Ruthless tide: the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing gilded age disaster

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
2018
Language:
English
Description
A gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Floodthe deadliest flood in U.S. historyfrom NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker Central Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889: After a deluge of rainnearly a foot in less than twenty-four hoursswelled 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, residentsfactory workers and their familiesremained 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 debristrees, houses, animalsbefore 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 townhome to 20,000 peoplein 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.
Also in This Series
More Like This
More Copies In Prospector
Loading Prospector Copies...
More Details
ISBN:
9780062445513
9780062445520
9780062682215
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Staff View

Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID8d9c493d-53f4-a207-027b-6bf7dc0c6f13
Grouping Titleruthless tide the heroes and villains of the johnstown flood americas astonishing gilded age disaster
Grouping Authoral roker
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2023-09-30 03:42:25AM
Last Indexed2023-09-29 03:49:16AM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Willis, Mirron E. 1965-
author
Roker, Al, 1954-
author2-role
Willis, Mirron E.1965-narrator
hoopla digital
author_display
Roker, Al
available_at_aurora
Central
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mission Viejo
detailed_location_aurora
Central Non-Fiction
MLK Non-Fiction
Mission Viejo Non-Fiction
display_description
A gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Floodthe deadliest flood in U.S. historyfrom NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker Central Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889: After a deluge of rainnearly a foot in less than twenty-four hoursswelled 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, residentsfactory workers and their familiesremained 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 debristrees, houses, animalsbefore 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 townhome to 20,000 peoplein 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.
format_aurora
Book
eAudiobook
eBook
format_category_aurora
Audio Books
Books
eBook
id
8d9c493d-53f4-a207-027b-6bf7dc0c6f13
isbn
9780062445513
9780062445520
9780062682215
itype_aurora
Book
last_indexed
2023-09-29T09:49:16.769Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_aurora
974.8 Rok
owning_library_aurora
Aurora Public Library
owning_location_aurora
Central
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mission Viejo
primary_isbn
9780062445513
publishDate
2018
publisher
HarperAudio
HarperCollins
William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Electronic books
Floods -- Pennsylvania -- Johnstown (Cambria County)
Floods -- Pennsylvania -- Johnstown (Cambria County) -- History -- 19th century
Johnstown (Cambria County, Pa.) -- History -- 19th century
title_display
Ruthless tide : the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing gilded age disaster
title_full
Ruthless Tide The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America's Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster
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 [electronic resource] / Al Roker
title_short
Ruthless tide
title_sub
the heroes and villains of the Johnstown flood, America's astonishing gilded age disaster
topic_facet
Electronic books
Floods
History
Johnstown (Cambria County, Pa.)
Nature
Nonfiction

Solr Details Tables

item_details

Bib IdItem IdShelf LocCall NumFormatFormat CategoryNum CopiesIs Order ItemIs eContenteContent SourceeContent URLDetailed StatusLast CheckinLocation
hoopla:MWT13324826Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeBookeBook1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13324826?utm_source=MARCAvailable Online
hoopla:MWT12069029Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeAudiobookAudio Books1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12069029?utm_source=MARCAvailable Online
ils:.b18508364.i24169730Mission Viejo Non-Fiction974.8 Rok1falsefalseAvailableSep 24, 2018mvlnf
ils:.b18508364.i24169729MLK Non-Fiction974.8 Rok1falsefalseAvailableSep 15, 2021mlknf
ils:.b18508364.i24169717Central Non-Fiction974.8 Rok1falsefalseAvailableMay 13, 2020cennf
overdrive:9e3ffa4c-ad3c-47b7-b0b5-ad98266c3d51-1Online OverDrive CollectionOnline OverDriveeBookeBook1falsetrueOverDriveAvailable Online

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
hoopla:MWT13324826eBookeBookEnglishHarperCollins20181 online resource
hoopla:MWT12069029eAudiobookAudio BooksUnabridgedEnglishHarperAudio20181 online resource (1 audio file (8hr., 27 min.)) : digital.
ils:.b18508364BookBooksEnglishWilliam Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers2018305 pages: illustrations; 24cm.
overdrive:9e3ffa4c-ad3c-47b7-b0b5-ad98266c3d51eBookeBookEnglishHarperCollins2018

scoping_details_aurora

Bib IdItem IdGrouped StatusStatusLocally OwnedAvailableHoldableBookableIn Library Use OnlyLibrary OwnedHoldable PTypesBookable PTypesLocal Url
hoopla:MWT13324826Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruefalsefalsefalsefalse
hoopla:MWT12069029Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruefalsefalsefalsefalse
ils:.b18508364.i24169730On ShelfAvailablefalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 3, 20, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11
ils:.b18508364.i24169729On ShelfAvailablefalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 3, 20, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11
ils:.b18508364.i24169717On ShelfAvailablefalsetruetruefalsefalsetrue0, 1, 3, 4, 20, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11
overdrive:9e3ffa4c-ad3c-47b7-b0b5-ad98266c3d51-1Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruetruefalsefalsefalse