I've read three of his books now:

  • The Devil in the White City
    Thunderstruck
    In the Garden of Beasts


All are based on actual events and very well researched. I found them all fascinating.

The Devil in the White City was the first book of his I read and it's great. It's about the architect who designed the 1893 World's Fair and also the story of a serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Thunderstruck revolves around Marconi and the invention of wireless communication and, like White City, an unlikely murderer and the intersection of the two.

In the Garden of Beasts looks at the American ambassador and his family, sent to Berlin in 1933 before Hitler and the Nazi party began their rise to power. The book uses letters, diary entries from the Ambassador and his daughter, as well as others who either did not or would not see what was happening in those early years. This book really struck a nerve with me since my father was living in Berlin during this time, but rarely spoke about it to me.