LEADER 03652pam 2200217 a 4500
001 891904
005 20181210092822.0
008 181226s2018 nyuabf g b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2017278928
020 $a9780062445513 (hbk.) :$cNT$1015
040 $aTWTNM$beng$dTWTNM
082 04$a974.877$222
097 00$aF159.J7$bR65 2018
100 1 $aRoker, Al,$d1954-$eauthor.
245 10$aRuthless tide :$bthe heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing gilded age disaster /$cAl Roker.
246 30$aHeroes and villains of the Johnstown flood.
250 $aFirst edition.
260 $aNew York, NY :$bWilliam Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers,$c[2018].
300 $avi, 305 p., 8 unnumbered p. of plates :$bill., map ;$c24 cm.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 285-292) and index.
505 0 $aPrologue: "Mr. Quinn is too fearful" -- Part I: Members and nonmembers. Up on the mountain ; Down in the valley ; How to make a lake ; "No danger from our enterprise" ; Rain -- Part II: When the dam broke. Tap-tap-tap ; A monster unchained ; Cauldron ; The night of the Johnstown Flood ; Alone in the world -- Part III: Justice and charity. Some convulsion ; Poor, lone woman ; Frozen with fear ; Strict liability -- Epilogue: Song and story.
520 $aPresents a narrative history of the 1889 Johnstown Flood to chronicle key events, the damage that rendered the flood one of America's worst disasters, and the pivotal contributions of key figures, from dam engineer John Parke to American Red Cross founder Clara Barton.
520 $a"A gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Flood--the deadliest flood in U.S. history--from NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker. Central Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889: After a deluge of rain--nearly a foot in less than twenty-four hours--swelled the Little Conemaugh River, panicked engineers watched helplessly as swiftly rising waters threatened to breach the South Fork dam, built to create a private lake for a fishing and hunting club that counted among its members Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Carnegie. Though the engineers telegraphed neighboring towns on this last morning in May warning of the impending danger, residents--factory workers and their families--remained in their homes, having grown used to false alarms. At 3:10 P.M., the dam gave way, releasing 20 million tons of water. Gathering speed as it flowed southwest, the deluge wiped out nearly everything in its path and picked up debris--trees, houses, animals--before reaching Johnstown, a vibrant steel town fourteen miles downstream. Traveling 40 miles an hour, with swells as high as 60 feet, the deadly floodwaters razed the mill town--home to 20,000 people--in minutes. The Great Flood, as it would come to be called, remains the deadliest in US history, killing more than 2,200 people and causing $17 million in damage. In Ruthless Tide, Al Roker follows an unforgettable cast of characters whose fates converged because of that tragic day, including John Parke, the engineer whose heroic efforts failed to save the dam; the robber barons whose fancy sport fishing resort was responsible for modifications that weakened the dam; and Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, who spent five months in Johnstown leading one of the first organized disaster relief efforts in the United States. Weaving together their stories and those of many ordinary citizens whose lives were forever altered by the event, Ruthless Tide is testament to the power of the human spirit in times of tragedy and also a timely warning about the dangers of greed, inequality, neglected infrastructure, and the ferocious, uncontrollable power of nature."--Jacket.
650 0$aFloods$zPennsylvania$zJohnstown (Cambria County)$xHistory$y19th century.
650 1$aFloods$zPennsylvania$zJohnstown (Cambria County)$xHistory$y19th century. NY, PA)$2bisacsh.
651 0$aJohnstown (Cambria County, Pa.)$xHistory$y19th century.