7 /10 1 Votes
Originally published 16 September 2008 Genre True crime | 3.5/5 Goodreads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Awards Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime Similar Works by Howard Blum, Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime winners, True crime books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century is a non-fiction book by Howard Blum.
Contents
Summary
The book is about the October 1, 1910 bombing of The Los Angeles Times building by union members that caused later attacks, but the later ones failed. Iron Workers union leaders James and John McNamara said that they weren't guilty for the bombing. The detective who found out that the bombers were the McNamaras was Billy Burns, the head of Burns Detective Agency. Also, the book includes a considerable amount of information about the defense lawyer, Clarence Darrow, and film director, D. W. Griffith.
Reception
Ohline H. Cogdill, of Miami Herald, said that the book is epic, gripping, and a cohesive non-fiction thriller. Richard Rayner, of The Los Angeles Times, said that the book is excellent and sheds valuable new light on the bombing.