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Review of Thunderstruck

Review of Thunderstruck by Erik Larson Rating *****

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson tells two separate stories that alternate from chapter to chapter. The first story is that of Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the wireless telegraph. The second story is that of Hawley Crippen and his involvement in the murder of his wife. The two stories don’t intersect until the final chapters.

Both stories hold the reader’s interest. As a former pilot, I was always amazed at how I could travel hundreds of miles an hour at 39,000 feet but still communicate with a person sitting in a building hundreds of miles away. Marconi never got to the point of transmitting voice messages, but his achievement was still remarkable for the time.

I listened to the audiobook version of the book. I don’t know if the printed version or eBook contained any diagrams or images, but I never quite grasped the technology that Marconi used to transmit morse code. What I do know is that Marconi took existing technology and tweaked it to achieve the results of wireless communication. Much of the book goes into the battles Marconi had with the inventors like Oliver Lodge
who claimed that Marconi hadn’t accomplished anything that hadn’t already been demonstrated.

The murder story is slow to develop. Crippen starts as a seller of patent medicine. He does well in that endeavor and lives a comfortable life. His wife, Belle, however, is a constant drain on his resources and patience. Belle longs to be a professional singer. Crippen supports his wife and lavishes her with fine clothes and jewelry. They live beyond their means. Eventually, the marriage deteriorates, and Crippen falls for a younger woman.

Marconi’s successes and failures keep the narrative going until Crippen and his mistress plan their escape to North America. This is where the two stories merge. While Crippen assumes that he has escaped without notice, the authorities use wireless communications to identify him and his mistress Ethel Le Neve, who is pretending to be a teenage boy.

While the two separate stories might seem like a plot device, the truth is that the capture of Crippen and Ethel made worldwide news, and the role that wireless played in their capture was significant.

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Three Netflix documentaries to watch right now

It wasn’t that long ago that watching any documentary required effort. You had to find some art house theatre an hour away. If you were lucky, you might catch something on HBO. Streaming has changed the ballgame for documentaries and documentary series, and Netflix leads the pack.

These first two are docuseries. Both can be watched in one sitting or spread out over two or three nights. Eat the Rich: The Gamestock Saga tells the story of Robinhood and how a few influential social media influencers, along with forums like Wallstreet Bets and Reddit, propelled Gamestock from a deadbeat to a rising star. A few people made a lot of money. A lot more lost money.

The documentary series Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake tells the story of the Nepal earthquake and how it affected the people of Nepal, locals in two mountainous regions, and climbers caught on Mout Everest at different elevations. It’s a disaster story. It’s also a rescue story. The cinematography alone is worth your time.

This last documentary Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case tells the disturbing story of Danish inventor Peter Madson and the disappearance of journalist Kim Wall. Ms. Wall disappeared under mysterious circumstances after she accepted a ride on Madon’s self-made submarine.

The whole sordid story plays out as another documentary team is working on a story about Madson and his lofty goal of launching himself into space. This film should be required viewing for anyone studying sociopaths.

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Review of The Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Review of the Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Rating *****

Nurture vs. nature. What caused Jeffrey Dahmer to turn into a serial killer? This Netflix ten-part series tries to answer that question. On the nurture side of the equation, there is his dysfunctional family life. His parents divorced early in his life. His mother abandoned him on more than one occasion. And then there is the father whose idea of spending time with his son involved dissecting road kill. As for nature’s role in Jeffrey Dahmer’s life, there is the fact that his mother was taking over twenty medications while she was pregnant with Jeffrey. And his father admitted to having fantasies of killing people.

Regardless of which side you fall on, Jeffrey Dahmer was a sociopath. He lacked empathy for his victims. His motivation appears to be that he got some sexual gratification from drugging his victims, leaving them incapacitated, and then doing whatever he wanted with his victims who could not defend themselves. His attempts to create zombies by drilling into the brains of his living victims and then pouring acid in their brains show that he wanted his victims available as living mannequins. The episode with a real mannequin is one to watch.

Some reviewers have criticized the series for emphasizing that Jeffrey Dahmer was gay, arguing that his sexual orientation was not a primary factor in making Dahmer a serial killer. I disagree. You couldn’t tell the Jeffrey Dahmer story without showing that he was gay and that most of his victims were also gay.

The series does a good job of showing all sides of the story, from the missed opportunities to catch and stop Dahmer, to the effect on the victims’ families, to the effect that Dahmer’s arrest and conviction had on his parents.

Evan Peters is exceptional as Jeffrey Dahmer. The supporting cast of Richard Jenkins as Jeffrey Dahmer’s father, Molly Ringwald as his stepmother, Penelope Ann Miller as Jeffrey’s mother, and Michael Learned as his grandmother all have their moments. Nicey Nash, who plays Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbor, also does a commendable job portraying someone who knew something wasn’t right with the guy next door.

The filmmakers don’t glorify the crimes or Jeffrey Dahmer. Instead, they show what happened and give viewers a set of facts about Dahmer’s upbringing that could help explain his behavior. In Jeffrey Dahmer’s case, it very well could have been both nurture and nature that created a serial killer.

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Review of the Netflix Documentary Series Untold

This Netflix docuseries has four gems that tell four different but equally compelling stories. The series is titled Untold. Below is a summary of each documentary in the series.

The first in the series is The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. This two-part documentary is a catfishing story involving college football standout Manti Teo. Manti falls victim to a gay man who sets up a fake Facebook account as an attractive female. As things progress, the man with the fake account realizes that he has to end his online relationship with Manti. He contacts Manti Teo using his real identity to inform him of his online girlfriend’s death, which occurred the same day Manti Teo’s grandmother passed away.

The story of Manti Teo’s loss makes headlines. A couple of journalists at a sports news website start to dig into the story and uncover the false identity. The question then becomes, was Manti Teo in on the hoax? The fallout for Manti Teo is enormous, even interfering with his NFL prospects.

When the man who started the whole thing decides that he can’t quit the relationship, even after the supposed death, things start to go off the rails.

Next up is the documentary The Rise and Fall of And1. I had never heard of this sports brand before this documentary. I’m not a basketball fan. But I enjoyed this story of how three men took street basketball players and turned them and their products into a million-dollar brand.

It all starts with T-shirts. When that goes well, the three owners decide to put together exhibition basketball games to help promote the brand. They put out a mixtape video featuring the street players.

As the title suggests, the business grows exponentially, eventually moving into footwear and competing directly with Nike. The talented players who were essential to the success of the company enjoy NBA-like fame. The whole enterprise tumbles when one of the three key founders calls it quits. The founders decided to sell the company. They rake in millions. The players, on the other hand, have their basketball dreams yanked from under them.

The third documentary in the series is Operation Flagrant Foul. This is another basketball story. This one involves a ref accused of betting on games he was officiating. On the one hand, it’s hard to have sympathy for someone in that position who misuses the trust of the players and fans. On the other hand, the truth is more complicated.

While Tim Donaghy admitted to betting on games that he was working, he claims that he never did anything to sway a game one way or the other. What he did was use his knowledge of the game, the players and coaches, and pass on that information to others who then placed large bets. Sometimes they won big. Sometimes they lost. They won a lot more than they lost. As for Donaghy, he didn’t make out quite as well.

The last documentary in the series is Race of the Century. This film is about America’s Cup race in 1983. An underdog Austrailia team sets out to beat the Americans who hadn’t lost in over 130 years. That’s the goal. It starts with a determined team captain. He puts together his team and then sets out to find someone to finance his venture. Once that task is accomplished, his next task is to build a boat. For that, he turns to an eccentric designer with no formal education. He comes up with a radical design. From there, the race is on.

How the whole thing plays out, along with the stories of the individuals involved before, during, and after the race, make for an interesting tale.

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Review of The Ride of Her Life

Review of The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts Rating ****

Sixty-three-old Annie Wilkins had a goal. She wanted to see the Pacific ocean before she died. She was about to lose her farm in Maine, and her doctor gave her only two years to live. She also wanted to see America. What better way to see the country than by horseback?

Annie started her trip in November on a horse named Tarzan. Accompanying Annie and Tarzan was Annie’s dog, Depeche Toi. The story of Annie, Tarzan, and Depeche Toi trekking across the continent also serves as a backdrop to the story of America in the early 1950s. The automobile was the favored mode of transportation. Televisions were new. And the interstate highway system was still two years away.

The idea of a woman crossing the continent by horseback drew the attention of the media. People learned about Annie’s trip through the papers. They provided the horse a stable and food and gave Annie a place to stay for the night, even if it was the barn or a jail cell.

One person Annie met took a picture of her and her horse and then made postcards that Annie could sell to help fund her journey. It turned out to be a money maker for Annie.

Annie picked up another horse during her trip to help carry her increasing load. The second horse was named Rex. Annie and her companions became a nationwide story with fans following her progress. Her story was a precursor to a viral internet story.

Did she make it? You’ll have to read the book to find the answer to that question.

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Review of I Just Killed My Dad

Review of the Netflix Docuseries I Just Killed My dad Rating *****

The documentary series I just Killed My Dad tells the story of Anthony Templet, who shot his father three times, killing him. The film begins with Anthony describing to police how he shot his father. Anthony comes across in the police videotapes as someone who has no empathy. He tells the police matter-of-factly that he didn’t like his father. At first glance, it appears as an ironclad second-degree murder case. That viewpoint evolves.

One of the compelling aspects of this docuseries is how they tell the story from all sides. Everyone has a different take on what happened and why. The police, prosecutor, and Attorney General see a murder case. The defense attorney sees a self-defense case. Caught in the middle is Anthony himself, who doesn’t understand why he just can’t go home.

As the facts behind the shooting emerge and the truth of what Anthony had to endure at the hands of his father comes out, everyone’s impressions of the case changes. I won’t offer any spoilers here, but I will say that you can’t choose your parents.

This film should be required viewing for every prosecutor. Is Anthony a threat to society? Should he spend decades in prison for killing his father? How much weight should a prosecutor give to the circumstances behind the shooting? Fortunately, the viewer hears from the prosecutor in this case as she weighs those important questions.

At under three hours, this three-part docuseries is a good candidate for a single night of viewing. Watch it on Netflix.