In this masterpiece of narrative history, acclaimed author Howard Blum evokes the original "crime of the century" and an aftermath even more dramatic than the crime itself-a seminal episode in America's history that would spark national debate and draw into its orbit master sleuth William J. Burns, crusading lawyer Clarence Darrow, and industry-shaping filmmaker D. W. Griffith.

"Hugely engaging . . . has tremendous verve . . . American Lightning throws valuable new light on an episode that seems, for us today, particularly pertinent. Terrorism happened here." -Los Angeles Times

"A fast-moving, skillfully constructed account . . . Blum's style is cinematic." -Chicago Sun-Times

"Compelling . . . a tense detective story." -Seattle Times

"A thumping-good drumroll of narrative history . . . the cross-country manhunt reads like a great mystery novel . . . Blum blows the dust off a page of America's own incendiary past and brings it to pulsating life." -Dallas Morning News