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    D. Rauchwerger 10-27-06
    D. Rauchwerger 10-27-06 Member Since 2004
    HELPFUL VOTES
    2
    ratings
    REVIEWS
    117
    5
    FOLLOWERS
    FOLLOWING
    0
    24
    Overall
    "Brilliant! again"

    For anyone who has not had the delicious pleasure of reading an Eric Larson book such as "Devil in the White City" or "Isaac's Storm" this his most current book, "Thunderstruck" will only leave you with an appetite for more of his unique style of merging the terrible with the technological.
    Erik Larson has once again written a masterpiece of nonfiction. In Thunderstruck he merges the macabre with the emerging advances in wireless communication of the early parts of the last century. I will not go into specifics of the characters involved, you can find other reviews for that. What I will say is this is one of the Best audio books I've listened to this year. Great Narration! Great Writing! Great Story! Download this you will not be disappointed!

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    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    Brian ANCHORAGE, AK, United States 06-01-11
    Brian ANCHORAGE, AK, United States 06-01-11 Member Since 2007
    HELPFUL VOTES
    82
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    331
    33
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    4
    3
    Overall
    "Lots of Historical Detail"

    I like history, so this was a good book. It's a bit choppy going in between Marconi and the radio, and the actual murder though. The unabridged may be a bit better for those that want to get to the point. There have been some recent developments in this case since the book that you may want to look at after you listen to this book.

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    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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    Claire 08-08-07
    Claire 08-08-07
    HELPFUL VOTES
    3
    ratings
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    62
    7
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    0
    0
    Overall
    "All facts, no story"

    This would have been better if it had been written as a science history book which is how it read. The murder mystery part of it was lost in the science history of telegraph communications.

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    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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    Mark 02-13-07
    Mark 02-13-07
    HELPFUL VOTES
    2
    ratings
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    206
    5
    FOLLOWERS
    FOLLOWING
    0
    0
    Overall
    "Too long, rather pointless"

    This is not a novel so much as it is a history lesson. I got all the way through it and I do not regret the purchase, but be warned, its less story and more fact in chronological order.

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    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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    Robert Shelbyville, KY, USA 12-06-06
    Robert Shelbyville, KY, USA 12-06-06
    HELPFUL VOTES
    7
    ratings
    REVIEWS
    8
    6
    FOLLOWERS
    FOLLOWING
    0
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    Overall
    "hard to listen to"

    I enjoyed the story, but I was having a hard time listening to more than a half hour at a time. It took me half the book to realize the reading was very disjointed. The narrator seemed to add a comma to almost every sentence, breaking them up into short, choppy sections, and this made it very hard to listen to.

    The story by Larsen was what I have come to expect from him after reading one and listening to another of his books.

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    2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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    miyaker 09-19-08
    miyaker 09-19-08 Member Since 2001
    HELPFUL VOTES
    85
    ratings
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    455
    9
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    1
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    Overall
    "Excellent Book, Narration is fine"

    While perhaps not up to the level of Devil in the White City, I found Thunderstruck completely captivating. Just as in his previous book, both plots are very engaging. As the author admits in the prologue, sometimes the detail is just a bit over the top, but the vast majority of the time the extra bits of trivia are quite interesting.

    While the narrator starts out speaking quickly at the very beginning (and only the beginning), I had no other issues with the narration. It was clear and never detracted from the story.

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    3 of 5 people found this review helpful
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    CK Mom 04-06-18
    CK Mom 04-06-18
    ratings
    REVIEWS
    20
    3
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    "Another great Erik Larson read"

    The story has a slow start, and I almost gave up, but the wait was worth it. I knew how wireless changed wars, but the closer perspective of how it changed individual lives is so interesting.

    Though Thunderstruck isn’t my favorite of Larson’s books, it is written with the same fluid integration of thorough historical investigation and captivating storytelling - a great read!

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    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
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    John Paxton "haltse" Phoenix, AZ United States 03-28-18
    John Paxton "haltse" Phoenix, AZ United States 03-28-18 Member Since 2002
    ratings
    REVIEWS
    26
    2
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    "Three dots out of five. "

    Book has missed words ,noticeable changes in voice and a delivery that’s borderline acceptable . Story is light on science of radio and while it goes more into the forensic science , there’s not that much , with more gory detail that seemed out of place re the lack in other areas . It’s ok but a pretty weak title given the two subjects he’s trying to bring home

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    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
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    k 03-22-18
    k 03-22-18 Member Since 2011
    HELPFUL VOTES
    1
    ratings
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    186
    12
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    0
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    Performance
    Story
    "Mesmerizing and perfect"

    Two gripping stories, perfectly interwoven and expressively narrated. Highly recommend, even for those who may not be fans of nonfiction.

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    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
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    Unapologetic Colorado 03-08-18
    Unapologetic Colorado 03-08-18 Member Since 2014
    HELPFUL VOTES
    60
    ratings
    REVIEWS
    45
    29
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    2
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    Performance
    Story
    "Must read for any history buffs"

    Larson is an excellent story teller. To add Balaban as a narrator simply push the experience that much further towards amazing.

    Highly recommend for anyone looking for a history lesson that involves people centric view points.

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    0 of 0 people found this review helpful