Love Larson! I’ve read everything he’s published and would jump on anything new he releases. Hes got a great talent for making you feel like you’re reading a story rather than a lecture. Devil in the White City was my first introduction to him. Lusitania was my second adventure and I remember staying up late for just “one more chapter” unable to put it down.
Devil in the White City is also a great book, the first book of his that I’ve read. Story of America’s first recognized serial killer, occuring in Chicago during the World’s Fair. Worth checking out.
That was my first book of his I read as well, back in college when I was taking a true crime class. My school had great English electives that I kept taking for fun and it set me back a year because I didn’t have anybody smart to tell me that they didn’t get me any closer to graduating.
Definitely need to check this one out. Larson in general is such a great author (at least to me) because he tells the personal stories of people involved in history that a really make it interesting.
If you haven’t read it, I’d also recommend “In the Garden of Beasts”, also by Larson. It’s about the American Ambassador to Germany and his family living through the rise of Nazi Germany and how surreal the entire thing is.
I’ll check it out for sure! Like you said, it’s human stories in historical context and he has such a knack for that. So much historical non-fiction struggles to either tell the human story while also providing the straight facts in an easily consumable way, or tell the history while providing human color. He is really great at striking a good balance with it.
eriklarsonbooks.com
Hot