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Erik Larson NPR coverage of Erik Larson: News, author interviews, critics' picks and more.

Erik Larson

Books

Erik Larson

Books by Erik Larson

In the Garden of Beasts

Thunderstruck

The Devil in the White City

Dead Wake

The Splendid and the Vile

Erik Larson has written books about:

NPR stories about Erik Larson

The Splendid and the Vile

History

How Winston Churchill Pulled Britain Through The Early Years Of WWII

Fresh Air

May 25, 2020 • In The Splendid And The Vile, author Erik Larson details the British prime minister's first year in office, during which England endured a Nazi bombing campaign. Originally broadcast March 30, 2020.

How Winston Churchill Pulled Britain Through The Early Years Of WWII

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The Splendid and the Vile

History

How Winston Churchill Pulled Britain Through The Early Years Of WWII

Fresh Air

March 30, 2020 • In The Splendid And The Vile, author Erik Larson details the British prime minister's first year in office, during which England endured a Nazi bombing campaign that killed more than 44,000 civilians.

How Winston Churchill Pulled Britain Through The Early Years Of WWII

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The Splendid and the Vile

First Reads

Exclusive 1st Read: Erik Larson's 'The Splendid And The Vile'

February 20, 2020 • The bestselling author of Dead Wake turns his attention to the first year of Winston Churchill's prime ministership, at a moment when Adolf Hitler overtakes France — and England could be next.

The Splendid and the Vile

Review

Book Reviews

Churchill's 1st Year As Prime Minister Is Electric In 'The Splendid And The Vile'

February 20, 2020 • One of America's best storytellers does it again: Erik Larson's gripping account of Winston Churchill's leadership through Hitler's bombing campaign against England is nearly impossible to put down.

Dead Wake

Review

Book Reviews

A Tale Of Two Captains On A Tragic Journey In 'Dead Wake'

March 10, 2015 • Erik Larson's new book about the sinking of the liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915 brings the past stingingly alive. Reviewer Jean Zimmerman calls Dead Wake "thrilling, dramatic and powerful."

Dead Wake

Author Interviews

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

March 7, 2015 • 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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Dead Wake

First Reads

Exclusive First Read: Erik Larson's 'Dead Wake'

March 5, 2015 • The Devil in the White City author Erik Larson turns his attention to the sinking of the liner Lusitania almost 100 years ago — a turning point that helped bring the United States into World War I.

State of Wonder

New In Paperback

Plot Twists: Big League Dreams, Being A Mother And 'The Garden Of Beasts'

May 9, 2012 • It's a rich week for fiction, with new novels from Ann Patchett and Jennifer Weiner, and a debut by Chad Harbach that marries a literary sensibility with a love of baseball — plus Jorie Graham's new poetry collection. In nonfiction, Erik Larson is back with the story of an American ambassador in Germany in 1933.

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

May 4, 2012 • 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'

December 29, 2011 • 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

May 2, 2011 • 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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Review

Three Books...

Cold Cases: Icy Books Offer Relief From The Heat

September 4, 2009 • The days grow shorter, but still, the summer heat surrounds you like an unwanted extra blanket. A trip to Iceland may seem in order, but who can afford it? So you turn to books for relief. These three books should cool you down.

Books

'Thunderstruck': Twinned Tales of Murder, Marconi

October 20, 2006 • 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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