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  1. Books
  2. History
  3. United States of America

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4.5(2)

The Johnstown Flood

The stunning story of one of America’s great disasters, a preventable tragedy of Gilded Age America, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation’s burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.

Graced by David McCullough’s remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It 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.


Author:

  • David McCullough

Narrator:

  • Edward Herrmann

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 9 h 1 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • History
  • United States of America

4.5

2 ratings

Örjan

2023-09-24

Ett av herr McCulloughs bästa tidsdokument! Tekniska beskrivningar blandas med mänskliga karaktärer, lidande och livsöden. Personligen hade jag aldrig hört talas om översvämmningen. Efter att ha lyssnat på och uppskattat flera av författarens verk bestämde jag mig för att jag ville veta mer om katastrofen. Ett beslut jag på inget vis ångrade under histroielektionens gång! David McCullough har en förmåga att på endast några få rader teckna upp en klar bild av människors karaktär, styrkor och brister. Det gör att jag som lyssnare snabbt bygger upp en personlig relation till personerna i texten, så när katastrofen väl inträffar känns det som om offren är mina egna grannar och närstående, inte ansiktslösa namn på pappet. Spännande och lärorik historia som givetvis rekommenderas till alla historie- och människointresserade lyssnare där ute!

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  • 24 books

    David McCullough

    David McCullough (1933–2022) twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. His other acclaimed books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Brave Companions, 1776, The Greater Journey, The American Spirit, The Wright Brothers, and The Pioneers. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com.

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Excellent4.3 out of 5