On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln emerged as the unexpected winner in a fiercely contested presidential race. The nation was deeply divided, with Southern extremists pushing towards the destruction of the Union, as states began to secede and Lincoln found himself powerless to intervene. While slavery was at the heart of the conflict, the tensions of North and South converged on Fort Sumter, a solitary federal stronghold in Charleston Harbor. Erik Larson masterfully chronicles the tumultuous months following Lincoln's election, a time fraught with tragic missteps, egos, and personal betrayals. Lincoln himself noted that the challenges of this period were so overwhelming that he could hardly have believed he would survive them. Central to this gripping narrative are Major Robert Anderson, the fort's commander, who is torn between his Southern sympathies and loyalty to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a radical secessionist; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, who struggles with her views on marriage and slavery. Amidst the chaos, Lincoln grapples with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, in a desperate attempt to prevent an inevitable war that would claim 750,000 lives. Drawing on various historical sources, Larson presents a political horror story that highlights how easily a nation can approach catastrophe without recognizing the signs.
Erik Larson Ordine dei libri (cronologico)
Erik Larson è un maestro della narrativa non-fiction che intreccia magistralmente grandi eventi storici con intime esperienze umane. Le sue opere approfondiscono momenti cruciali della storia, svelando la tensione, la paura e il coraggio che hanno plasmato il mondo. Lo stile distintivo di Larson permette ai lettori di vivere eventi passati con una tangibile immediatezza, rivelando le profonde motivazioni psicologiche dei suoi soggetti. Le sue narrazioni sono viaggi immersivi nel passato che risuonano con temi senza tempo di resilienza umana e dell'impatto della storia sugli individui.







The Demon of Unrest
- 565pagine
- 20 ore di lettura
The internationally bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War-a slow-burning crisis that finally tore a deeply divided nation in two.
The Myth of Artificial Intelligence
- 320pagine
- 12 ore di lettura
Futurists are certain that humanlike AI is on the horizon, but in fact engineers have no idea how to program human reasoning. AI reasons from statistical correlations across data sets, while common sense is based heavily on conjecture. Erik Larson argues that hyping existing methods will only hold us back from developing truly humanlike AI.
The Splendid and the Vile
- 624pagine
- 22 ore di lettura
"On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Over the next twelve months, the Nazis would wage a relentless bombing campaign - and it was up to Churchill to shore the country and teach the British what Erik Larson calls 'the art of being fearless.' Drawing on diaries, archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports, Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family, and his closest advisers. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers back to a time of true leadership, when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill's eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."-- Back cover
Dead Wake. Der Untergang der Lusitania, englische Ausgabe
- 448pagine
- 16 ore di lettura
On May 1, 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone, and for months, its U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era's great transatlantic "Greyhounds" and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. He knew, moreover, that his ship -- the fastest then in service -- could outrun any threat. Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger's U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small -- hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more -- all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history
Dead Wake
- 448pagine
- 16 ore di lettura
On 1st May 1915, the luxury ocean liner Lusitania sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool. Her passengers were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone and its submarines were bringing terror to the Atlantic. But the Lusitania's captain, William Thomas Turner, had faith in the gentlemanly terms of warfare that had, for a century, kept civilian ships safe from attack. He also knew that his ship was the fastest then in service and could outrun any threat. Germany was, however, intent on changing the rules, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. For this would be the ill-fated Lusitania's final crossing . . .
Das Drama der Lusitania: Das Schiff, dessen Untergang den Ersten Weltkrieg entschied. Am 7. Mai 2015 ist es 100 Jahre her, dass das amerikanische Passagierschiff Lusitania während des Ersten Weltkriegs von einem deutschen U-Boot angegriffen wurde und 1200 Menschen dabei ihr Leben verloren. Schuld war ein Zweikampf zwischen den Kapitänen: Walther Schwieger, der deutsche U-Boot-Kommandant, der ohne Warnung auch zivile Schiffe angreifen ließ; und William Turner, der erfahrene amerikanische Kapitän der Cunard-Linie, der entgegen allen Warnungen niemals glaubte, dass so etwas wirklich passieren könnte. Aus diesem Ereignis lässt Erik Larson eine atemberaubende Reportage entstehen: So ungewöhnlich, dass der Leser insgeheim zu hoffen beginnt, das Schicksal der Lusitania könnte doch noch eine andere Wendung nehmen.
"Londres, 1910. Un respectable médecin, Harvey Crippen, met fin à un mariage insupportable en assassinant sa femme, une flamboyante chanteuse d'opéra. Lorsque naissent les premiers soupçons, il prend un bateau, le SS Montrose, à destination du Québec, accompagné de sa maîtresse. Sur ses traces, un inspecteur de Scotland Yard qui, grâce à l'invention toute récente de Marconi, la communication sans fil, va permettre au grand public de suivre par médias interposés cette incroyable poursuite en haute mer. Dans cet exceptionnel document historique, Erik Larson (Le Diable dans la ville blanche, Dans le jardin de la bête) nous conte en parallèle les aventures de Marconi et du Dr Crippen - dont le destin fascina tant Alfred Hitchcock qu'il s'en inspira pour de nombreux films -, et nous offre un tableau saisissant des débuts du monde moderne."--De l'éditeur
In the Garden of Beasts
- 448pagine
- 16 ore di lettura
It's Berlin, 1933. William E Dodd, a mild-mannered academic from Chicago become America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany. Dodd and his family, notably his vivacious daughter, Martha, observe at first-hand the many changes - some subtle, some disturbing, and some horrifically violent - that signal Hitler's consolidation of power.
Project Management The Managerial Process
- 608pagine
- 22 ore di lettura
This textbook presents a balanced treatment of both the technical and behavioural issues in project management as well as covering a broad range of industries to which project management principles can be applied
Guglielmo Marconi e l'omicidio di Cora Crippen
- 541pagine
- 19 ore di lettura
Il 13 luglio 1910, Walter Dew, ispettore capo di Scotland Yard, rinviene nella cantina del dottor Hawley Harvey Crippen i resti di Cora Crippen, consorte scomparsa. Cora, giovane e avvenente, era conosciuta come Belle Elmore nel mondo del music hall. La scoperta scatena un enorme scalpore, soprattutto quando si apprende che Crippen è fuggito con la sua assistente Ethel Clara Le Neve, una ragazza affascinante. Il caso, ribattezzato "l'omicidio della cantina", attira l'attenzione dei media, trasformando i dettagli del delitto in notizie di prima pagina in tutto il mondo, da New York a Istanbul. Una gigantesca caccia all’uomo si scatena per rintracciare Crippen e la Le Neve. Nel frattempo, Guglielmo Marconi è in viaggio per mare, lontano dalla moglie Beatrice e dal loro neonato. La sua mente è occupata dall'idea di dimostrare che la radiotelegrafia può porre fine all'isolamento delle navi. Il 22 luglio, dalla nave Montrose, un messaggio radiotelegrafico sorprende il mondo: si sospetta che Crippen e la sua complice siano tra i passeggeri. Questa nuova edizione di un bestseller di Erik Larson esplora la connessione tra crimine e invenzione, immergendo il lettore nella tumultuosa Londra edoardiana.
The Devil in the White City
- 496pagine
- 18 ore di lettura
The architect was Daniel H Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens. The killer was H H Holmes, a handsome doctor with blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair and his own devilish charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths.
The narrative delves into the harrowing events surrounding the deadliest hurricane in history, blending gripping storytelling with historical detail. It explores the impact of the storm on communities, the human experiences during the disaster, and the aftermath that shaped future responses to such calamities. The author, known for meticulous research and engaging prose, brings to life the tragedy and resilience of those affected, making it a compelling read for history enthusiasts and those interested in natural disasters.






