San Francisco Is Burning : The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires

English

ISBN: 0670034428

EAN: 9780670034420

Category: Technology & Engineering / Fire Science/History / United States / State & Local / West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY)/Travel / United States / West / Pacific (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)/Nature / Earthquakes & Volcanoes/

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

Release Date: 09/22/2005

Age Range: 18-null

Synopsis: At 5:12 a.m. on the morning of April 18, 1906, San Francisco was struck by one of the worst earthquakes in history, instantly killing hundreds. The ensuing fires that ravaged the city for days were responsible for the deaths of as many as 3,000 more. In all, 522 blocks and 28,188 buildings were leveled, and some 200,000 people dislocated.This watershed event in American history has never before been told with the richness of historical detail and insight that our foremost historian of fire, Dennis Smith, brings to it in San Francisco Is Burning. Smith cinematically recounts this terrible tragedy through the stories of the people who lived through those terrible days?from a valiant naval officer who helped save the city?s piers and wharves to Eugene Schmitz, the crooked mayor, to the debonair scoundrel? Abe Ruef, the most erudite city boss in American history. Throughout, Smith reveals many unknown details about the event, from the city?s great vulnerability to fire?due to its corrupt and hasty building practices?to the widespread racism the quake unleashed and the atrocities committed by national guardsmen. Told with verve and a seasoned firefighter?s knowledge, San Francisco Is Burningis the gripping and definitive account of one of the greatest disasters of the twentieth century.

Excerpt: Unknown Property Excerpt

San Francisco Is Burning : The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires

Illustrated: Yes

Format: Hardcover

Height: 1.07 inches

Width: 6.34 inches

Length: 9.5 inches

Weight: 19.22 oz

Pages: 384