November I believe it was and had always heard on the weather about lake effect snow, and got to see it first hand, it started snowing and quickly covered the ground and made seeing very difficult, then it was gone (we were driving) then all of a sudden up ahead it looked like a white wall and then there we were in it again! It was very scary!! was very happy to get further south and away from it!!! I love snow actually, I think it's beautiful, but it should never snow on the roads!! lol

diana · Post by **diana** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:16 pm

Thanks for the reminder about the Larson book, Joe. I've been waiting for this one! I loved both Devil in the White City and Isaac's Storm (about the Galveston hurricane of 1900).

Larson's wonderfully readable prose combined with his meticulous research through old newspapers, letters, and personal diaries recreates the people and the period with an immediacy usually only experienced by someone actually on the scene.

Crippen and Marconi? Should be a treat!

snokkums · Post by **snokkums** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:05 am

Sounds like about our winters in wisconsin, october to may. But anyhow, going to the library to see if they have the book. If not I'll have to order it.

joe · Post by **joe** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:16 am

snokkums @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 6:05 am wrote:Sounds like about our winters in wisconsin, october to may. But anyhow, going to the library to see if they have the book. If not I'll have to order it.

Much worse than Milwaukee, Snok. I lived there once upon a time. North side, for the most part. Near Capital Drive and Fond du Lac. That was when it was still a decent neighborhood. Haven't been there in 50 years.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:54 am

The Stop and Shop grocery chain has the book at 30% off. So far it is great- I love that Larsen uses careful research and facts in his books. Peter Lovesey wrote a book called The False Inspector Dew about the Crippen case, but without all of Larsen's wonderful detail and Marconi parallel.