Tragedies of American History

Tragedies of American History PDF

Author: Ace Collins

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2003-05-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0452283000

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A century of great American disaster stories, from the Johnstown Flood of 1889 to America's first commercial jet crash. In this gripping collection of tragic moments from our nation's past, Ace Collins tells the gripping real-life tales of men, women, and children trapped in situations beyond their control. Culled from documents, interviews with key participants, and news stories of the day, Tragedies of American History chronicles the harrowing human drama of individuals facing life at its most extreme. Infused with danger and immediacy, these stories place readers in the middle of harrowing circumstances as they unfold. Putting a human face on these tragic events, Collins offers keen insights into people's thoughts, fears, and emotions as they battle against the forces of nature and human error. From the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 to the Coconut Grove Fire of '42 . . . from the Great Nashville Train Wreck of 1918 to 1953's Waco Tornado, here are the famous as well as the forgotten events that illustrate our will to survive in the face of certain doom.

Tragedy at Honda

Tragedy at Honda PDF

Author: Charles A. Lockwood

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-11-28

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 0359257402

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Known to seafarers as 'The Devil's Jaw, ' Point Honda has lured ships to its jagged rocks on the coast of California for centuries, but its worst calamity occurred on 8 September, 1923, the night nine U.S. Navy destroyers ran into Honda's fog-wrapped reefs. Admiral turned author Charles Lockwood (Sink 'Em All, Hellcats of the Sea) brilliantly recreates events as they happened, including the heroic efforts to rescue the men and ships. In his view, the cause of the tragedy lay in the interpretation of the differences that exist between the classic concepts of naval regulations and the stark realism of the unwritten code of destroyer doctrine to follow the leader.

Washed Away

Washed Away PDF

Author: Geoff Williams

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-11-15

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 1639361383

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The incredible story of a flood of near-biblical proportions -- its destruction, its heroes and victims, and how it shaped America's natural-disaster policies for the next century. The storm began March 23, 1913, with a series of tornadoes that killed 150 people and injured 400. Then the freezing rains started and the flooding began. It continued for days. Some people drowned in their attics, others on the roads when they tried to flee. It was the nation's most widespread flood ever—more than 700 people died, hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed, and millions were left homeless. The destruction extended far beyond the Ohio valley to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Vermont. Fourteen states in all, and every major and minor river east of the Mississippi. In the aftermath, flaws in America's natural disaster response system were exposed, echoing today's outrage over Katrina. People demanded change. Laws were passed, and dams were built. Teams of experts vowed to develop flood control techniques for the region and stop flooding for good. So far those efforts have succeeded. It is estimated that in the Miami Valley alone, nearly 2,000 floods have been prevented, and the same methods have been used as a model for flood control nationwide and around the world.

Gone at 3:17

Gone at 3:17 PDF

Author: David M. Brown

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.

Published: 2012-01-31

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 1612341543

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At 3:17 p.m. on March 18, 1937, a natural gas leak beneath the London Junior-Senior High School in the oil boomtown of New London, Texas, created a lethal mixture of gas and oxygen in the school's basement. The odorless, colorless gas went undetected until the flip of an electrical switch triggered a colossal blast. The two-story school, one of the nation's most modern, disintegrated, burying everyone under a vast pile of rubble and debris. More than 300 students and teachers were killed, and hundreds more were injured. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the catastrophe approaches, it remains the deadliest school disaster in U.S. history. Few, however, know of this historic tragedy, and no book, until now, has chronicled the explosion, its cause, its victims, and the aftermath. Gone at 3:17 is a true story of what can happen when school officials make bad decisions. To save money on heating the school building, the trustees had authorized workers to tap into a pipeline carrying “waste” natural gas produced by a gasoline refinery. The explosion led to laws that now require gas companies to add the familiar pungent odor. The knowledge that the tragedy could have been prevented added immeasurably to the heartbreak experienced by the survivors and the victims' families. The town would never be the same. Using interviews, testimony from survivors, and archival newspaper files, Gone at 3:17 puts readers inside the shop class to witness the spark that ignited the gas. Many of those interviewed during twenty years of research are no longer living, but their acts of heroism and stories of survival live on in this meticulously documented and extensively illustrated book.

Denali's Howl

Denali's Howl PDF

Author: Andy Hall

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2015-04-28

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0142181951

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In the summer of 1967, twelve young men ascended Alaska’s Mount McKinley—known to the locals as Denali. Engulfed by a once-in-alifetime blizzard, only five made it back down. Andy Hall, a journalist and son of the park superintendent at the time, was living in the park when the tragedy occurred and spent years tracking down rescuers, survivors, lost documents, and recordings of radio communications. In Denali’s Howl, Hall reveals the full story of the expedition in a powerful retelling that will mesmerize the climbing community as well as anyone interested in mega-storms and man’s sometimes deadly drive to challenge the forces of nature.

Cleveland's Greatest Disasters!

Cleveland's Greatest Disasters! PDF

Author: John Stark Bellamy

Publisher: Gray & Company

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1598510584

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Recounts sixteen of the most tragic disasters in the history of Cleveland, Ohio, including the Ashtabula Bridge disaster, the Cleveland Clinic fire, and the Terminal Tower tragedy, among others.

Indianapolis

Indianapolis PDF

Author: Lynn Vincent

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published: 2019-05-21

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13: 1501135953

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “GRIPPING…THIS YARN HAS IT ALL.” —USA TODAY * “A WONDERFUL BOOK.” —Christian Science Monitor * “ENTHRALLING.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * “A MUST-READ.” —Booklist (starred review) A human drama unlike any other—the riveting and definitive full story of the worst sea disaster in United States naval history. Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis is sailing alone in the Philippine Sea when she is sunk by two Japanese torpedoes. For the next five nights and four days, almost three hundred miles from the nearest land, nearly nine hundred men battle injuries, sharks, dehydration, insanity, and eventually each other. Only 316 will survive. For the first time Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic tell the complete story of the ship, her crew, and their final mission to save one of their own in “a wonderful book…that features grievous mistakes, extraordinary courage, unimaginable horror, and a cover-up…as complete an account of this tragic tale as we are likely to have” (The Christian Science Monitor). It begins in 1932, when Indianapolis is christened and continues through World War II, when the ship embarks on her final world-changing mission: delivering the core of the atomic bomb to the Pacific for the strike on Hiroshima. “Simply outstanding…Indianapolis is a must-read…a tour de force of true human drama” (Booklist, starred review) that goes beyond the men’s rescue to chronicle the survivors’ fifty-year fight for justice on behalf of their skipper, Captain Charles McVay III, who is wrongly court-martialed for the sinking. “Enthralling…A gripping study of the greatest sea disaster in the history of the US Navy and its aftermath” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Indianapolis stands as both groundbreaking naval history and spellbinding narrative—and brings the ship and her heroic crew back to full, vivid, unforgettable life. “Vincent and Vladic have delivered an account that stands out through its crisp writing and superb research…Indianapolis is sure to hold its own for a long time” (USA TODAY).