This article is about the non-fiction author. For the comic book creator, see
Erik Larsen . For the Disney animator, see
Eric Larson .
Erik Larson (born January 3, 1954) is an American journalist and author of mostly nonfiction books. He has written a number of bestsellers, including The Devil in the White City (2003), about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and a series of murders by H. H. Holmes that were committed in the city around the time of the Fair. The Devil in the White City won the 2004 Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category, among other awards . Larson released his first novel in audiobook format only, titled No One Goes Alone , on September 28, 2021.
Early life and education
Larson was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Freeport , Long Island , New York . He studied Russian history at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated summa cum laude in 1976. After a year off, he attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism , graduating in 1978. He was inspired to go into journalism after seeing the movie All the President's Men .
Writing career
Larson's first newspaper job was with the Bucks County Courier Times in Levittown, Pennsylvania , where he wrote about murder, witches, environmental poisons, and other "equally pleasant" things. He later became a features writer for The Wall Street Journal and Time , where he is still a contributing writer. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker , The Atlantic Monthly , Harper's , and other publications.
Books
Erik Larson talks about In The Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and An American Family in Hitler's Berlin on Bookbits radio.
Larson has written a number of books, mostly historical nonfiction. In a 2016 interview with the Knoxville Mercury , Larson stated he does all of his own research, asking, "why should I let anybody else have that fun?" He included among his literary inspirations David McCullough , Barbara Tuchman , David Halberstam , and Walter Lord . Larson's 2006 book Thunderstruck intersperses the story of Hawley Harvey Crippen with that of Guglielmo Marconi and the invention of radio.
Teaching and public speaking
Larson has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State University , the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars , and the University of Oregon , and he has spoken to audiences across the United States.
Personal life
Larson has lived in Philadelphia ; Bristol, Pennsylvania ; San Francisco ; and Baltimore . He and his wife have three daughters. They reside in New York City and maintain a home in Seattle , Washington .
Works
Title
Year
ISBN
Publisher
Subject matter
Interviews, presentations, and reviews
Comments
The Naked Consumer: How Our Private Lives Become Public Commodities
1992
ISBN 9780805017557
Henry Holt and Company
Consumer privacy , Market research
Lethal Passage
1994
ISBN 9780517596777
Crown Publishers
Gun culture in the U.S. , Gun law in the U.S. , Gun politics in the U.S. , Gun violence in the U.S.
The subtitle for the 1994 hardcover version is How the Travels of a Single Handgun Expose the Roots of America's Gun Crisis ; The subtitle of the 1995 paperback version is The Story of a Gun .
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
1999
ISBN 9780609602331
Random House
Isaac Cline , 1900 Galveston hurricane
Presentation by Larson on Isaac's Storm , November 6, 1999 , C-SPAN Presentation by Larson on Isaac's Storm , August 22, 2000 , C-SPAN Book group discussion on Isaac's Storm , November 21, 2005 , C-SPAN
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
2002
ISBN 9780609608449
Crown Publishers
World's Columbian Exposition , H. H. Holmes
Presentation by Larson on The Devil in the White City , February 18, 2003 , C-SPAN Booknotes interview with Larson on The Devil in the White City , September 14, 2003 , C-SPAN Book group discussion on The Devil in the White City , October 13, 2005 , C-SPAN
Thunderstruck
2006
ISBN 9781400080663
Crown Publishers
Hawley Harvey Crippen , Guglielmo Marconi
Presentation by Larson on Thunderstruck , June 9, 2007 , C-SPAN
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
2011
ISBN 9780307408846
Crown Publishers
William Dodd , Nazification of Germany
Fresh Air interview with Larson on In the Garden of the Beasts , May 2, 2011 , National Public Radio Presentation by Larson on In the Garden of the Beasts , May 23, 2011 , C-SPAN Q&A interview with Larson on In the Garden of the Beasts , July 24, 2011 , C-SPAN
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
2015
ISBN 9780307408860
Crown Publishers
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
Q&A interview with Larson on Dead Wake , March 29, 2015 , C-SPAN Presentation by Larson on Dead Wake , March 27, 2015 , C-SPAN Presentation by Larson on Dead Wake , June 6, 2015 , C-SPAN
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
2020
ISBN 9780385348713
Penguin Random House
The Blitz , Winston Churchill in the Second World War
Interview with Larson on The Splendid and the Vile , May 5, 2020 , C-SPAN
No One Goes Alone
2021
ISBN 9780593557945
Penguin Random House
William James
Fiction; Audiobook only.
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
2024
ISBN 9780385348744
Crown Books
The Civil War