About a week and a half ago I finished 'Thunderstruck' by Erik Larson. It's the story of Marconi's invention of radio telegraphy and a story about the "murder of the century" right around 1900. The book is well written and it is an interesting look at how science was done at the end of the Victorian age - nobody knew enough about how electromagnetism worked to have any real theoretical basis for Marconi's work! He basically guessed how he thought it should work and then kept trying until he got the result he was looking for. The book implies that he didn't consider the idea of polarization until long after the episodes portrayed. This is like someone figuring out how to build a bridge without really understanding physics - sure you can do it, but it's also a bit of a surprise when it works.
There was also some frame story about a murder, designed to show off how telegraphy - particularly at sea - changed how criminals were pursued and caught. While this is true, I thought the parts about Marconi were much more interesting and better written. I found myself slogging through the murder mystery parts.
Interesting book about an interesting time. There are probably better biographies of Marconi, but if you are looking for something to evoke the end of the Victorian era, this is a good atmospheric look at two important events of the time.
