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The Johnstown Flood - David McCullough
The Johnstown Flood
by: (author)
4.13 40
At the end of the last century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an... show more
At the end of the last century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal. Graced by David McCullough's remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.
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Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780671207144 (0671207148)
ASIN: 671207148
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages no: 304
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
TeaStitchRead
TeaStitchRead rated it
4.0 The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Another great read from historian David McCullough. I like his shorter works, as he is very detailed in his writings. There were a lot of people to keep track of and a lot of geographical area to cover (luckily there was a map in the front of the book). The pictures of the aftermath are amazing and ...
Chris' Fish Place
Chris' Fish Place rated it
4.0 Words fail
This is the disastrous that most cell phone bills still pay for (at least here in the US). McCullough’s history of the flood includes the disaster as well as enough pre and post story to make sense of the larger sense. It will make you cry and be amazed.
DeniseHC
DeniseHC rated it
4.0 The Johnstown Flood
Fascinating story, though it reads a bit like a history book. Good contrast to Isaac's Storm (by Erik Larsen), about the Galveston flood.
JasonKoivu
JasonKoivu rated it
4.0 The Johnstown Flood
"The Johnstown Flood (or Great Flood of 1889 as it became known locally) occurred on May 31, 1889. It was the result of the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam situated on the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, made worse by several d...
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