Erik Larson Books

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Erik Larson, who doubles as a journalist in a career which has seen him write articles considerably for world-famous magazines and dailies, is a sexagenarian American author with a list of publications to his credit. Erik Larson, who has also been a lecturer in San Francisco State University and had a stint in University of Oregon, is renowned especially for penning In the Garden of Beasts. Hereby, the featured protagonist, albeit a factual one, is the then ambassador and famed scholar William Edward Dodd. This standalone and tell-it-like-it-is book by Erik Larson was published in May 2011; it is filed away in the historical non-fiction genre. Erik Larson’s books transcend the non-fiction niche. Incidentally, he has also written a sociological book.

His translated books aside, the first notable and originally written in English language book authored by Erik Larson is titled The Naked Consumer. It tells how organizations hoodwink the consumers into giving them sensitive personal data then betraying them. This book revolves around the hideous and mind-boggling tactic used by the organizations; these tactics include trading the sensitive data and information, which has been entrusted with them by the consumers, for their marketing aims and, ultimately, quest for profiteering.

The epitome of this book, which was written in the early 1990s but is still relevant in the present-day world, is the four-pronged approach aptly titled four-part data dynamics. This stipulates that: one, the data miners reconcile corresponding data; two, data is being used for other purposes other than the reasons initially stated; three, there is abuse of data; and, four, confidentiality is blown to smithereens. Erik Larson pens a mind-opening recount which was the launch pad to a career which, after penning many bestsellers over the years, saw him win the coveted Edgar Award, under the Best fact Crime grouping, in 2004.

Erik Larson Awards

Erik Larson has bagged many awards since he put the pen to paper. The 2003 and historic expo-based book, The Devil in the White City, clinched Edgar Award in 2004 in the context of Best Fact Crime. In the years 2003, 2004 and 2009, the said book won varied desirable awards and noteworthy recognitions. For instance, in 2003, it topped New York Times’ bestseller list in the non-fiction section; it won Erik Larson both the San Francisco Chronicle and Book Sense literary awards in 2003 and 2004, respectively, for the Best Book of the Year categories. It also clinched the International Horror Guild Award (2003); in 2004, it went ahead to win Washington State Book Award and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award; and, in 2009, bagged the ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound, specifically for the Histories and Cultures grouping.

Hard on the heels of publishing the 2000 book titled Isaac’s Storm, Erik Larson won Larson Louis J. Battan Author’s Award. Concerning his 2011 book, In the Garden of Beasts, The Christian Science Monitor hailed it as one of the topmost 15 non-fiction works which graced the year 2011. Similarly, his 2015 book, titled Dead Wake, made it to World Magazone’s four most notable books; moreover, it bagged the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award in the History and Biography category.

Erik Larson Books into TV/Movies

A section of Erik Larson’s works have been made into movies. For instance, In the Garden of Beasts was adapted for film and is slated for release in 2017. Tom Hanks will be the starring actor. There is ongoing film adaptation work on the Devil in the White City for the silver screen after the film rights were recently acquired. The starring will be Leonardo DiCaprio.

Best Erik Larson Books

Erik Larson’s long finesse of writing experience has augured well for the prospects of his incredibly penned works. Incidentally, all of his works are notable, commendable and successful in their own right. Nevertheless, the following triad consists of the best Erik Larson books. First and foremost, is The Devil in the White City; this revolves around specially Henry Howard Holmes, a notorious late 19th century serial killer who murdered tens of hapless victims by hoodwinking them into the then Jackson Park-hosted World’s Fair Hotel. This book stayed put on New York Times’ listing of bound books for, in entirety, a whooping half a decade.

Secondly, In the Garden of Beasts, as aforementioned, Erik Larson revisits the momentous times of scholar-cum-ambassador William Edward Dodd in the 1930s Germany and in the run-up to the Second World War. It became an instant hit and its New York Times’ listing ended only after 35 weeks. Third, Dead Wake, which is a relatively recent publication, is a harrowing revisit to the ill-fated RMS Lusitania; a German enemy submarine sunk the aforementioned ocean liner as the First World War gathered momentum. This also became an instant hit upon publication and featured in the New York Times’ venerated bestselling listing.

When Does The Next Erik Larson book come out?

Erik Larson doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Demon of Unrest and was released on April, 30th 2024. It is the newest book in the Erik Larson Non-Fiction Books.

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