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Fall 2008
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Thunderstruck
 Canadian
Pacific steamship captain Henry George Kendall plays a small, but nevertheless significant role in what the Los
Angeles Times has called "a ripping yarn of murder and invention".
This Edwardian adventure spans both sides of the Atlantic and intertwines the lives of two men - mild mannered,
wife-killer Dr. Hawley Crippen and the temperamental creator of "supernatural" wireless
radio communications, Guglielmo Marconi.
Captain Kendall's ship, the Montrose, sailed the ocean lanes between Britain and Canada in CPR service. It was among
the first transatlantic vessels to install Marconi's revolutionary apparatus. The captain's use of wireless radio
communication in the headline-making chase to capture the infamous British murderer, showed the public
the full value of the new and exciting technology.
Eric Larson is the author of "The Devil in the White City", the story of the brilliant architect behind
the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their deaths.
"Thunderstruck" employs the same strong formula of superb storytelling mixed with plenty of intriguing
historical tidbits to hold the reader spellbound.
Thunderstruck
By Erik Larson
Three Rivers Press New York USA 2006
463 pages - Softcover - $21.
This Momentum article is copyright
2008 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with
their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
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