American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the CenturyIt was an explosion that reverberated across the countryand into the very heart of early twentieth century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned