Disaster!: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906

by Dan Kurzman

Book Overview

Investigates the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, describing the horrible natural disaster and the subsequent fire that raged through the rubble, killing ten thousand people. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061051748
• ISBN13: 9780061051746
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Human Nature in the Face of Disaster

I was starting from scratch in my knowledge about the San Francisco earthquake when I began this book. What I especially enjoyed was the number of human interest stories regrading different people such as future baseball pitcher, but then a ten year old, Del Crespi, (not to be confused with Cardinals' infielder Frank "Creepy" Crespi), searching in vain for his beloved girl friend Lillian and singer Enrico Caruso looking forward to reading the newspapers' reviews of his singing performance shortly before the quake struck. Mansions and other temporal possessions of the wealthy were destroyed and many individuals resorted to looting. Explosives were used to create a gap wide enough where fires would not be able to "jump" over. Human nature demonstrates itself both for good and for evil during calamities and this was shown in numerous cases throughout the book. Ethnic groups such as the Chinese and whites both realized they were in this problem together, and the result was a strengthening of their shared cultures. I especially enjoyed the number of individual human nature stories provided by the author.

Whole Lot A Shakin' Goin' On!

I would have given this book 5 stars but in the end I felt the author just didn't put enough heart into the telling. Surprising because the first book I read by this author, "Fatal Voyage" was a superb telling of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis with much more body to the characters and their story, I was expecting the same with this telling of the devastation of San Francisco by quake and fire, but alas... Even so it's worth a read if you're interested in the city's history, the book serves honorably as an overview of this chapter in San Francisco's past, but if you're looking for gripping personal tales, it's just shake and bake basics.

Uses two years of the author's own research

Disaster! provides a history of San Franciso's great 1906 earthquake, using two years of the author's own research and the recollections of survivors to provide stories of heroism and struggle. The eyewitness accounts spice and bring to life the events in a title which also surveys underlying social and political influences on recovery.

I enjoyed this book and have recommended to many

I thought it was fasinating the way "ordinary people" were followed throgh the Disaster. Living in San Francisco I can picture the earthquake and fire and think as I walk throug the streets what really went on. The book is both exciting and informative.