"Reads like a nail-biting thriller." -- Library Journal, starred
review
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.
