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Erik Larson

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Dead Wake

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

The Lusitania Mystery: Why British Codebreakers Didn't Try To Save It

The ocean liner's sinking by a German U-boat led to the U.S. entering World War I. Erik Larson, author of Dead Wake, says British intelligence knew the ship was in danger and didn't tell anyone.

The Lusitania Mystery: Why British Codebreakers Didn't Try To Save It

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The U.S. Ambassador Inside Hitler's Berlin

Adolf Hitler (right) with his foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop in 1941. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Author Interviews

The U.S. Ambassador Inside Hitler's Berlin

Fresh Air

William Dodd served for four years as the ambassador to Germany before resigning — after repeated clashes with both Nazi Party officials and the State Department. Erik Larson chronicles Dodd's time in Berlin in his new book, In the Garden of Beasts.

The U.S. Ambassador Inside Hitler's Berlin

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Resisting Hitler's Rise 'In the Garden of Beasts'

Author Interviews

Resisting Hitler's Rise 'In the Garden of Beasts'

In The Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin chronicles the U.S. ambassador William Dodd's attempts to warn the U.S. of the growing threat that the Nazi Party posed.

Resisting Hitler's Rise 'In the Garden of Beasts'

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William Dodd: The U.S. Ambassador In Hitler's Berlin

Author Interviews

William Dodd: The U.S. Ambassador In Hitler's Berlin

Fresh Air

William Dodd served for four years as the ambassador to Germany before resigning — after repeated clashes with both Nazi Party officials and the State Department. Erik Larson chronicles Dodd's time in Berlin in his new book, In the Garden of Beasts.

William Dodd: The U.S. Ambassador In Hitler's Berlin

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Books

'Thunderstruck': Twinned Tales of Murder, Marconi

Erik Larson's books weave together multiple plots based on actual events. Thunderstruck is the tale of a mild-mannered doctor who murdered his wife, a trans-Atlantic chase, and the inventor who created the wireless telegraph.

'Thunderstruck': Twinned Tales of Murder, Marconi

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