The Burnt District

by Gary Link

April 10, 1845: A monstrous fire rips through the city of Pittsburgh, destroying one-third of the city and leaving four thousand people homeless. Amazingly, the disaster claims only three lives. Or... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592865100
• ISBN13: 9781592865109
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Publish America
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

The Burnt District, a historical novel with alot of fact.

Of course I love this book. My great-great-great-great grandfather is one of the featured characters. It has been a wonderful addition to my ancestry search as well as providing an insight into this period of history in Pittsburgh.

A gem for homeschoolers

For those who believe that one of the best ways to teach history is through historical fiction, the Burnt District helps fill a post-Louisiana Purchase, pre-Civil War gap: yes, life continued east of the Mississipi as well as west (with all due respect to Sacajawea), and north of the Mason-Dixon. Particularly evocative of the period is the description of a canal trip between Pittsburgh and Freeport (Who knew there were canal toughs? Sit on your wallets, gentlemen . . .) and a street party held by Irish immigrants. Of the many characters we encounter in the novel, Jacob Shoop is portrayed especially well, perhaps because Mr. Link has researched his life so thoroughly. Okay -- just a couple of quibbles: I could have used a map to trace Parker's routes, or if that weren't possible, maybe a web address to check it out for myself -- I'm a Pennsylvanian by birth, but not familiar enough with the Pittsburgh area to make intelligent guesses about location. Story-wise, I wish we could have met Pittsburgh the day before the fire. The destruction of Parker's city is an apt metaphor for the desolation of his life, but I could have appreciated Pittsburgh more as a character in the story if I had known her as a vibrant city before I met her as victim and invalid en route to recovery. All in all, a worthwhile read I would recommend. The affection Mr. Link holds for his subject shines through in his work.