"The Johnstown Flood (or Great Flood of 1889 as it became known locally) occurred on May 31, 1889. It was the result of the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam situated on the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, made worse by several days of extremely heavy rainfall. The dam's failure unleashed a torrent of 20 million tons of water (4.8 billion U.S. gallons; 18.2 million cubic meters; 18.2 billion litres) from the reservoir known a...

What a magnificent story of impending doom, all that could be easily avoided were it not for human greed and lack of caring about the "working person" by 19th-century capitalists that built the dam and the mills as well as the managers than ran the town's industry as well as the town itself. An excellent museum of the flood is in Johnstown, too, with a chilling electronic diorama of the disaster as it unfolded. One of my best friends is now a sociologist teaching at UP-Johnstown, where his disse...

The Johnstown Flood is an amazing read. David McCullough has done a masterful job of giving both a history lesson with a compelling story. The flood is simple on its surface, but happened during complicated times of the Gilded Age period. This speaks of both the power of the elite, but also of the common man learning to live with impending disaster; becoming used it and ultimately ignoring it. The Johnstown Flood does a remarkable job of explaining the paradox of the locals knowing the dam was n...

I picked up this, the first of McCullough's three "civil engineering" micro-histories, to scratch my itch of a notion that the flood was a seminal event in US history. Turns out that notion was only half right. The Johnstown Flood was a seminal event. The cataract was terrible and awesome and one of a kind. But the story has mostly faded from history. Unlike other national disasters (eg, the attacks on Pearl Harbor and 9/11), this one didn't blossom into a nation-rallying justification for kicki...

Could be subtitled Everything You Wanted to Know About the Johnstown Flood but Were Afraid to Ask. Audiotape read by actor Edward Herrmann. Here are some of my takeaways: 1. David McCullough deserves all of the praise heaped upon him. He is truly a great nonfiction writer for our time. 2. One of the one-star reviews complained about the boring opening. I'm guessing that person never finished the book. Looking into the details of what happened beforehand is necessary to understand how it happened...

Zzzzzz....Some background is necessary, but do we really need to know the entire history of the frigging dam? (including the names and physical descriptions of all the people who so much as *glanced* at tlhe damn dam) and the physical make up of its dirt? Maybe so. But I don't want to read it. ......zzzzzzz......

First book by a fine historical author. It is a good recounting of the famous Johnstown, PA flood in 1889. Way to many names and details and recounting of the same thing over and over again. A good book but not an easy book to read due to a laborious style. I have a lot of his books and can only hope that he gets better at a narrative story style. He does lay out the problem with the dam in Johnstown, as well as those probably responsible for the dam failure -the South Fork Fishing and Hunting C...

Please read the GR book description. I will not repeat what is there. It is to the point and absolutely correct concerning the book's content, the author's manner of writing and what future generations should take note of. Look at the last sentence one more time: “It (the flood) also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.”In my view this sentence c...

This book should be read by every American. Every human. I don't really say that often, but this book is incredibly important. McCullough is an absolute treasure. He tells this story with such detail and authenticity, and yet makes it compelling, harrowing even, and utterly human. He is objective and fair, and thorough without slipping into tedium. The parallels to the Katrina disaster are haunting, beyond just the natural disaster and flooding elements. The socio-economic disparities that marke...

WOW - what a book. I really liked it though it was extremely difficult to read. The Johnstown Flood (locally, the Great Flood of 1889) occurred on May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam broke after several days of extremely heavy rainfall, releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water. With a volumetric flow rate that temporarily equaled the average flow rate of the...

At the confluence of Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh rivers sits Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In the 1880s it was a thriving mining town, with over 30,000 residence. The year 1889 was unnaturally rainy, not just in Pennsylvania but in much of the United States. On May 30th the dam above Johnstown broke, unleashing a force that would destroy the Conemaugh Valley and almost wipe out Johnstown. This was the worst natural disaster in American history up until that time, and it would be the first dis...

A riveting telling of history. Once it gets going you can’t stop. You are there, reliving one of the greatest disasters of the 19th century. David McCullough expertly paints a picture of America entering the industrial age with its mix of ethnic backgrounds, emerging culture, farmers, shopkeepers, laborers and powerful elite. His vivid recounting of the flood and its impact is enthralling and heart-rending. Very highly recommended.

Great book from a great author, did not like the format (too formal ) but the story is very well documented and very well told . If you are into early American history or into natural disasters then this might be the book for you .

Such an incredibly horrific event that possibly could have been avoided. McCullough, does a great job in explaining events that preceded and followed this tragedy, while giving great eyewitness accounts of the flood. It was hard to read at times, as it was so horrifying. It was great to read how so many from our country, and even other country's, gave aid and comfort to the victims. So many incredible stories from within this late 19th century event. I highly recommend this.