New Releases by Erik Larson

The first book in a fantasy series in the realm of Xandaria. Meghan Nosral, nicknamed Mouse, survived 16 surgeries before the age of 3. Now 8-yr old Mouse must deal with a new struggle in a world completely alien to her own. How much luck can one stone bring her?

Inmenso y lujoso, el Lusitania, que zarpó de Nueva York el 1 de mayo de 1915, era un monumento al orgullo y el ingenio de la época, el barco civil más rápido. Con el pasaje completo, partió con tranquilidad pese a la atmósfera bélica existente. La idea de que un submarino alemán pudiera hundirlo parecía absurda, un sentimiento del que se hacía eco la naviera: «El Lusitania es el barco más seguro del mar. Es demasiado rápido para cualquier submarino. Ningún navío de guerra alemán puede llegar a él ni acercársele». Hacia las dos de la tarde del 7 de mayo, el buque recibía el impacto de un torpedo disparado por un submarino alemán. En apenas veinte minutos se hundió y hubo 1.200 muertos, la mayoría ciudadanos norteamericanos. Esta tragedia fue utilizada por la prensa para crear un clima de opinión propicio a la participación en la guerra. Pero ¿cuál es la verdad sobre este hundimiento? ¿Fue un hecho orquestado para justificar la entrada de Estados Unidos en la Gran Guerra? ¿Iba cargado con material explosivo para Gran Bretaña? ¿Pudo haberse evitado un desastre como este? Con un rico elenco de personajes y un planteamiento original, Lusitania permite a los lectores experimentar el viaje y la tragedia en tiempo real, así como descubrir detalles íntimos que habían quedado ocultos por las neblinas de la historia.

Nuova edizione di uno dei libri di maggior successo di Erik Larson (il libro apparve col Titolo La fabbrica dei lampi), Guglielmo Marconi e l’omicidio di Cora Crippen è una «grande sto- ria di delitti e invenzioni» (Los Angeles Times) che conduce il lettore nel cuore della turbo- lenta, effervescente Londra edoardiana.

Après Le Diable dans la Ville blanche, Erik Larson nous offre un superbe thriller politique et d''espionnage, fondé sur des événements réels et peu connus qui se sont déroulés en Allemagne pendant l''accession au pouvoir d''Adolf Hitler. 1933. Berlin. William E. Dodd devient le premier ambassadeur américain en Allemagne nazie. Sa fille, la flamboyante Martha, est vite séduite par les leaders du parti nazi et leur volonté de redonner au pays un rôle de tout premier plan sur la scène mondiale. Elle devient ainsi la maîtresse de plusieurs d''entre eux, en particulier de Rudolf Diels, premier chef de la Gestapo, alors que son père, très vite alerté des premiers projets de persécution envers les Juifs, essaie de prévenir le département d''Etat américain, qui fait la sourde oreille. Lorsque Martha tombe éperdument amoureuse d''un espion russe établi à Berlin, celui-ci ne tarde pas à la convaincre d''employer ses charmes et ses talents au profit de l''Union soviétique. Tous les protagonistes de l''histoire vont alors se livrer un jeu mortel, qui culminera lors de la fameuse "Nuit des longs couteaux".

Boken skildrer stemningen i Berlin i årene før krigen. William E. Dodd blir USAs første ambassadør til Hitlers Tyskland i 1933. Til å begynne med fascineres han og familien av Det tredje rikets pomp og prakt. Men opprustningen, statsaggresjonen og jødeforfølgelsene blir etter hvert umulige å overse. Han formidler uroen til Washington, men blir ignorert. Boken tegner et bilde av årsakene til at verden ikke skjønte hvilken alvorlig fare Hitler utgjorde, før det var for sent og Europa sto i brann. Erik Larson er en amerikansk historiker og forfatter.

De forma inesperada, o professor William E. Dodd, da Universidade de Chicago, é convidado para assumir a embaixada dos Estados Unidos na Alemanha em 1933. Junto com a esposa e os dois filhos adultos, ele parte para Berlim, decidido a manter-se neutro em relação ao governo de Adolph Hitler. A animada vida social e o charme dos homens do Terceiro Reich a princípio encantam sua jovem filha Martha. Mas o deslumbramento não dura. Com o tempo, a família Dodd testemunha a crescente perseguição aos judeus, a censura à imprensa e a implantação de assustadoras leis. Em No jardim das feras, o escritor Erik Larson reconstitui o ambiente cada vez mais opressivo de Berlim pela perspectiva dos Dodd – registrada em cartas, diários e documentos – e revela uma era de surpreendentes nuances e complexidades.

Questo libro narra della storia vera di William E. Dodd e di sua figlia Martha, un padre e una giovane donna americani che si ritrovano improvvisamente trapiantati dalla loro accogliente casa di Chicago nel cuore della Berlino nazista del 1934. Sessantaquattro anni, snello, gli occhi grigio-azzurri e i capelli castano chiaro, nel 1933 William E. Dodd è un rispettabile professore di storia all’università di Chicago, con una certa notorietà per i suoi scritti sul Sud degli Stati Uniti e la sua biografia di Woodrow Wilson. Fervente democratico jeffersoniano, a suo agio soltanto negli ambienti frugali della sua piccola fattoria di campagna, Dodd ha una moglie, Mattie, e due figli: William Jr – Bill – e Martha, la prediletta. Ventiquattro anni, i capelli biondi, gli occhi azzurri e un sorriso radioso, Martha ha un’immaginazione venata di romanticismo e un atteggiamento cosí civettuolo, da avere già acceso la passione in molti uomini. La vita di questa famiglia americana, a detta di tutti felice e unita, muta radicalmente nel giugno del 1933. Mentre siede alla sua scrivania all’università, Dodd riceve una telefonata da Franklin Delano Roosvelt, il presidente degli Stati Uniti, che gli annuncia la sua intenzione di nominarlo a capo della rappresentanza diplomatica americana a Berlino. Dodd è tutto fuorché il candidato modello per un simile incarico. Non è ricco, non è politicamente influente e non appartiene nemmeno alla cerchia degli amici di Roosvelt. Certo, ha conseguito un dottorato a Lipsia e conosce il tedesco, ma nulla piú. Tuttavia, per Roosvelt è un ambasciatore perfetto per un paese che, tra la crisi economica dilagante e un altro rovinoso anno di siccità, rappresenta per l’America soltanto una seccatura: la seccatura di un miliardo e duecentomila dollari, debito che Berlino ha contratto con gli Stati Uniti, e che Hitler si mostra sempre meno propenso a voler saldare. Ed è cosí che, al loro arrivo, William e Martha Dodd si ritrovano ad attraversare una città addobbata di immensi stendardi rossi, bianchi e neri; a sedere negli stessi caffè all’aperto frequentati dalle SS in uniforme nera; a passare davanti a case con balconi traboccanti di gerani rossi; a fare acquisti nei giganteschi empori della città, a organizzare tè, aspirare le fragranze primaverili del Tiergarten, il parco principale di Berlino; ad avere rapporti sociali con Goebbels e Göring, in compagnia dei quali cenare, danzare e divertirsi allegramente; finché, alla fine del 1934, accade un evento che smaschera la vera natura di Hitler e del potere a Berlino, la grande e nobile città che agli occhi di padre e figlia si svela per la prima volta come un immenso Tiergarten, un giardino delle bestie.

En junio 1933, William E. Dodd, profesor de la Universidad de Chicago, recibe la llamada del presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt, que le nombra embajador de Estados Unidos en Alemania. Deberá viajar con su familia a la capital alemana, un nido de conspiraciones en el que la hija acabará coqueteando con la cúpula del poder nazi... Como si de una trepidante novela se tratara, Erik Larson realiza una documentada reconstrucción del Berlín de 1933, una ciudad que vivía una de esas encrucijadas en que la realidad supera a la ficción.

Un homme construit le paradis sur Terre, l''autre y fait régner l''enfer. 1893 : l''Exposition universelle de Chicago est l''occasion pour les États-Unis de montrer leur puissance au reste du monde. Au cœur de cet événement sans précédent, le célèbre architecte Daniel H. Burnham, créateur du premier gratte-ciel, à qui revient la tâche de créer une cité de rêve, la Ville blanche. On attend près de 30 millions de visiteurs, de nombreuses personnalités, parmi lesquelles Houdini, Frank Lloyd Wright ou Thomas Edison. Mais, dans l''ombre de l''Exposition, une autre figure accomplit de bien plus noirs desseins : H. H. Holmes, un jeune médecin apparemment bien sous tous rapports, en réalité l''un des tueurs en série les plus terrifiants de l''histoire du crime, sur la piste duquel se pressent un inspecteur d''une incroyable tenacité et une étrange association, le Whitechapel Club. Vendu à plus d''un million d''exemplaires outre-Atlantique, bientôt porté à l''écran avec Leonardo DiCaprio, ce document bénéficie d''une construction et d''un sens de l''intrigue dignes des plus grands auteurs de thrillers. Une formidable histoire où l''on constatera, une fois de plus, que la réalité dépasse toujours la fiction.

Erik Larson has been widely acclaimed as a master of narrative non-fiction, and in his new book, the bestselling author of The Devil in the while City turns his hand to a remarkable story set during Hitler''s rise to power. In 1933, a year that would prove to be a turning point in history, William E. Dodd becomes America''s first ambassador to Hitler''s Germany. He brings his family with him to Berlin, where they experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance, and - ultimately - horror. The ambassador''s daughter is at fist entranced by the pomp and parties, and by the young men with their infectious enthusiasm for the ''New Germany''. As evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, however, Dodd telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. He watched with growing alarm as Jews are attached, the press is censored, and a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler''s true character. Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of historical figures such as Göring and Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognise the grave threat posed by Hitler until Europe was awash in blood and terror.

Mrożąca krew w żyłach historia zbrodni i wynalazku, która przeniesie czytelnika do epoki, w której wierzono, że seanse spirytystyczne są gwarantem wspólnoty duchowej ze zmarłymi Prawdziwa historia dwóch mężczyzn: Guglielmo Marconiego,włoskiego fizyka, konstruktora i laureata Nagrody Nobla za wkład w rozwój telegrafii bezprzewodowej, oraz Hawley’a Crippena, angielskiego lekarza i zbrodniarza, których losy połączył jeden z największych w historii pościgów policyjnych. Marconi, opanowany bez reszty obsesją stworzenia sposobu łączności, który w owych czasach wydawał się nadprzyrodzonym, z zapałem walczy z falą sceptycyzmu, by wbrew wszelkim przewidywaniom przejść ze swym wynalazkiem do historii. W tym samym czasie Hawley Crippen, ceniony lekarz, popełnia zbrodnię niemal doskonałą. Najpierw truje swoją żonę, potem jej poćwiartowane zwłoki chowa w piwnicy, a następnie rozpowiada wśród znajomych, że małżonka wróciła do Stanów. Kiedy Scotland Yard odkrywa podczas przeszukania domu zwłoki kobiety, Crippen, by uniknąć aresztowania, zmuszony jest uciekać do Kanady. Grom z jasnego nieba to prawdziwa historia wielkiej pogoni przez ocean, którą śledziły miliony czytelników gazet na całym świecie. To opowieść o jednym z największych w historii pościgów policyjnych, który zakończył się sukcesem tylko dzięki wynalezionej przez Guglielmo Marconiego telegrafii bezprzewodowej. Dwie fascynujące postacie: wynalazca i morderca Ich losy połączyła zbrodnia, a ich historię opisał mistrz tej formy.

A true story of love, murder, and the end of the world’s “great hush.” In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson 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 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 murder. With his unparalleled narrative skills, Erik Larson guides us through a relentlessly suspenseful chase over the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate.

The story of two men''s obsessions with the Chicago World''s Fair, one its architect, the other a murderer. "The Devil in the White City" draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The riveting true story of the Galveston hurricane of 1900, still the deadliest natural disaster in American history—from the acclaimed author of The Devil in the White City “A gripping account ... fascinating to its core, and all the more compelling for being true.” —The New York Times Book Review September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people—and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy. Using Cline''s own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man''s heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude.

This volume contains a collection of compositions from Cave 4 at Qumran, written during the Second Temple period and linked to biblical texts through characters, themes, or genre. Some of these, such as the Levi Aramaic Document, Testament of Naphtali, and Prayer of Nabonidus, were known previously from Greek and Aramaic manuscripts of the Apocrypha. The additional documents include PseudoDaniel, the Commentaries on Genesis, Commentary on Malachi, Apocryphon of Joshua, The Two Ways, Apocryphon of Elisha, Prayer of Mercy, and a number of small miscellaneous texts. All these documents greatly enhance our understanding of the phenomenon of psuedepigraphy (written in the name of a famous biblical or religious character) and of biblical interpretation during the Second Temple period.

This devastating book illuminates America''s gun culture -- its manufacturers, dealers, buffs, and propagandists -- but also offers concrete solutions to our national epidemic of death by firearm. "Touches on all aspects of the gun issue in this country. Gives great voice to that feeling...that something real must be done." --San Diego Union-Tribune "One of the most readable anti-gun treatises in years." --Washington Post Book World It begins with an account of a crime that is by now almost commonplace: on December 16, 1988, sixteen-year-old Nicholas Elliot walked into his Virginia high school with a Cobray M-11/9 and several hundred rounds of ammunition tucked in his backpack. By day''s end, he had killed one teacher and severely wounded another. In Lethal Passage Erik Larson shows us how a disturbed teenager was able to buy a weapon advertised as "the gun that made the eighties roar." The result is a book that can -- and should -- save lives, and that has already become an essential text in the gun-control debate.

Some companies gather and sell personal information to assist businesses in their marketing campaigns. It this American business at its finest, or simply a horrible invasion of our privacy? This shocking book will make readers think twice before writing their next check or going to the grocery store.

A look at modern marketing chronicles the pursuit of the American consumer, describing how companies use spies, hidden cameras, computers, and sonar and EEG machines to understand what shoppers want. 15,000 first printing.