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American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century | 
 enlarge | Author: Howard Blum
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  77 reviews
Sales Rank: 9377
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0307346943
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1523097949409041
EAN: 9780307346940
ASIN: 0307346943
Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081119222050T
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| • | Audio CD - American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century | | • | Audio Download - American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, Movie-Making, and the Crime of the Century (Unabridged) | | • | Kindle Edition - American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century | | • | Hardcover - American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, Movie-making, and the Crime of the Century (Thorndike Large Print Crime Scene) |
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Product Description
It was an explosion that reverberated across the country—and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.
In American Lightning, acclaimed author Howard Blum masterfully evokes the incredible circumstances that led to the original “crime of the century”—and an aftermath more dramatic than even the crime itself.
With smoke still wafting up from the charred ruins, the city’s mayor reacts with undisguised excitement when he learns of the arrival, only that morning, of America’s greatest detective, William J. Burns, a former Secret Service man who has been likened to Sherlock Holmes. Surely Burns, already world famous for cracking unsolvable crimes and for his elaborate disguises, can run the perpetrators to ground.
Through the work of many months, snowbound stakeouts, and brilliant forensic sleuthing, the great investigator finally identifies the men he believes are responsible for so much destruction. Stunningly, Burns accuses the men—labor activists with an apparent grudge against the Los Angeles Times’s fiercely anti-union owner—of not just one heinous deed but of being part of a terror wave involving hundreds of bombings.
While preparation is laid for America’s highest profile trial ever—and the forces of labor and capital wage hand-to-hand combat in the streets—two other notable figures are swept into the drama: industry-shaping filmmaker D.W. Griffith, who perceives in these events the possibility of great art and who will go on to alchemize his observations into the landmark film The Birth of a Nation; and crusading lawyer Clarence Darrow, committed to lend his eloquence to the defendants, though he will be driven to thoughts of suicide before events have fully played out.
Simultaneously offering the absorbing reading experience of a can’t-put-it-down thriller and the perception-altering resonance of a story whose reverberations continue even today, American Lightning is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 72 more reviews...
Interesting, but a bit uneven. November 21, 2008
American Lightning gets off to a great start with the bombing of the office of the Los Angeles Times in October 1910, and the introduction of three major players in the story: D.W. Griffith, Billy Burns, and Clarence Darrow. Perhaps the most interesting story is that of Billy Burns, the detective who was hired to discover the parties responsible for the bombing and bring them to justice. Enter Darrow, who defended those responsible J.J. and Jim MacNamara. As a sideline, Blum recounts the development of the motion picture industry by following the career of D. W. Griffith. Although this sideline is interesting -- and Griffith's path does cross those of Burns and Darrow on occasion -- this thread does not really seem relevant to the story Blum wants to focus on: the bombing of the Los Angeles Times offices. Griffith's story is almost an after-thought, and drops out of the narrative once the trial begins, to be picked up at the end of the book. I have to wonder whether American Lightning would have benefited from the removal of this thread, as it only slows the story down.
 THREE'S A CROWD November 21, 2008
AMERICAN LIGHTNING would be a better book and a better piece of history-writing if Howard Blum had limited himself to giving the reader the portrait of just one American original from the early 20th century instead of three. He should have followed Simon Winchester's example by focusing on the most obscure of the three: William Burns, the greatest detective of his time, founder of a nationwide detective agency that bore his name, and President Harding's choice to head the Bureau of Investigation -- predecessor of the FBI. Instead he tosses in D W Griffith and Clarence Darrow for good measure, following their careers to the single time all three men happened to be in the same room.
Blum would have us believe the three were intertwined in the "crime of the century" the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in 1910. The connections seem pretty thin to this reader. Burns is credited for solving the crime and Darrow was involved in the trial of the men indicted on Burns' evidence. D W Griffith was making movies in Los Angeles at the time and met both men.
Burns, himself, is a fascinating enough character to build a book around. Blum might have left out Griffith entirely and treated Darrow as a supporting character. That would have left him enough space to tell the story of Burns' ulitmate downfall in the Teapot Dome scandal.
and on November 20, 2008
Howard Blum's American Ligntning offers scant plot, but big historical anecdotes. Mr. Blum tries to tie together the activities from coast-to-coast of the movie industry, the newspaper industry and a private investigator, but it is just too much of a stretch. Although the book catches you up in the beginning, the bouncing back and forth creates a jumbled affect.
Everything Old is New Again November 20, 2008
If it weren't for books like American Lightning, I'd probably still be a prisoner of a Pavlovian loathing of history instilled by years of deathly-dull date-memorizing history classes. Fortunately, toward the end of high school, Gore Vidal [...] into his novel, Burr: A Novel. I've been hooked ever since.
American Lightning is not a novel, but narrative non-fiction. In a novel, the author is free to embroider at will, to create fictional characters and story-lines around the truth. In narrative non-fiction, there's far less leeway. There are no fictional characters, but the author can make logical assumptions about conversations and motives. Eric Larson's fabulous The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America is an example of narrative non-fiction that includes much conjecture -- and that's why I say it's fabulous. It's a five-star read.
American Lightning extrapolates far less and jumps around more in an effort to tie its three main characters - detective Billy Burns, filmmaker DW Griffith, and lawyer Clarence Darrow together. I'd might have given it only three stars because it reads more like non-fiction than entertainment, but the relevance of the story makes it something I'm very glad I read, nudging it toward a fifth star.
The book is about domestic terrorism between labor and capitalists and centers on the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times building and the search for and trial of the killers. The impact of Biograph's DW Griffith's movies parallel today's media impact on elections, and we learn that socialism is not new to America. Indeed, everything old is new again.
I'm simplifying things unmercifully, but if you want more insight into the state of affairs in America today, author Howard Blum gives an excellent view. Burns, Griffith and Darrow are fascinating and lively characters.
If Griffith and early movie-making fascinate you, check out the novel, The Biograph Girl by William J Mann. It's terrific.
As for the ever-fascinating Clarence Darrow, the character Billy Flynn in Chicago (Widescreen Edition) is, in part, based on him. You know, another charismatic Chicago lawyer with a gift for the language.
People who are purists concerning history will not enjoy this type of narrative, but for many of us, it's an entertaining way to pick up some facts and actually retain them.
Great caste; great potential; okay plot November 18, 2008
American Lightning must be a really great book. After all, it starts with a horrendous crime, the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building and the filling of 20 of its employees. It has a stellar cast of larger than life historical characters; attorney Clarence Darrow, director D.W. Griffith, journalist Lincoln Steffens and former secret service agent and detective Bill Burns whose real-life exploits served as the model for Wild Wild West's Jim West. It even ties in the birth of the motion picture industry and the Machiavellian scheming and plots involved in the efforts to get water to the rapidly-growing city of Los Angeles.
Even so, I found it somewhat of a letdown. I really enjoyed Burns' description of how he tracked down, hoodwinked, and captured the suspects and how he meticulously went about putting his case together. Unfortunately, once they were behind bars the plot slowed considerably. I was really expecting Clarence Darrow to come in and pull some Perry Mason magic but that is far from what happened. The Clarence Darrow we see in American Lightning is a shambling shadow of the brilliant litigator that history has portrayed him as. D.W. Griffith's role in the story is tenuous at best but he still adds color to the narrative.
All in all it is a pretty good story. If it were fiction I would have expected a different ending from Blum but such is the curse of a historical writer.
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