American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century

A vividly-written, but true, account of the LA Times bombing of 1910 and the bigger-than-life personalities at the time: Clarence Darrow, whose career was almost destroyed by this case; William Burns, the founder of the detective agency that bears his name; and D. W. Griffith, who, although not directly involved in the bombing, did add much to the tone of the times with his films about labor and capital. Indeed, we see a fascinating side-story in how Griffith helped create cinema as a medium and as an industry.

A fourth, and central, figure in this drama is Harrison Otis, the LA Times publisher, who had built it into a major paper and whose anti-union stance had a powerful effect on Los Angeles. I've learned much about this fascinating figure from this book. Indeed, the main courtroom battle would have him and the city's business establishment arrayed against Darrow and the nation's labor movement, with considerable money and investigator talent.

The detective story is the most compelling part of Mr. Blum's narrative, notably William Burns' nation-wide, and personal, investigation of the bombing, centering on Indiana labor leaders J.J. and James McNamara. The detectives would continue to haunt the trial, as figures on both sides came under scrutiny. Lives and reputations, notably Darrow's, would be in real danger.

It all reads like a detective novel, although it seems that, from Mr. Blum's bibliography, that his story is grounded in considerable historical research. I've done enough historical research of my own to recognize that, as breathless as this book is, that it rings true. California labor history at this time was violent and would continue to be: San Francisco would see a similarly spectacular bombing in 1916, again with labor issues much in the foreground.

There's more than enough drama in this very real story to make a film much like "LA Confidential" or "Chinatown," not to mention the current hit "Changeling." Certainly, D. W. Griffith would have understood.

...too bad it wasn't a novel.

Such an immense project, the retelling of this important interlude in America's history. And the amount of effort that clearly went into it...staggering.

But considering how great the story is, with all of its modern parallels...and with the recent election, and the epithet 'socialism' being bandied about relentless, how apropos this chunklet of history is...it runs out of gas before it reaches its destination.

And it's a shame. Because if the author had taken a truly non-fiction route, I'm sure that a great book would have resulted. Conversely, if Mr. Blum had been a novelist befitting the subject t (and really, he's nothing of the sort, his talents are not narrative and dialogue), then again, the result would have shone. As it is, 'American Lightning' is neither...and therefore what's on the page suffers.

Still, what an intriguing film this would make...

I am not a history buff so I found parts of this book to be similar to reading a text book. The book is well written but I think I will stick to more fiction and sci fi for my future reads.

This outstanding historical novel takes the reader on a fascinating journey back in time to a forgotten time and place - turn of the century America. Howard Blum's book follows renowned detective Billy Burns furtively across an America flirting with all-out class warfare as he tries to solve what Americans called 'the crime of the century'. (Obviously, Americans had no idea what was in store for them later.) Burns, like all the other protagonists of the story, is a self-made man in a rough-and-tumble, no-holds-barred form of raw capitalism. It was the apogee of the robber barons.

Blum's real-life characters, Billy Burns, D.W. Griffith, Clarence Darrow, and Harrison Otis, not only find themselves in the midst of great social upheaval, but they also, in their own way, shaped American society as well. Whether it's the craftiness of Burns, the vision of Griffith, the grit of Otis, or the trials of Darrow, all the characters are truly believable with convincing dialogue as well. After reading the book, you'll feel like you know each one.

In America the atmosphere is white hot, as strident labor and ruthless management are dangerously close to breaking out into all-our class warfare. Burns is hired by the Los Angeles to find out who bombed Harrison Otis' LA Times building (incidentally horrifically burning dozens of people to death). Was it the labor unions? Anarchists? Or perhaps Otis himself to give an excuse to crush the union movement? Or was it merely an accident? (Gas lighting - along with attendant, occasional explosions - was common at the time.)

I highly recommend this book to any history or crime novel enthusiast.

American Lightning gets off to a great start with the bombing of the office of the Los Angeles Times in October 1910, and the introduction of three major players in the story: D.W. Griffith, Billy Burns, and Clarence Darrow. Perhaps the most interesting story is that of Billy Burns, the detective who was hired to discover the parties responsible for the bombing and bring them to justice. Enter Darrow, who defended those responsible J.J. and Jim MacNamara. As a sideline, Blum recounts the development of the motion picture industry by following the career of D. W. Griffith. Although this sideline is interesting -- and Griffith's path does cross those of Burns and Darrow on occasion -- this thread does not really seem relevant to the story Blum wants to focus on: the bombing of the Los Angeles Times offices. Griffith's story is almost an after-thought, and drops out of the narrative once the trial begins, to be picked up at the end of the book. I have to wonder whether American Lightning would have benefited from the removal of this thread, as it only slows the story down.