Book Description
The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Timothy Egan's critically acclaimed account rescues this iconic chapter of American history from the shadows in a tour de force of historical reportage. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, Egan does equal justice to the human characters who become his heroes, "the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgency and respect" (New York Times). In an era that promises ever-greater natural disasters, "The Worst Hard Time" is "arguably the best nonfiction book yet" (Austin Statesman Journal) on the greatest environmental disaster ever to be visited upon our land and a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of trifling with nature.
Customer Reviews:
It's Good --- but is it National-Book-Award good?.......2007-10-16
I liked this book. For the most part.
It's an exciting account of an amazing and horrific time in the nation's history, and its descriptions of the dust storms as they came in over the prairies are absolutely terrifying--but I think it's far from the great book that it could have been.
The story, of course, is one of the great stories of American history, and will no doubt enthrall any readers unfamiliar with the 1930s Dust Bowl. But the book fails, I think, in bringing across the full scope of it all, focusing so intently on handful of towns and counties (and always forgetting to remind us what states these towns are in) that it feels like more like a gathering of a number of isolated occurrences. It also fails to provide all the facts that the story begs to contain. And it kind of peters off toward the end, as if the author just grew tired of the subject.
Is this a good book? Sure. I enjoyed it. But would I have given it the National Book Award? No. And is it the best book on the subject? No, again. I prefer the book "Dust Bowl," by Donald Worster, which I found to be much more thorough and vivid in its treatment of the subject.
Outstanding.......2007-10-10
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
This is an outstanding book! I had no idea how bad the Dust Bowl was. I was so impressed with the book that I bought a copy for each of my 3 siblings.
Unbelievable!.......2007-10-03
This book was fantastic. Although the majority of books I read are fiction, I'm not hesitant to read good non-fiction. This book was so well written that it reads like a taut novel. Along with Seabiscuit and The Devil in the White City, it is one of the best historical books I've read. Very well researched and thought out. You almost can't believe that this could have actually happened. You feel like you know the characters, and you certainly root for them even though you seemingly know how it will turn out. I would recommend this book to any avid reader - fiction or non-fiction.
Hopefully, we will learn from our past.......2007-10-02
This is an important event in US history that is so relevant today, supplying more fuel for both side of the ongoing debate on global warming.
I found it a bit difficult to stay connected to the characters. In spite of that, the story remained interesting, showing the plight and hardships endured by the generation before us, and bringing us an awareness of our fragile ecosystem.
Eye Opening and Hard to Put Down.......2007-09-25
A must read for history buffs and readers in general. Information places the midwest, its people, and past in an entirely different light of appreciation. (Absolutely Facinating)!
Book Description
Is it possible to rescue your career and restore your reputation after a major professional setback? In an age when we're bombarded with press accounts of disgraced CEOs, politicians, and celebrities, this question is more important than ever. In Firing Back, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward lay out a novel five-step recovery process: "Fight, not flight" (face the difficult situation), "Recruit others into battle" (enlist the right assistance), "Rebuild heroic stature" (spread the true nature of the adversity), "Prove your mettle" (regain trust and credibility), and "Rediscover the heroic mission" (clear the past and chart the future).
Anchored in original research and decades of scholarly studies across fields, this book is packed with engrossing stories and first-hand accounts from humbled CEOs and executives from firms as esteemed as GE, The Home Depot, Morgan Stanley, Apple, Staples, and Hewlett-Packard, Firing Back offers a clear plan for any businessperson who needs to recover from career setbacks and reclaim lost prestige and reputation. The authors also identify common barriers to recovery that even seasoned executives can fall prey to, and explain how to surmount them.
Customer Reviews:
Rx: give it to a young manager.......2007-09-21
A profound study of CEO career setbacks and comebacks. As we are all CEOs of our own lives, there is no one who wouldn't profit from a close read, and re-read, of this excellent volume, including the latest fallen, e.g Michael Vick, Alberto Gonzales, Don Imus, Dan Rather, etc.
Many great quotes, Eastern wisdom to Broadway, telling anecdotes and insightful studies contained herein, but more than just anecdotes, the authors lay out a five-step blueprint on making a comeback: 1) fight, don't flee, 2) recruit others to help, 3) rebuild heroic stature, 4) prove your mettle and 5) rediscover your heroic mission.
Highly recommended. Rx: give it to a young manager, may just save him/her tons of grief down the road. Review by John A. Sarkett, author, Extraordinary Comebacks.
Did An Editor Read This Book?.......2007-08-24
I'm about a third of the way through this book and have had to stop reading several times, in sheer amazement. Was an editor from Harvard Press involved in this publication at all? It's full of run-on sentences, missing words, typos, repetitions (sometimes within the same sentence) and just plain bad writing.
I've come to expect grammar and spelling mistakes in popular fiction, but these authors should know better -- they're university professors. This book is just astoundingly badly edited. The authors need to pull it off the market, have someone go through it who knows how to write, and issue a revised version. Their many good points are being lost in the debris of poor composition.
Adequate.......2007-04-15
I bought this from a magazine recommendation. The recommendation highlighted the telling of past business titans who had failed and how they rebounded. I assumed I would have chapters on each different story, a beginning, middle and end. Instead, this is more a business management book on the theoretical discussion of comebacks, why some work and some don't. The business biographies are there, but they are told in short staccato versions to prove a point and not fully explored. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I had hoped for. For others, this book will be perfect. But if you are looking for multiple business biographies as was I, this is not for you.
A deep understaning of CEOs as humans.......2007-03-08
Unfortunately, much of the literature on CEOs depicts them as either Gods , demons or idiots. I have worked with many CEOs and have found them to be human beings - just like the rest of us. Jeff Sonnenfeld is one of the few authors who has actually interacted with hundreds of CEOs. This book depicts the 'human drama' of success and failure at the top of the executive world. It also has lessons about defeat, courage and perserverence that we can all use. Lots of books talk about what we can learn from success stories - few talk about what we can learn when we fail. From my experince, most of of learning comes from our losses - not our victories. We will all face adversity. We will all fail. 'Firing Back' gives us some great ideas about how to make a comeback when that happens.
You get what is expected with minor detractors.......2007-02-21
Sonnefeld and Ward deliver a book who's title delivers exactly what you would expect; understanding failure, how to reconstruct, rebound and fire back. Though the first 2/3rd of the book great care is taken to acknowledge failure and the barriers faced in an organization on the path to recovery. These are the most poignant sections considering most people rarely see the true causes of mistakes and the barriers they face in correcting them. In the remaining 1/3rd the rebuilding of your heroic stature is approached.
This is a 4 star book on merit of its content though given a 3 star rating because of dueling writing styles among the two authors and overuse of underdeveloped examples making portions of the book an awkward read.
Book Description
The never-before-told story of one of the worst rail disasters in U.S. history in which two trains full of people, trapped high in the Cascade Mountains, are hit by a devastating avalanche
In February 1910, a monstrous blizzard centered on Washington State hit the Northwest, breaking records. The world stopped—but nowhere was the danger more terrifying than near a tiny town called Wellington, perched high in the Cascade Mountains, where a desperate situation evolved minute by minute: two trainloads of cold, hungry passengers and their crews found themselves marooned without escape, their railcars gradually being buried in the rising drifts. For days, an army of the Great Northern Railroad’s most dedicated men—led by the line’s legendarily courageous superintendent, James O’Neill—worked round-the-clock to rescue the trains. But the storm was unrelenting, and to the passenger’s great anxiety, the railcars—their only shelter—were parked precariously on the edge of a steep ravine. As the days passed, food and coal supplies dwindled. Panic and rage set in as snow accumulated deeper and deeper on the cliffs overhanging the trains. Finally, just when escape seemed possible, the unthinkable occurred: the earth shifted and a colossal avalanche tumbled from the high pinnacles, sweeping the trains and their sleeping passengers over the steep slope and down the mountainside.
Centered on the astonishing spectacle of our nation’s deadliest avalanche, The White Cascade is the masterfully told story of a supremely dramatic and never-before-documented American tragedy. An adventure saga filled with colorful and engaging history, this is epic narrative storytelling at its finest.
Customer Reviews:
Great historical perspective of a forgotten catastrophe..........2007-06-25
Don't know why I was prompted to pick this book up...my husband is in a search and rescue group, so that was partly the reason. I read the info given on the back of the book, and having grown up in Northern CA and being a voracious reader, I thought I should have heard about this one transportation disaster. My father was born up in Washington, but somehow this one has faded from national consciousness.
What really struck me about this book is the straightforward writing of the author, Krist. He doesn't sensationalize, as some other books on disasters tend to do. He is honest and reflective, gives the reader all the information on both sides, and lets them draw their own conclusion. I especially enjoyed the information about the court trials and the aftermaths. We can dislike the typical corporate image that continues to run big companies (only now they are the pharmaceuticals who could care less...), but we also recognize that the men who dealt at the closest part of the railway with this disaster most probably did as good a job that could have been done. Unlike the Titanic, where there were some very dismaying behavior by many who were at the helm of the boat and the company, most of the rail workers, especially the superintendant who oversaw the whole week of work around this avalanche were hardworking and gallant, who did make a few mistakes but nothing overt.
By showing us how the courts handled this particular case, plus the information that came from the newspapers that did sensationalize this happening, Krist lets us see why we have come full circle to another place that if this case were tried today, it would have ended very differently for the company. Krist makes a good case for why the ending verdict was probably right (but probably would not have been reached in this era of lawsuits we are currently in). However, he also points out the impact that this case and other transportation disasters of that time had on labor and safety laws in this country. He draws a good diagram for the reader for why this trainwreck led to our current safety requirements and the change in attitudes of people towards corporations that were in control during that time period. Now we need to turn our eyes to the corporations that are currently out of control in ours...perhaps Krist would like to take some of them on?
Karen Sadler
A good story told well.......2007-05-13
This is non-fiction at its finest. As the story unfolds, you almost wish you could get a warning to the poor passengers whose fate is all but inevitable. The author expertly weaves together the series of events that led to the disaster, providing insight into the decisions that were made from those in charge. As the snow continues to fall, adding layer on top of layer, the many characters in this story slowly become individuals with whom you can sympathize.
The story takes place in 1910 at the peak of the railroad era. The automobile and airplane are introduced as only bit players. All of the background information is perfectly balanced with the drama that unfolds atop the mountain.
There is no single mistake that led to the accident, but Superintendent James O'Neil is guilty of two mistakes that might have made a difference: His refusal to meet with the passengers and his refusal to negotiate with the laborers involved in snow removal.
This is a fast read made even more so by the author's clever use of cliff-hanging chapter endings. I highly recommend the book.
The White Cascade and our genealogy library.......2007-05-13
I ordered this book at the request of one of our genealogy society members. It came soon after I ordered it and I have not had time to read it myself because some of our patrons are waiting to read it. The woman who requested that I order it said it was the best of any of the books ever written about that disaster. We have several other books about the disaster as it happened in our area but it appears this one is the very best as it has been well researched and is well written, keeping the reader's interest to the very end. It is particularly interesting to genealogists searching this area.
A Wonderful book.......2007-05-07
This book had if all and I have purchased several as gifts. I wish it could have gone on forever. I learded more about the West, Ameican econimy what life was like back then, values and morays of the time and of course the history of the railroads. It was all brilliantly woven togther with the stories of the people involved. It was never dull very easy to read yet covered some very complex issues. It got you totally involved and it was as if you where there experiencing the cold, the danger, nature and the wonder of how it would all end.
White Cascade.......2007-04-12
Great insight into the thinking of the man responsible for keeping this train route open through incredibility bad winter snow conditions. Lots of insight on how the railroads operated back then. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this exciting account of the railway disaster.
Amazon.com
Bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley, a professor at Tulane University, lived through the destruction of Hurricane Katrina with his fellow New Orleans residents, and now in The Great Deluge he has written one of the first complete accounts of that harrowing week, which sorts out the bewildering events of the storm and its aftermath, telling the stories of unsung heroes and incompetent officials alike. Get a sample of his story--and clarify your own memories--by looking through the detailed timeline he has put together of the preparation, the hurricane, and the response to one of the worst disasters in American history.
Book Description
In the span of five violent hours on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed major Gulf Coast cities and flattened 150 miles of coastline. Yet those wind-torn hours represented only the first stage of the relentless triple tragedy that Katrina brought to the entire Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama.
First came the hurricane, one of the three strongest ever to make landfall in the United States -- 150-mile-per-hour winds, with gusts measuring more than 180 miles per hour ripping buildings to pieces.
Second, the storm-surge flooding, which submerged a half million homes, creating the largest domestic refugee crisis since the Civil War. Eighty percent of New Orleans was under water, as debris and sewage coursed through the streets, and whole towns in south-eastern Louisiana ceased to exist.
And third, the human tragedy of government mis-management, which proved as cruel as the natural disaster itself. Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, implemented an evacuation plan that favored the rich and healthy. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana, dithered in the most important aspect of her job: providing leadership in a time of fear and confusion. Michael C. Brown, the FEMA director, seemed more concerned with his sartorial splendor than the specter of death and horror that was taking New Orleans into its grip.
In The Great Deluge, bestselling author Douglas Brinkley, a New Orleans resident and professor of history at Tulane University, rips the story of Katrina apart and relates what the Category 3 hurricane was like from every point of view. The book finds the true heroes -- such as Coast Guard officer Jimmy Duckworth and hurricane jock Tony Zumbado.
Throughout the book, Brinkley lets the Katrina survivors tell their own stories, masterly allowing them to record the nightmare that was Katrina. The Great Deluge investigates the failure of government at every level and breaks important new stories. Packed with interviews and original research, it traces the character flaws, inexperience, and ulterior motives that allowed the Katrina disaster to devastate the Gulf Coast.
Customer Reviews:
A deeply flawed book.......2007-10-07
The first large recap of the disaster, published six months after the storm by the well known Tulane historian. A deeply flawed book, due to factual errors and the author's blatant political pronouncements. Brinkley's science is wrong, and he misrepresents what happened at locations other than the Superdome and Convention Center, such as Tulane Hospital and the Aquarium of the Americas. Brinkley supported Lt. Governor Landrieu against Mayor Nagin in the New Orleans mayoral race in the spring of 2006, and it colors his writing. Brinkley has nothing good to say about President Bush, FEMA, or Mayor Nagin, yet he paints Governor Blanco (who cooperated with the book) in the most flattering light possible. Worse, he gives the news media a pass over their horrendous coverage.
Still, the book is worth reading (with a huge grain of salt) because of the extensive timeline offered and the stories of the people affected. His recounting of the heroic efforts of the US Coast Guard and the LA Wildlife & Fisheries personnel is worth the price of the book. Read it until a better one comes out.
An Excellent Read and Reminder . . ........2007-10-02
Highly recommended! I don't read many contemporary history/current events books because they are just too depressing (as in yeah, the other side is in charge and screwing everything up - I know that already!), these books are rarely `fair and balanced' these days, and I do read two newspapers and use other sources to keep up to date.
This book definitely meets the fair and balanced standard, and Brinkley has written a fascinating page-turner to boot. Pretty much everybody but the Coast Guard is a target for `biggest idiot in charge', with Mayor Nagin and also the NOPD taking perhaps the biggest hits (although Bush, Chertoff, Brown and Blanco all take well-deserved broadsides too - oh, and the Red Cross too). NO gets most of the coverage because of the floods, but Miss. and Alabama get a decent amount of print.
A fascinating read, and a great reminder to those of us who live in disaster-prone areas of what kind of help to expect when the big one hits your area. I have a few things to add to my disaster recovery stash . . .
Great Detailed & Compassionate Book.......2007-09-28
I lived thtough Katrina and this is the first book that has told the story in the most detailed & compassionate way.
A grim picture of America at it's worst.......2007-09-22
Deluge is the real deal. A true and unbiased view of the New Orleans situation. It paints government from local police to FEMA in Washington as vastly incapable of the jobs citizens believe someone will do. Since you need to pass a test to drive a motorcycle or sell insurance, shouldn't there be a test to show ability in serving as mayor, governor, president, or the head of a "relief" agency? If Katrina was the test - they all failed.
Magnus Opus account of Hurricane Katrina.......2007-09-03
This is a well written account of the dwellings in New Orleans, Hurricane's and with a few tragic personal stories before during and after the accounts of Hurricane Katrina. The author is a native of O'rleans as you will read about Tragic loss and heroism in the State of Louisiana and Miss.
Did you know that the Mayor of New Orleans was an actor? Did you know that he was holed up in the 27th floor of the Hyatt Regency before the storm while he didn't issue a "MADADORY evacuation" until 18 hours before the storm hit because he needed to consult his attorneys in fear of being sued by the restaurant and bar industry?
Did you also know that New Orleans had, when Mayor Nagin took over,a crime rate over 10 times the national average coming in at 2nd in the Nation. The poor people in the state were simply brushed under the rug and an embarrasment to this flashy Mayor.
Once you finish The Great Deluge, you will come away with an awesome understanding of not only a facsinating account of what happened before and after Hurricane Katrina but an in-depth and detailed account of how the city of New Orleans was/is run and the Leaders (crooks) who run it.
You will feel alot smarter than that you did before reading it. Buy the Hardcover...worth every penny
Book Description
This spellbinding narrative, focusing on the extraordinary human drama that unfolded as an unlikely alignment of meteorological conditions conspired to bring a deadly tropical cyclone to the Northeast in the summer of 1938, summons back the most ferocious storm ever to hit the East Coast. It was a natural disaster so intense that it indelibly marked not only the lives of families across seven states but also the land itself, requiring the entire coastline map of New England to be redrawn.
Customer Reviews:
Great book/ Great service.......2007-08-24
The order arrived one day ahead of schedule in good shape and has been a joy to read.
Enlightning.......2007-05-12
I WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 1938 IN RHODE ISLAND AND HAVE HEARD SO MANY STORIES ABOUT THIS HURRICANE. WHEN I READ AN EXCERPT FROM THIS BOOK, I KNEW I HAD TO READ IT. DETAILS OF PEOPLE AND PLACES PUTS YOU RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE STORM AND IT'S DESTRUCTION. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN WEATHER,FAMILY DYNAMICS,HISTORICALLY CORRECT READING. I HAVE RECOMMENED THIS BOOK TO MANY OF MY FRIENDS AND HAVE SINCED PURCHASED COPIES AS GIFTS.
not as good as isaac's storm.......2007-01-26
This book is a good read for the stories of the survivors of the 1938 hurricane. As Marjorie Stoneman Douglas wrote in her book on hurricanes, "there is only one story, that of the survivor." This book collects those tales and weaves them into narrative of the day the storm hit.
Scotti follows the same format use by Erik Larson in Isaac's Storm. This format intersperses survivors' tales-- they're going on in their everyday lives, unaware of the great storm about to hit-- with explanations of the science of the hurricanes, with a description of some of the theory and the development of that theory. I found that Larson's grasp and explanation of the science of hurricanes was better; his bibliogrpahy reveals a more thorough exploration of the meteorology. Scotti seemed to play a little fast and loose with the science.
Still, for a good tale of disaster and survival her narrative is competent. It succeeds as dramatic memorial to the local way of life and the people who died or worse, saw their children die. Ms scotti obviously has a deep attachment to the area and its people. The book could also be useful as a cautionary tale to those living in the northeast who think hurricanes are a Florida phenomenon; but Scotti perhaps does these same residents a disservice by not pointing out that although the 1938 storm was unusual in its forward speed and intensity, a hurricane striking that far north is not freakish and is indeed, in 2007 (or even 2003), well overdue.
This is a decent book, but I would recommend Isaac's Storm as being better.
Fantastic read.......2007-01-16
As a life-long resident of New England and more recently of Westerly, RI, I was fascinated by the story of this hurricane. I applaud Ms. Scotti's writing and her ability to pull you into the stories of this great storm and rivet you to your seat. I found this to be a very fast read just because of the fluidity and tempo of her writing and the fascinating details.
Read and enjoy and marvel at the wonder that is Mother Nature.
A Truly Wonderful Historical Narrative .......2007-01-12
When you think of hurricanes you tend to think of the Caribbean or the Coastal South, not New England but in 1938 a killer hurricane of massive proportions hit an unprepared New England and changed both the geography and people of that region forever. The first question that comes to mind of course concerns what a hurricane was doing that far north in the first place. New England is certainly not immune from storms but most hurricanes strike the South, swerve back out to sea or weaken greatly before they get that far north. This one not only made it to New England but it retained its power and probably slammed parts of the coast with 200 mph winds. Without answering this question the author certainly could not tell this story in a credible way so this is one of the first things that she sets out to do and she does it very well indeed. Not only does she explain the several weather oddities that had to come together for this disaster to happen, she does so in a manner that anyone who has even the most passing acquaintance with weather terminology can understand. She also handles the story of how the weather bureau lost the storm and therefore provided no warnings to the people who were about to face the full fury of nature with a deftness that allows the reader to understand what happened and why.
Once the reader is sufficiently girded with the basic knowledge needed to grasp the situation at hand the author proceeds to weave in the story of the people who were in the great storm's crosshairs. She does this in such a masterful way that if you weren't aware that you were reading history you would be convinced that you were in the midst of a great novel. As the storm approaches we meet family after family who are just going about their daily routine with no knowledge of what's to come. We meet young sweethearts walking on the beach and families having little parties for their children. We meet the rich and famous residents of the area and recent immigrants who can't even speak English. These people have little in common except for being in close geographic proximity to one another but they are all about to have much in common for Mother Nature is no respecter of wealth or power and has no pity on the poor.
Once the storm hits Scotti paints a brilliant picture of the disaster in progress. Her words are so beautifully descriptive that the reader will almost be able to hear the wind and feel the surging sea. The eyewitness accounts that she relies on describe in vivid detail the destruction of buildings and the struggles of those caught in the storm's fury. Best of all, she conveys the emotion of the moment as she describes tragedy after tragedy and conveys a feeling for the victims that historical writers seldom achieve. Through Scotti's words the reader will almost be moved to tears as a father watches helplessly as his children are swept away and will also feel the fear that gripped those who were just holding on for dear life.
As is always the case, this storm passes but with its passing it leaves in its wake a scene of destruction and death seldom seen in America. Again Scotti rises to the challenge of describing the aftermath of the storm, both in the short term and in the long term and she explains how many of those long-term effects are still being felt today. Unfortunately, many New Englanders have forgotten about this storm even though its effects have probably touched their lives. Maybe this book, this excellent book, will remind the people of Coastal New England of just what can happen when all of the pieces of the weather puzzle fall snugly into place.
Book Description
Hurricane Katrina shredded one of the great cities of the South, and as levees failed and the federal relief effort proved lethally incompetent, a natural disaster became a man-made catastrophe. As an editor of New Orleans’ daily newspaper, the Pulitzer Prize—winning Times-Picayune, Jed Horne has had a front-row seat to the unfolding drama of the city’s collapse into chaos and its continuing struggle to survive.
As the Big One bore down, New Orleanians rich and poor, black and white, lurched from giddy revelry to mandatory evacuation. The thousands who couldn’t or wouldn’t leave initially congratulated themselves on once again riding out the storm. But then the unimaginable happened: Within a day 80 percent of the city was under water. The rising tides chased horrified men and women into snake-filled attics and onto the roofs of their houses. Heroes in swamp boats and helicopters braved wind and storm surge to bring survivors to dry ground. Mansions and shacks alike were swept away, and then a tidal wave of lawlessness inundated the Big Easy. Screams and gunshots echoed through the blacked-out Superdome. Police threw away their badges and joined in the looting. Corpses drifted in the streets for days, and buildings marinated for weeks in a witches’ brew of toxic chemicals that, when the floodwaters finally were pumped out, had turned vast reaches of the city into a ghost town.
Horne takes readers into the private worlds and inner thoughts of storm victims from all walks of life to weave a tapestry as intricate and vivid as the city itself. Politicians, thieves, nurses, urban visionaries, grieving mothers, entrepreneurs with an eye for quick profit at public expense–all of these lives collide in a chronicle that is harrowing, angry, and often slyly ironic.
Even before stranded survivors had been plucked from their roofs, government officials embarked on a vicious blame game that further snarled the relief operation and bedeviled scientists striving to understand the massive levee failures and build New Orleans a foolproof flood defense. As Horne makes clear, this shameless politicization set the tone for the ongoing reconstruction effort, which has been haunted by racial and class tensions from the start.
Katrina was a catastrophe deeply rooted in the politics and culture of the city that care forgot and of a nation that forgot to care. In Breach of Faith, Jed Horne has created a spellbinding epic of one of the worst disasters of our time.
Customer Reviews:
book- never received.......2007-10-01
I have still yet to receive the book I ordered. The shipper e-mailed me he had the wrong address??? How is that possible? Now he has correct address and claims he shipped it. I still do not have it. I will not be purchasing from Amazon again.
Clearer Perspective on a True Life Experience.......2007-09-24
This is an excellent account of the author's take on this nation's worst catastrophe which my state continues to try and rebuild from to date. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book...your perspective is right on the mark and the lives you detail are remarkable to say the least.
As someone who lost their home during Katrina here in Baton Rouge, but not her two children, two dogs, mother, or her own life, we give thanks daily to God first, and then our many family members, friends, and the generosity of complete strangers for their love, assistance, and kindness in our time of greatest sorrow. We have garnered the strength to go forward even stronger and more blessed than before, and we pray for all the thousands still struggling to rebuild their lives.
Thank you for insight that will bring so much to others when they read your book.
Clarity at a Cost.......2007-09-12
As a displaced resident of lower Plaquemines Parish and a guardsman mobilized for aid, I have seen and heard a lot about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. This book was great to finally put to rest so many rumors (some of which I believed two years later) and bring light to facts that were buried under sensationalism. The only problem I had with this book is that it jumps around too much. However, with the wealth of information and the thousands of people involved the author did an outstanding job tying as much as he could together, but there were just some frayed ends.
Inside View.......2007-08-12
I can't add much to the editorial review that appears on the product page, except to say that in many ways I'm glad that Horne used the balance of head and gut that he did in recounting the damage and aftermath of Katrina. The stories of the survivors are so gripping--sewage, snakes, stinging mosquitos, searing heat while waiting to be rescued followed by squalid conditions at the various collection sites--the Superdome, the Convention Center and a variety of road overpasses--then the gruesome cleanup stories (the exploding hamburger story is guaranteed to make anyone's stomach flip). Had the accounts been any more personal, I couldn't have finished the book. But this is coming from someone who experienced the storm just 75 miles up the road in Baton Rouge, where the story was already personal enough. Our suffering was very limited--some hours without electricity; days without cable TV; working around and with the thousands of evacuees, but we know how profoundly the storm and flood have affected Louisiana in general and the New Orleans metro area in particular.
I salute the doughty Picayune for publishing throughout and Horne for publishing such a thorough account just a year after the disaster. I also thank Horne for presenting a more comprehensive picture of Louisiana Governor Blanco's actions during and after the storm. The reputation of this dedicated and experienced public servant took a heavy hit from the storm, enough so to discourage her from running for a second term. Horne reveals that in the context of the event and the politics surrounding Washington's response, Blanco probably did about as well as anyone could, and better than many other political figures managing the response to the storm.
Horne also adds some structure to the story of the chaotic "planning process" (or lack thereof) that's taken place in New Orleans since the storm. This process goes on to this day as people and businesses make decisions about whether or not to return.
As fellow Louisianans, we do our best to support the recovery of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina and the resultant flooding. Horne has helped us in that effort with his thorough and thoughtful account of the tragic events.
Quality journalistic effort.......2007-06-17
This book is a very good read. It tells the story of Katrina from many different perspectives and the author seems to present each view fairly. I live in Baton Rouge, and I have friends who lived in New Orleans and have left the city since. I feel the book is an accurate portryal of Katrina and how it affected the great city of New Orleans.
Amazon.com
When Mother Nature rages, the physical results are never subtle. Because we cannot contain the weather, we can only react by tabulating the damage in dollar amounts, estimating the number of people left homeless, and laying the plans for rebuilding. But as John M. Barry expertly details in Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, some calamities transform much more than the landscape.
While tracing the history of the nation's most destructive natural disaster, Barry explains how ineptitude and greed helped cause the flood, and how the policies created to deal with the disaster changed the culture of the Mississippi Delta. Existing racial rifts expanded, helping to launch Herbert Hoover into the White House and shifting the political alliances of many blacks in the process. An absorbing account of a little-known, yet monumental event in American history, Rising Tide reveals how human behavior proved more destructive than the swollen river itself.
Book Description
An American epic of science, politics, race, honor, high society, and the Mississippi River, Rising Tide tells the riveting and nearly forgotten story of the greatest natural disaster this country has ever known -- the Mississippi flood of 1927. The river inundated the homes of nearly one million people, helped elect Huey Long governor and made Herbert Hoover president, drove hundreds of thousands of blacks north, and transformed American society and politics forever.
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the Lillian Smith Award.
Customer Reviews:
History repeats itself........2007-08-20
I happened to read this book when I was home from work waiting for Hurricane Katrina to make landfall (I live in Baton Rouge, 80 miles North of New Orleans). It was an ironic that I read this book that day. I had no idea of the book's relevance to that day's events. John Barry documents the events and reasons leading up to the great flood of 1927 in incredible detail. Being from South Louisiana, I knew a little about the flood, but most of what I thought I knew was not correct. The facts of what the US Corp of Engineers did or did not do is readily available from a number of sources. The Corp of Engineer's competence or incompetence is subject to debate (Well, It was subject to debate until August 29, 2005). The real revelations as far as I am concerned are the cultural and economic factors that Barry weaves into an enlightening book. It shows how the powers that ruled New Orleans (Canal Bank, Whitney Bank, Hibernia Bank and the Times Picayune Newspaper) deceived and lied to maintain their power and riches at everyone else's expense. St Bernard Parish (County to most of you) was sacrificed by bombing the levee system below New Orleans to take the pressure off of the New Orleans levees (as it turns out, unnecessarily). The amazing part of the book is the "how it changed America" part. From the creation of the Federal based welfare system, Herbert Hoover's rise to stardom and the ultimate election of Huey Long as Governor of Louisiana (and had he not been assassinated, may be President of the United States), the 1927 flood changed America more than any event I can think of other than the Revolutionary War and Civil War. This is a GREAT book worth your time to read. It is said that in order to know the future, you must study the past. Too bad we're still not paying attention !!!!!!!!!!!
The Rising Tide.......2007-02-18
I've barely dipped into the first chapter of this, plus reading at random to wherever the book fell open, and I'm awed. Barry's attention to detail and exhaustive documentation of his sources are exemplary. It is also a darn good read, and it is his thoroughness which makes it that way -- the principal players stand out like characters in a good novel. There was recently a PBS special (I believe it was The American Experience) on the history of New Orleans, and although Barry appeared in it, not nearly enough attention was paid to the 1927 flood, especially to some of the most unsavory aspects such as the machinations of the local power structure. Other than the pleasure of reading this book, I highly recommend it because we had a replay of this in Katrina with a similar display of greed, insensitivity and incompetence. And if it can happen in New Orleans, it can happen anywhere!
The Great Flood.......2006-12-14
I had never heard of the Mississippi flood before picking up this book and I am surprised that I had never hard of it after reading about it. This is arguably the greatest natural disaster to hit the United States until Hurricane Katrina. To see the response of the government then and now there are shocking similarities The army corp of engineers makes a similar performance and it is through private enterprise and local political networks that areas are saved. One of the sadder points in the book is the treatment of African Americans and southern racism in this time period is clearly displayed in most areas. The flood which wiped out parts of Mississippi and spread down to New Orleans was catastrophic. Seeing the idea of detonating levees and sacrificing areas of save others were tough choices that have implications in the post Katrina world. This is a highly recommend book that will make one think about natural disaster response from a truly catastrophic event.
They're Gonna Wash Us Away - The Rest of the Story.......2006-11-02
Randy Newman told the story of the great Louisiana flood of 1927 in a few memorable but not very historically accurate verses. Barry tells it with painstaking research and narrative of 75 years surrounding and including 1927. He opens with the civil engineering debate that raged for years about how to "control" the Mississippi River--levees or controlled drainage. Once the flood happens he focuses on how people dealt with it as it was happening (race relations in the early 20th century were sorely tested) and afterwards (St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, having been sacrifice to "save" New Orleans, were left almost low and dry when it came time to distribute money for recovery---sound familiar?) One memorable theme is that nature is unsympathetic to political compromise. Barry rivals David McCullough in the genre of popular history writers.
Outstanding Piece of Work in History, Politics and Humanity.......2006-10-26
Mr. Barry has done an exceptional job of weaving the elements of modern life together, natural disaster, power, money, politics, race together to tell an ingrossing and disturbing story, one that is a relevant today as it was when it happened in the late twenties. America is still affected by what happened then and faces many of the same challenges today--Katrina and whenever or whereever there is great human suffering brought on by natural disaster. (Just wait until the New Madrid earthquake occurs again. That may be the only natural disaster that could rival this flood and its effect on our nation, society and culture.)
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely, and money--having it--makes that corruption and the arrogance that comes with it, even more dangerous, despicable and deadly. We face all of those issues and threats today, and it is not limited to a political party, but rather to class,to wealth and, sadly and alarmingly, to those we "elect" to represent and protect us.
This book is a sobering look at America as it was, and, sadly, as it is. Political parties do not matter....This not about man's highest, nor is it about man's lowest. It is about man as he is...
Amazon.com
Geologically speaking, 1906 was a violent year: powerful, destructive earthquakes shook the ground from Taiwan to South America, while in Italy, Mount Vesuvius erupted. And in San Francisco, a large earthquake occurred just after five in the morning on April 18--and that was just the beginning. The quake caused a conflagration that raged for the next three days, destroying much of the American West's greatest city. The fire, along with water damage and other indirect acts, proved more destructive than the earthquake itself, but insurance companies tried hard to dispute this fact since few people carried earthquake insurance. It was also the world's first major natural disaster to have been extensively photographed and covered by the media, and as a result, it left "an indelible imprint on the mind of the entire nation."
Though the epicenter of this marvelously constructed book is San Francisco, Winchester covers much more than just the disaster. He discusses how this particular quake led to greater scientific study of quakes in an attempt to understand the movements of the earth. Trained at Oxford University as a geologist, Winchester is well qualified to discuss the subject, and he clearly explains plate tectonics theory (first introduced in 1968) and the creation of the San Andreas Fault, along with the geologic exploration of the American West in the late 19th century and the evolution of technology used to measure and predict earthquakes. He also covers the social and political shifts caused by the disaster, such as the way that Pentecostalists viewed the quake as "a message of divine approval" and used it to recruit new members into the church, and the rise in the local Chinese population. With many records destroyed in the fire, there was no way to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants, and thus many more Chinese were granted citizenship than would have otherwise been. Filled with eyewitness accounts, vivid descriptions, crisp prose, and many delightful meanderings, A Crack in the Edge of the World is a thoroughly absorbing tale. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
Unleashed by ancient geologic forces, a magnitude 8.25 earthquake rocked San Francisco in the early hours of April 18, 1906. Less than a minute later, the city lay in ruins. Bestselling author Simon Winchester brings his inimitable storytelling abilities to this extraordinary event, exploring the legendary earthquake and fires that spread horror across San Francisco and northern California in 1906 as well as its startling impact on American history and, just as important, what science has recently revealed about the fascinating subterranean processes that produced it—and almost certainly will cause it to strike again.
Customer Reviews:
Get to the point!.......2007-10-11
This book, "A Crack in the Edge of the World," by Simon Winchester, professes to be about the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. But is it?
The whole thing reads like a series of hesitations, digressions, and backstories, as if it's almost afraid to get to the event itself and talk about it. As more than one other reviewer has pointed out here, it's not until halfway through the book that the earthquake itself is first described, and by that point we've been treated to so many (often interesting, I'll admit) digressions, that we're not even sure anymore if the story of the 1906 quake is even the one most worth telling. I mean, why that one? Why not the 1960s Alaska one? Why not the big Asian tsunami of recent headlines? Why not a more general story of San Francisco? Why not a history of the earth itself?
This book defines anti-linear--is an antonym incarnate for chronological. Another author could probably have pulled it off better, and maybe Winchester could have himself with some more time to work on this, but this just made me jittery that any second the story was going to be yanked out from under me so that I could hear about how the sun affected the creation of the earth's geologic plates several billion years ago.
It reminded me of this guy I knew who used to tell this story about making a machine for automatically roasting and peeling green chile. It was an okay story to hear once, maybe, but the way he told it was worse. Not only did he repeat the story almost every time I saw him, but as soon as he got to "...and they never even paid me," I would think, "Oh thank you Lord, it's over," and then he would start telling me the story's prequel! Or a digression about one of the people who worked on the machine. Or something about the atomic makeup of chile. It was vicious, and it would go on for literally hours sometimes.
Anyway, this book reminded me of that. It was all over the place.
Even just putting these events in chronological order would have helped the story's lucidity immensely, but even then there's way to much peripheral stuff here and way too little focus on describing the event itself and its effects. It's really frustrating at times, and not at all as streamlined as say, the same author's "The Map that Changed the World."
All that said, it's obvious that this is written by a man brimming with excitment for his subject, and I admit there are a handful of topics that obsess me so much in their every detail that if I were to ever attempt to write about them, they might turn out seeming pretty sprawling as well. Also, the book is generally interesting, and I do feel that I have a better understanding now of the event and its contributing geology, as well as a nice supply of related anecdotes.
Three stars for this rambling wunderkammer of a book.
Three stars and a coin.
There's got to be a better book about this subject, though.
Unfocused.......2007-10-10
Simon Winchester's book on the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is a disappointing study. There is a good deal of discussion of plate tectonics in the first half of the book. His presentation makes this highly technical information understandable to the general lay reader, and will probably seem superficial to specialists in the Earth sciences, but there is a good of repetition and more data than a general history designed for mass consumption requires.
The biggest problem, though, is that he rambles and goes off on all sorts of tangents. Somehow he manages to discuss Neal Armstrong and Albert Einstein, then when he mentions Amarillo, Texas, we get more information than we need or want about this West Texas city. The earthquake and narrative does not really get going until halfway to two-thirds of the way through the book. My gut instinct is that Winchester simply lacked enough material to sustain a book length account of the incident, which is the reason for the unfocused nature of the text. As a published author, I am very surprised that his editors accepted this manuscript and agreed to its publication.
Things I should have read in geology class.......2007-09-24
A considerable amount of time was exhausted by Mr. Winchester in the research, writing and editing of this bestseller. If my geology course in college, which was a very long time ago, had a book of this substance, I may have spent more time reading and preparing for class.
The book does not lead right in to the California earthquake of 1906. You must read a few hundred pages from the creation of the world, the movement of the continents, the history behind the chosen name for San Francisco and other cities, the gold rush days, the segregation of the Chinese, then the climactic earthquake.
The book is more of a history and geology lesson than a book with a plot and characters that are followed from beginning to end. This is the book you want to read for that one up on everyone else when earthquakes are the topic at the dinner party (humor emphasized).
Plate tectonics for idio-dummees(R).......2007-09-02
(Trying not to infringe on any copyrights with the title up there)
Simon Winchester's book is an excellent, concise easy-to-read, summary of many disparate but inter-related topics: the development of San Francisco in the late 19th/early 20th Century; the history of white settlement in California; the birthing of the new science of geology; and, most importantly, the science of plate tectonics and the reasons why, when and where earthquakes occur.
Yes, the geology and earth sciences is not covered at a PhD level. It wouldn't be readable if it were. And the history of California is not examined in sufficient depth (no pun intended), but then the book would have to be 10,000 pages. The book strikes the right balance between breadth and depth, the personal and the historic, the academic and the understandable. If you've read Winchester's excellent "Krakatoa" book -- and if you haven't, what are you waiting for? -- you'll enjoy this similiarly-styled treatment of another geologic event.
Tremors and digressions.......2007-08-29
Many of the reviews here seem upset that the author "rambles", which frequently is code for not compressing a story into easily digestible quanta. If you have any patience at all, you'll enjoy this book. I honestly find Mr. Winchester's "digressions" enjoyable, and find they add color to what could be a dull narrative. The geology of earthquakes, the reaction of a city to a disaster, the technology that had recently been developed to detect earthquakes being put to the test (and found wanting) - these stories, while fascinating, are natural stories. This book manages to make even that insurance claims made after the quake and fire interesting and even a vital part of the story.
Book Description
In The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster, Werner Troesken looks at a long-running environmental and public health catastrophe: 150 years of lead pipes in local water systems and the associated sickness, premature death, political inaction, and social denial. The harmful effects of lead water pipes became apparent almost as soon as cities the world over began to install them. Doctors and scientists noted cases of acute illness and death attributable to lead in public water beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, and an editorial in the New York Herald called for the city to study the matter after a bizarre illness made headlines in 1868. But officials took no action for many years. New York City, for example, did not take any steps to reduce lead levels in water until 1992, long after the most serious damage had been done. By then, in any case, much of the old lead pipe had been replaced with safer materials.
Troesken examines the health effects of lead exposure, analyzing cases from New York City, Boston, and Glasgow and many smaller towns in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and England. He draws on period accounts, government reports, court decisions, and economic and demographic analysis to document the widespread nature of the problem, the recognized health effects--particularly for pregnant women and young children--and official intransigence. He presents an accessible overview of the old and new science of lead exposure--explaining, for example, why areas with soft water suffered more harmful effects than areas with hard water. And he gives us compelling and vivid accounts of the people and politics involved. The effects of lead in water continue to be felt; many older houses still have lead service pipes. The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster is essential reading for understanding this past and ongoing public health problem.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent histrical expose about the negative inpacts of lead contamination.......2007-07-01
Troesken(T) has done an excellent job of demonstrating why lead was used in ,and contined to be used in,water pipes over a period of 150 years despite a great deal of scientific and anecdotal evidence linking the lead to numerous physical ailments being available to city planners during this time period.The answer was that decision makers were penny wise and pound foolish.Lead water pipes were very cheap to build,long lasting,and easy to maintain.One area of discussion that should have been more heavily emphasized was the overwhelming connection between lead exposure and lower IQ scores.Lead exposure from birth to age 10 leads to a loss in IQ of from 6-10 points.The major groups impacted are black and Latino -Hispanic Americans getting their drinking water from city-metropolitan water systems.This accounts for about 40% to 67% of the alleged disparity in IQ scores that is supposed to exist between white and black Americans .These facts are ignored by Herrnstein and Murray in their book" The Bell Curve"(1994).
A little lead won't hurt ya! Look at me.......2007-03-31
Romans had lead in their pipes--you wanna blame the rise and fall of the Roman Empire on lead pipes? Lead is just a nuissance, ntohing more. Hech, I used to eat lead painat asa a kidd and I don't have any long erm side effects that I'm awarae of
A Must Read!.......2007-03-02
Werner Troesken presents the history of lead water pipe use without hyperbole. Instead you get scientific analysis mixed with telling anecdotes and then more scientific analysis. You might think the lack of hype would make for a boring read, but this book is truly fascinating. Mr. Troesken gives us a great example of how we don't see things until we believe in them. The copy I read was borrowed from the library, but I am buying my own copy now.
history, science, policy--what more could you want?.......2006-12-19
Troesken smoothly integrates several complex topics in a very readable style. If you wondered how lead is so toxic, as well as the surprising level of exposure to it in the past, wonder no more. He carefully establishes how common it was to be exposed to levels of lead in drinking water that were dozens of times higher than the present day EPA maximum. He establishes that public officials were loathe to do anything about it, in large part due to lead's excellent capabilities--it's malleable, strong, and cheap. And ever so toxic. Troesken concludes with a recommendation for further study on an overlooked topic--effects on human health of nonorganic toxins in the past. One more reason I'm glad to be alive now.
Customer Reviews:
The history of the First Afghan War........2005-07-24
A nice little history of the First Afghan War of 1839-1842. As the British East India Company started to worry about Russian incursions into Central Asia, the British became involved in the politics of Sind, the Punjab, and Afghanistan. Thus started the Great Game between Russian and British interests in Central Asia. The First Afghan War was the result of this competition. The British decided to foist a deposed Afgan Shah onto the country and depose Shah Mohammed Dost. The first third of the book details the lead up to the war and the politics. The second third details the British occupation of Afghanistan and last third detail the death of the Kabul occupation army as it retreats through the Khyber. Only one man returned from this occupation army.
This is a good read, and something to remember with our current situation in Afghanistan. The British were trying to install a pro-British government in Kabul during this war. It is a wonder how history repeats itself.
Afghan Sam.......2001-07-19
This book is well researched, and about an interesting period of Central asian histoy. If you don't care about Afghan history, though, it probably won't be the book for you.
It's a factual account, and the author seems to stay very true to history, it could probably use a little literary spice, but that isn't the real purpose in the writing or reading of these types of things.
My main critique is that the author, even though he's living in the twenty first century, seems to wish that he were living in nine-teenth century as a british explorer. He is as trapped in the dreams that led to the great game as the players were themselves. While it lends to us understanding a little bit more the driving force behind the whole business, it feels kind of like your reading a book by Churchill, except that it's a century too late and its not first hand. What you are left with is a book where the author wishes he had been a british explorer, but couldn't be, but that is still trapped by the British view of "other" that we should have left behind long ago.
He tries to make a go of it, and talk about things from the native side, but isn't nearly as capable as getting into their heads emotionally. It is also from a British india point of view and doesn't give a very good explanation of Afghan motivations.
It's still pretty good, it just didn't have quite what I was looking for because of the point of view the author chose for its historical perspective.
Books:
- This Is War!: A Photo Narrative of the Korean War
- Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2: More Amazing Clones of Famous Dishes from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains
- Truman
- Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs: Official Companion Book to the Exhibition sponsored by National Geographic
- Uncommon Wisdom: Conversations With Remarkable People
- Your Daily Walk with The Great Minds: Wisdom and Enlightenment of the Past and Present (Pocket Edition) (Spiritual Dimensions Series)
- 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
- Against All Odds: My Story
- Air Force (U.S. Military Series)
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
- History: Fiction or Science
- Understanding Bioterrorism
- Artists' Impressions in Architectural Design
- Creating Characters with Personality: For Film, TV, Animation, Video Games, and Graphic Novels
- Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
- Easy-to-Make Arts and Crafts Lamps and Shades
- Virgil Finlay's Women of the Ages
- Alvar Aalto: Between Humanism and Materialism
- Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
Depression
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
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| Books
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Suite Francaise
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
The Echo Maker: A Novel
