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The Resource Ruthless tide : the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing Gilded Age disaster, Al Roker

Ruthless tide : the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing Gilded Age disaster, Al Roker

Creator
Author
Summary
"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
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
[viii], 305 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • Prologue: "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
Isbn
9780062445513
Instance
Label
Ruthless tide : the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing Gilded Age disaster
Title
Ruthless tide
Title remainder
the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing Gilded Age disaster
Statement of responsibility
Al Roker
Creator
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
"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
Biography type
contains biographical information
Cataloging source
FMG
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1954-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Roker, Al
Dewey number
974.8/77
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • portraits
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
F159.J7
LC item number
R65 2018
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Floods
  • Johnstown (Cambria County, Pa.)
Label
Ruthless tide : the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing Gilded Age disaster, Al Roker
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-292) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
  • cri
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: "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
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
[viii], 305 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780062445513
Lccn
bl2018045324
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, portraits, map
System control number
(OCoLC)on1035633167
Label
Ruthless tide : the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing Gilded Age disaster, Al Roker
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-292) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
  • cri
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: "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
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
[viii], 305 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780062445513
Lccn
bl2018045324
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, portraits, map
System control number
(OCoLC)on1035633167

Subject

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