I must say, it is always a pleasure to be interviewed by Terry Gross of NPR’s “Fresh Air.” Frankly, she may at this point know as much about my new book–In the Garden of Beasts–as I do. Gad, maybe more! She asks the smartest things, and doesn’t let you off the hook with puffball questions. . . .
Read MoreNext week my new book, In the Garden of Beasts, will reach bookstores at last–and, to those who pre-ordered e-copies of the book, it will be flashed digitally (and, frankly, rather miraculously) to Kindles and Nooks and iPads all over the place. I like to imagine a guy on the Long Island Railroad on his way to . . .
Read MoreAs the launch date for my new book nears, I continue to look for signs as to how it will be received. The latest sign: USA Today just chose the book as one of its top ten to watch for in May. I was also pleased to learn earlier this week that Amazon named it . . .
Read MoreOkay, so at the moment I’m a little hard up for news. But, the first hardcover copies of In the Garden of Beasts did arrive at my house–though the book won’t go on sale until May 10–and much to my delight it looks great. I keep wiping fingerprints off the cover, which is the kind . . .
Read MoreThe Latest Advance Reviews: “Excellent….suspenseful, [has] the feel of a John le Carré novel.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A brilliant and often infuriating account of the experiences and evolving attitudes of the Dodd family during Hitler’s critical first year in power. With the benefit of hindsight, of course, the Dodds seem almost criminally ignorant, but . . .
Read MoreOkay, call me neurotic. It’s a badge I wear proudly. So, for the record, mesmerize means “to subject to mesmerism,” or to “spellbind” or “fascinate.” And mesmerism means–oh, wait, I like this even better–“hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism.” To see the review, go to: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-307-40884-6 Alternately, skip this page entirely, shut off your . . .
Read MoreRecently I signed up to join GoodReads.com. I have to say–and nobody’s paying me a penny to say it–I find the site really rather satisfying and, as an author, deeply reassuring, because it puts the lie to statements by doomsayers that THE BOOK IS DEAD. Members list their favorite books and reveal what they’re reading . . .
Read MoreI’m delighted to announce that I’ve been chosen to be May’s “Man of the Moment” at Allthingsgirl.com, which tickles me no end–it’s one more of those positive little signs that a writer needs as the launch of his book approaches. (For more on this particular neurosis, please see my new blog post, On the Roller . . .
Read MoreAs many of you know, I, Erik Larson, was unable to acquire my own name for my website, because some unnamed soul bought the domain and ‘parked’ it, obviously hoping that one day I would want to buy it back. Since then my domain has changed hands a number of times in the great domain-marketing . . .
Read MoreI’m happy to report that “Read it Forward,” a site many of you book-lovers know well, has decided to offer yours truly as a prize, something my three daughters and my wife find hard to believe. Here’s the plan: First, ten winners will be selected, whose book groups will receive up to ten pre-publication galleys of . . .
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