| Johnstown Flood | Hardcoverby David McCullough (Author)
| List Price: | $32.50 | | Price: | $26.00 | | You Save: | $6.50 (20%) | | | Available: | Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item. |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Peter Smith Publisher | | Publication Date: | June 01, 1987 | | Sales Rank: | 63,048rd |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
David McCullough is known to millions as the author of the critically acclaimed, best-selling books The Great Bridge, The Path Between the Seas, and Mornings on Horseback, and as host of the popular PBS television series "Smithsonian World?' The Johnstown Flood, David McCullough's first book, was praised by Time magazine as a "meticulously researched, vivid account of one of the most stunning disasters in U.S. history." At the end of the last century, Johnstown,.Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hard-working 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 townspeople. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal. From research in the voluminous records, diaries, letters, interviews with numbers of survivors, and a rare, previously unknown transcript of a private investigation conducted by the Pennsylvania Railroad, David McCullough vividly re-creates the chain of events that led to the catastrophe, and then unfolds the incredible story of the flood itself and its aftermath. 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 19th-century America, of overweening confidence, energy, and 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. |
Amazon.com Review
The history of civil engineering may sound boring, but in David McCullough's hands it is, well, riveting. His award-winning histories of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal were preceded by this account of the disastrous dam failure that drowned Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889. Written while the last survivors of the flood were still alive, McCullough's narrative weaves the stories of the town, the wealthy men who owned the dam, and the forces of nature into a seamless whole. His account is unforgettable: "The wave kept on coming straight toward him, heading for the very heart of the city. Stores, houses, trees, everything was going down in front of it, and the closer it came, the bigger it seemed to grow.... The height of the wall of water was at least thirty-six feet at the center.... The drowning and devastation of the city took just about ten minutes." A powerful, definitive book, and a tribute to the thousands who died in America's worst inland flood. --Mary Ellen Curtin |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 97 reviews)
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Once again, history comes to life by A. Armstrong (Eagle, Mountain, UT United States)  5 Stars
November 18, 2009
A little known event (at least to me) in a little known place (at least to me) that happened well over 100 years ago...who would have thought that it could be the basis for a very fascinating and riveting story.
Being somewhat of a history buff, especially of 19th century United States, I was drawn to this book of course by it's famous author.
The story reads very well, eyewitness accounts can only begin to describe the horrible event that took place at that time. It can be disputed whether this could really be called a natural disaster as one chapter is aptly named "our misery is the work of man" , but having seen today the devestating effects that water can have when uncontrolled (Hurricanes, Tsunamis) makes you appreciate living on higher ground!
A very good book - highly recommended to others.
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Johnstown Flood by Isabell Stringham (Salt Lake City, UT USA) 5 Stars
November 04, 2009
I was hooked the first page. It took awhile to realize the author was giving a lot of background so that by the time the actually flood happened the reader was invested in the area. McCullough did a great job on this one. Fascinating book!
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And the wheel goes round by bhr (Bryn Mawr, PA USA)  4 Stars
August 05, 2009
The Johnstown flood is one of the worst 3 disasters on American soil. Topped only by sept 11 and the galveston flood of 1900, the Johnstown flood killed thousands, did humungous property damage, and showed the differences betwixt rich and poor.
I learned so much history from this book. Being from PA, I cannot believe I never really even knew about this, except we still pay a tax on liquor because of this tragedy. But the way Mr. McCullogh told the back story, the story of the devestation, and the after effects... it was informative and gripping.
There were parts of the story that were rather hard to pace. Also, there were so many characters introduced that when their final fates were told in the end, it was in some cases hard to place them. But over all, I really enjoyed this book.
(*)>
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William, decendant of a survivor by William P. Tross (Brightwood, VA United States) 5 Stars
June 17, 2009
I actually listened to the audiobook of this. It was enthralling. I am the decendent of a survivor of the Johnstown Flood. My great grandfather's brother's entire family perished in the flood. They lived in Woodvale which was in the direct path of the flood. Only bedrock remained after the waters rushed through. My great uncle, his wife and seven children all died. Their names are on the wall at the Johnstown Flood Museum. I have studied my family history and learned my family had a reunion the day before. The next day was the flood and my great grandfather would never see his brother and family again. David McCullough has allowed me to travel back in time, experience the fateful catestrophic flood as if I were there and mourn in a real way for ancestors lost before I was ever born. Thanks, what a great book!
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Better Than Fiction by Peggy Davis (Atlanta, GA) 5 Stars
April 14, 2009
David McCullough's account of the 1889 flood in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania area is more striking than any fiction. He informs the reader of how the reservoir came to be, the changes that occurred as the property changed hands, and various errors in judgment and forces of nature that led to the failure of the dam. Fascinatingly, he travels with the body of water down the mountain, describing how natural terrain changes the course and impact of the flood waters. The numerous personal stories that are interspersed along the way -- preceding, during, and after the flood -- make for simply amazing reading.
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