The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America's Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster
by Al Roker
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Published May 2018
320 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
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.
"Starred Review. Roker's harrowing tale of survival and loss… reads like a nail-biting thriller." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. An exciting, tragic story seasoned with sensitive social analysis and criticism." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Both a good yarn and a morality tale... Roker, with a weatherman's eye, describes the formation of the unprecedented rainstorms that led to the flooding and the 'monster unchained' that was the flood itself." - Publishers Weekly
"[A] riveting account of the Johnstown Flood, which still remains the deadliest natural disaster on American soil. … [A] page-turner sure to please." - Booklist
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Al Roker is known to more than thirty million TV viewers and has won thirteen Emmy Awards, ten for his work on NBC's Today. He also hosts Wake Up with Al, a weekday morning program on the Weather Channel. A New York Times bestselling author, Roker lives in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News and 20/20 correspondent Deborah Roberts, and has two daughters and a son.
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