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

Howard Blum's new book, American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, The Birth of Hollywood, And The Crime Of the Century, couldn't have been released at a better time. As Wall Street chokes and gasps and financial institutions fail, American Lightning is a subtle reminder that the U. S. economy has never been all sunshine and flowers. Labor and capital (management) fought bloody battles as it whirls into the twentieth century.

The beating heart of the book is the one a.m. October 1, 1910 bombing of the "Los Angeles Times" building and the deaths of twenty-one newspaper employees. The nation reeled from the slaughter. Justice was demanded. The bombing was labeled as "the crime of the century." Blum does a good job in describing the night's events. Blum is a journalist and his ability to report is evident.

After the bombing, the three main characters enter: movie pioneer, D. W. Griffith; William J. Burns, the nation's greatest detective; and Clarence Darrow, America's crusading attorney. Although the three men only met together for a span of approximately no more than two minutes, the how and why these three giants' careers intersect is the main thesis of American Lightning.

Griffith, a failed playwright, was making movies about the war between labor and management. His movies brought in audiences by the thousands. The movies were able to give faces to the harsh injustices of the modern world.

Burns was investigating a Peoria, Illinois, bombing that led him to L.A. With his son and numerous operatives, Burns conducted one of the most exhaustive manhunts this nation has ever seen. When arrests were made, three men were ultimately charged with the murders of the "Times" employees.

Enter Darrow, who is coerced into becoming the lead defense attorney and ultimately is charged with jury tampering.

The cast and plot is large and complicated. Blum does a great job in keeping all the lead and supporting characters straight. The story moves easily between the three men, keeping the reader in sync with all the events.

While each part of American Lightning is a captivating story, when they are put together in 321 pages, Blum must rely on more reporting than storytelling. The narrative flows well, but it doesn't snap. I was easily able to follow the structure, but at times it was more like reading a history book than anything else.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting story of violence and the aftermath.

This (historical narrative) is not one of the genres that I would normally read. However, after reading the description, I thought it sounded like it would be interesting considering the events and people involved. As a matter of fact, when I originally ordered it (pre-publication) I thought it was fiction. However, I was surprised to find that the book is based upon actual events and that the lives of the key players did, in fact, intersect.

Even more surprising, I found the book enthralling. Not being "big" on history in general, I found that the author brought these events to life. It read almost like a thriller. I have to admit I had never heard of these events either during my education or subsequently. Additionally, the parallels to a post 9/11/2001 America (terrorism, its impact on civil liberties, etc.) are striking.

It's amazing to me that a century later we, as a nation, were still operating in a reactive rather than proactive manner to such events. I won't politicize here, but I would strongly recommend this book regardless of your political point of view. The author remains objective throughout, leaving the reader to glean his own takeaways.

I eagerly jumped into AMERICAN LIGHTNING, anticipating something along the lines of the historical work of Eric Larson (DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, ISAAC'S STORM). The description promised to bring together the lives of 3 celebrities of the early 20th century...people whose lives would cross in unexpected ways. Also, I anticipated a coming together of some major events in a way that would create an unexpected synergy (much in the way the story of serial killer H.H. Holmes and the story of the Chicago World's Fair blended in WHITE CITY).

Unfortunately, I was much disappointed. This is not to say that the events explored in AMERICAN LIGHTNING were inconsequential or uninteresting...they were fascinating without a doubt. But a hard-to-describe element was missing...perhaps the synergy I mentioned above or perhaps a true sense of being swept up in these old events in a way that made them immediate.

AMERICAN LIGHTNING tells the story of a domestic "terrorist" attack in early 1900's Los Angeles. It was a time when the strife between labor and capitalists, between unions and owners, was reaching a boiling point. Things had moved from mere demonstrations and strikes to violence and threats of more violence. When a bomb was detonated in the offices of the Los Angeles Times, 21 people died in the fire that followed...and a manhunt was launched to find those responsible. Some theorized that unions were behind this bombing. Other, more conspiracy-theory minded, thought the owners had done it themselves in order to stir public sentiment against labor. A frame-up, if you like.

The first major character to enter the scene was world-famous detective William Burns. It's interesting to realize there was a time when a detective could be world-famous...and not fictional like Sherlock Holmes. Burns and his considerable network of detectives, went on a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators. The best parts of the book for me show how rudimentary forensic work and simple, tireless plodding eventually uncovered the truth. Burns certainly engaged in some tactics which these days would probably have had the whole case thrown out of court...but which I found clever and almost admirable. Certainly the resources used to solve this "crime of the century" were considerable, although primitive.

When the case comes to trial, it is the very famous lawyer Clarence Darrow (later of the Scopes Monkey Trial...the inspiration for the classic play & movie INHERIT THE WIND) who takes the spotlight. We come to learn of his internal conflicts and of his sometimes unscrupulous methods. The tricks both sides try to use to sway the case come across like cheap manipulations that wouldn't make it onto LAW AND ORDER...but apparently they were state of the art legal tactics in their day.

And threaded through all of this is the presence of early film pioneer DW Griffith. He's the director who really saw the storytelling tool film could become, and we see his early evolution as an artist, leading up to his creation of the masterwork BIRTH OF A NATION (and yes, I know it is a horribly racist film and distorts history...I'm only commenting that it was a masterpiece in its scope and artistry, as well as groundbreaking for its day).

Clearly author Howard Blum has introduced Griffith to this story (even though he is EXTREMELY tangential to it) in an effort to create this synergy. Griffith is inspired by the plight of laborers and this inspires his work. His work thus informs and inspires the public. That may all very well be true...but at no point does the story of Griffith really fit into the main story of this crime. In fact, it creates almost the opposite of the synergy I was looking for. It was a distraction and broke up the rhythm of the book.

There are really two stories here worthy of a book. The story of the crime, which is told fairly well here...and the story of early filmmaking, which feels like padding in its context in AMERICAN LIGHTNING. If the portions of the book about Griffith were simply cut...this would not have been a book-length piece. But I would have argued for no Griffith, but more background on Burns and Darrow. We're only told a little bit about how they each arrived at the place they are when the book starts. I think a few pages more devoted to each man would have sufficed to strengthen and lengthen the book. Griffith could easily be made the subject of a book all on his own (and no doubt has been many time).

Blum is not the best writer, either. His work is not clumsy or incompetent...but for most of the book, I felt as though I were reading something that was really written for a Junior High audience. A "grown-up" book for youth. While I didn't quite feel "talked down" to...I also didn't feel challenged or enlightened by the prose. It was a solid, interesting story told in a solid, workmanlike manner. I believe it could have been much, much more.

I will recommend the book, but not heartily. The history to be learned here is interesting and worthwhile. But unlike the Larson books I cite above, you won't read it avidly like you would a brilliant novel either.

In American Lightning, Blum does more than retell the story of the LA Times bombing. He weaves a complex narrative that centers on three principals: Clarence Darrow, the McNamara brothers' reluctant advocate, Billy Burns, the "American Sherlock Holmes" who spearheaded the investigation into the bombing, and D. W. Griffith, who was at the time a budding film-maker in the midst of inventing much of modern cinematography.

Though the three men only come together literally for a brief moment, Blum masterfully ties each together-each man was, in his own way, profoundly changed by the trial. Darrow nearly saw his career end in shame, Burns solved the case only to be denigrated as a lackey for LA money, and Griffith was inspired to "think big," thus putting him on the path of filming Birth of a Nation.

The story of the bombing itself, while well known to historians, is likely to be new to the average reader, and Blum does a great job of telling the story, putting the reader next to Burns as he tries desperately to stop a rising wave of terror. It's certainly a story that's told differently in the post 9/11 world, and it is not without its relevance to us today.

American Lightning is a quick read-most of the 45 chapters are short, and the book breezes along. It doesn't hurt that Blum is an engaging writer and that he's unraveling one of the 20th century's most infamous mysteries. It's a rare author that can make a genuine page-turned out of Progressive-era labor politics, Los Angeles municipal scheming, and the details of silent movie production, but Blum does just that, and then some.

Blum knows that many of his themes-a war on terror, the budding of a new media in California, and land speculation and corruption-will have a special resonance for today's readers, but he doesn't overplay his hand and does an admirable job of letting the reader think for him (her)self. There's certainly a great deal of food for thought here.

For those interested in a detailed dissection of the Times bombing trial, or Burns' career, or Griffith's film-making, something by a specialist might be a better choice. But if you just want to read a great story that has real relevance today, you can't go wrong with American Lightning.

OK, this was a fun yarn, but can someone please explain to me why DW Griffith deserves more than a handful of pages in this book? He has next to nothing to do with the overwhelming majority of the story. The same applies to Clarence Darrow, at least until the point where the trial preparations begin. Darrow could have been handled in perhaps 4-5 pages of background treatment, but instead we get what appeared to be dozens of pages about Darrow's trials & travails leading up to the trial.

Echoing another reviewer, I found Blum's continual reference to "Billy" to be extremely annoying after awhile. Additionally, Blum's tendency to tell us what the major characters were thinking --- all the while providing absolutely nothing in the way of documentation --- makes me wonder if he was conjuring significant portions of this story out of thin air, simply for dramatic effect.

Blum's citations, if you can even call them that, are laughable. As a history, it is next to worthless. Consider it a thriller, fictional or otherwise, and leave it at that.