Book Description
The first indication of the prolonged terror that followed the 1906 earthquake occurred when a ship steaming off San Francisco's Golden Gate "seemed to jump clear out of the water." This gripping account of the earthquake, the devastating firestorms that followed, and the city's subsequent reconstruction vividly shows how, after the shaking stopped, humans, not the forces of nature, nearly destroyed San Francisco in a remarkable display of simple ineptitude and power politics. Bolstered by previously unpublished eyewitness accounts and photographs, this definitive history of a fascinating city caught in the grip of the country's greatest urban disaster will forever change conventional understanding of an event one historian called "the very epitome of bigness."
Philip Fradkin takes us onto the city's ruptured streets and into its exclusive clubs, teeming hospitals and refugee camps, and its Chinatown. He introduces the people--both famous and infamous--who experienced these events, such as Jack and Charmian London, Enrico Caruso, James Phelan, and Abraham Ruef. He traces the horrifying results of the mayor's illegal order to shoot-to-kill anyone suspected of a crime, and he uncovers the ugliness of racism that almost led to war with Japan. He reveals how an elite oligarchy failed to serve the needs of ordinary people, the heroic efforts of obscure citizens, the long-lasting psychological effects, and how all these events ushered in a period of unparalleled civic upheaval.
This compelling look at how people and institutions function in great catastrophes demonstrates just how deeply earthquake, fires, hurricanes, floods, wars, droughts, or acts of terrorism can shape us.
Customer Reviews:
Disjointed, Poorly Written, Useless Info.......2007-01-28
I have no idea what the folks who highly rated this book were reading/thinking. This is not a good book about the 1906 SF earthquake. All over the map with useless info, particularly the post-earthquake SF government graft trials. This last info was pointless, long, boring and was never tied in by the author to either the 1906 earthquake or the direction of SF government since then. Stilted writing. Not an enjoyable read.
fact-filled, but overwritten........2006-06-27
I'm halfway through, and it's getting harder to choke down sentences such as:
"Like tufts of hair atop a bald head, two groups of structures would survive within the fire zone because of the actions of residents and employees."
I get it, but seriously, we're not far from "It was a dark and stormy night" territory here.
Time and time again, the author reaches for the cookie jar of bad metaphor without benefit of an editor to slap his hand away. The book, as a result, is bloated. (pardon me for adding my own, but I couldn't resist.)
Such writing, and the inclusion of apparently every anecdote the author could locate make the book a third longer than it needs to be.
Worth reading, but I wish a tough editor had read it before me.
Disjointed, not very compelling book........2006-05-15
After reading the above reviews, I choose this 1906 book over several others I had been looking at. This book is rather disjointed, nor does it capture the horror of that day in San Francisco. It does deal with the politics of the time, but this too skips about. I got to the end of the book without realizing the book was coming to a close, it just stopped. Overall, a boring overview of a national disaster.
Among the best and most thorough on the subject.......2006-02-07
I have nearly a complete degree in geology and one of my favorite topics was earthquakes and volcanoes. Like most individuals who enjoy studying this subject, the earthquake of 1906 is a must since it is one of the most heavily documented, particularly in photographic history, of any such event. I've read a number of books on the San Francisco quake, but this has got to be the best of its kind.
The author spent some time working though the material evidence that has been kept in libraries since the event in order to recreate a thorough account of the earthquake, as much a human event as a geological one. While many works on the 1906 earthquake cover the impressions of famous people present during the disaster-Barrymore, Caruso and others-and describe the deaths and the firestorms, few cover the details of the political situation before and after the earthquake and the denial mentality that worked to create this disaster and in fact that of the 1980s quake--and will probably pave the way to the disaster of the next one as well. The earthquake was downplayed to the point where the question was "what earthquake? We don't have earthquakes here," while the firestorm which occurred after it as a result of broken gas mains and power lines in the presence of a failed water distribution system was emphasized. After all, everyone has fires, and measures can be taken to prevent them. Nothing can be done about earthquakes, even their prediction remains elusive. Unfortunately the efforts of commercial and financial interests in restoring the areas' reputation as a good investment site competitive with neighboring cities in the area, contributed extensively to the boom that put San Francisco on the map again so soon. Destroying whole forests as far north as Washington state and the lives of thousands of horses, literally worked to death in order to rebuild the city in record time, these politically powerful individuals managed to create another risky city.
Amazing too was the political waltz that occurred both during and after the earthquake and fire storm. Pro- and anti-labor parties had been at one another's throats for some time, and the 1906 quake provided the impetus for a change in government that swept some people from power and others into office. As so often happens after a natural disaster-hurricaine Katrina being a case in point-much finger pointing occurred, an investigation was conducted, and at least one person was sent to jail.
Interesting especially is the author's citation of a number of personal accounts collected years later by a professor interested in the psychological impact of the earthquake on young people's lives. These reveal that what we call post-traumatic stress syndrome was a common event following the earthquake.
The book is a sweeping story of the end of an era for a California boom town. Now as ever, the weather is fantastic, the living leisurely--and the clock is ticking.
Santayana Was Wrong.......2005-12-04
It seems we are all doomed to repeat history whether we learn from the past or not.
I started reading The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906 a few days before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. As a native Northern Californian who has experienced many earthquakes including the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989 (in which a portion of the Bay Bridge and a freeway overpass in Oakland collapsed), I found that the first part of the book made me recall my own experiences and wonder uneasily what I would do when the next catastrophic quake strikes. By the time I finished the book, all I could think about were the similarities to the 2005 hurricane and its aftermath.
Author Philip Fradkin states right away that "San Franciscans, not the inanimate forces of nature, were primarily responsible for the extensive chaos, damage, injuries, and deaths in the great earthquake and firestorms of 1906. Despite ... warnings, they were dismissive of the past and failed to prepare for the future. During the earthquake and fire, military and civilian officials reacted foolishly under great duress."
One aspect of both tragedies that seemed to strike a chord with many people was the reporting of widespread looting. While people were still stranded on their roofs or trapped in flooded hospitals and nursing homes in New Orleans in 2005, and while the fires raged in San Francisco and people were without shelter and water in 1906, many officials could only focus on the theft of personal property. Mayor Schmitz of San Francisco illegally issued military, police, and civilian deputies to shoot looters on sight. In San Jose, the mayor announced looters would be hanged.
Not surprisingly there were tragic consequences, including an account of a grocer who, seeing that his store was in the path of a fire, opened the doors and announced that anyone could take whatever they wanted before the fire destroyed everything. Some grateful people did and were bayoneted by a national guardsman who didn't know what was going on. The only widespread looting that could ever be verified turned out to be that of Chinatown by "respectable" (white) citizens. Law enforcement officials including national guardsmen didn't discourage the Chinatown looters and were even seen to be appropriating items for themselves. Although the Chinese consul-general complained to the governor, nothing was done to stop that looting. On the other hand, price gouging all over the Bay Area was rampant, but it was not considered looting, and no one was punished for it.
Chinatown was destroyed. It was a neighborhood many white San Franciscans resented and they saw an opportunity to move the Chinese population to the outskirts of the city. In scenes reminiscent of thousands of New Orleaneans being moved from the Superdome to the Astrodome to even more distant shelters, the Chinatown refugees were relocated several times immediately after the earthquake because white San Franciscans did not want Chinese neighbors, even temporarily. The Chinatown residents resisted moves to relocate them permanently to a less desirable part of town. They threatened to move away from San Francisco entirely and take their lucrative businesses and tax revenues with them. In the end, Chinatown was rebuilt exactly where it had been before the earthquake.
The story of the heroic efforts of the firefighters to put out the horrific fires has been told before but Fradkin tells it well, with some unexpected details. Water was at a premium with the intense heat of the fires turning streams from hoses into steam. Firefighters used any liquid they could find including vinegar, wine (it was Northern California, after all), and even soda water siphons.
About half of The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906 concerns the aftermath of the disasters: the relief effort, the rebuilding, the insurance claims, the political fallout, the blame, the effect on the people of the Bay Area.
Another truism is that history is written by the victors. Of course, there is no victor in a natural disaster, but the corollary is perhaps that history is written by the wealthy and the powerful. There are few first-hand accounts of the events of 1906 written by the poor or by the minorities. But Fradkin has pieced together a history that includes the stories of many who had been forgotten until now.
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1906 Earthquake: San Francisco's Great Disaster
Sandor Demlinger
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
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ASIN: 0764324047 |
Customer Reviews:
A top pick.......2006-09-24
Plenty of books have been written over the decades on San Francisco's great earthquake: what sets this apart is its visual focus, gathering nearly two hundred vintage photos - some amazingly never published before - to include images of famous buildings and neighborhoods alike. While text explores decisions by city leaders after the quake, it's these black and white historical prints which will provide the most impact, presenting photos of people, buildings and events. A very strong addition to any local San Francisco history collection: a top pick.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
"Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone!" Those were the disbelieving words of Jack London, as he surveyed, on April 19, 1906, the devastation of the city by the Golden Gate. The day before, at 5:13 A.M., a powerful earthquake, estimated to be the equivalent of 8.3 on today's Richter scale, had rocked San Francisco for forty-seven seconds, with several aftershocks following in the course of the next half hour. And as the city's residents scrambled fearfully from their beds, they discovered that the colorful and lively town with which they were familiar had indeed disappeared, replaced by an unrecognizable cityscape. Hundreds of buildings had been leveled, thousands more were on the verge of collapse, and here and there fires were already in progress, fires which would eventually grow to rage throughout the ruined town for the next three days.
In this vivid, fast-paced chronicle of what has been called the worst peacetime disaster to ever befall America, veteran journalist and author H. PAUL JEFFERS provides a gripping account of those nightmarish days in April 1906. Drawing on a wide range of eyewitness material, Jeffers follows a variety of individuals as they come to grips with an unthinkable event. Celebrities like Enrico Caruso and John Barrymore; the civil and military authorities who tried to bring order out of chaos; merchants who struggled heroically to save their shops and goods from the ruins and the flames; the suddenly homeless ordinary men and women who composed messages on scraps of paper and sticks of wood to tell of their survival (all of which, incredibly, the Postal Service actually delivered): from all these and many other perspectives Jeffers creates a riveting mosaic of catastrophe and its aftermath. With the one-hundredth anniversary of the quake approaching, this skillful narrative will be of keen interest to readers from West Coast to East. Includes forty-eight black-and-white illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Excellant, readable account of the events.......2006-04-28
Disaster by the Bay is probably the book you want to read. It's a nice balance between "the facts and nothing but the facts" type and "the gory details type" of book that have begun to appear in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.
While The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself by Philip Fradkin is essentially a thorough discussion of the time, including the politics of the period and the environmental effects of the restoration of the city, Disaster by the Bay by H. Paul Jeffers is a clear and concise presentation of the story itself. The former book will probably appeal more to those with an interest in American history, especially of the westward expansion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Great Earthquake captures the transitional spirit of the turn of the century, a time when the Industrial Revolution was rapidly creating the modern world with which we are familiar but before the Computer Age had transformed it into the comparatively futuristic world we occupy today.
Disaster by the Bay, on the other hand, keeps its eye on the main events of the earthquake and fire. Written by a journalist rather than an historian or geologist, the book keeps to a central them. It is a clear, concise, and tightly controlled piece of writing. It documents the story of a large prosperous city that collapses before the forces of nature but manages to show the pluck of the human spirit in adversity. While the author points out the more obvious issues of racism, classism and political graft, he does not stress them any more than a similar author would those that were apparent on the Titanic in the sea disaster that beset a similar segment of the world's population in 1912. As with the Titanic, there were stories of incredible cowardice, opportunism, and self interest, but also stories of bravery, loyalty, duty, and pride. The author documents much of the activity with personal reports of officials, businessmen, military officials and simple people. Even Teddy Roosevelt gets into the story, with his well known personality helping to set the tone of the age during which the events transpired.
An interesting book, more for those interested in a popular account than in a detailed history. Those interested in a more thorough narrative are encouraged to read Fradkin's work.
Outstanding Work! .......2005-12-08
"Not in history has an city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone!" Jack London said as he looked around and at the trashed city. The day before, at 5:13 a.m. one of the biggest earthquakes in history hit San Francisco for devastating forty-seven seconds, with several aftershocks to follow up the next half hour; as the people of the city hopped out from under beds or from chairs to find what once stood a beautiful city was now a city that was crushed along with the souls of the people of the city. Hundreds of buildings had been leveled; thousands more were on the verge of collapsing, fires now burned here and there throughout the city, which would soon increase into fires blazing to add to the devastation for three days.
In this fast-paced, hooking novel the author H. Paul Jeffers provides an exciting, gripping description of the terrifying days in April 1906. Having a wide range of eyewitnesses, Jeffers takes the views of many different individual as they all have different stories on the tragedy of San Francisco. Including celebrities like Enrico Caruso and John Barrymore; the military authorities who tried to bring the people back into control and out of chaos; merchants who struggled heroically to save their shops and goods from the ruins and the flames; the men and women took scraps of paper and wood and wrote to their family members to tell them that they were still alive (all of which, incredibly, the Postal Service actually delivered): from all these and many other perspectives Jeffers has created a masterful book of survival and the after math of one of the biggest tragedies of all time leaving readers from East Coast to West on the edge of their seats.
Fascinating!.......2004-01-05
I've never been to San Francisco and read this book largely out of curiosity. But I found it fascinating...from the personal descriptions of so many who were there...to pictures depicting the devastation. Well researched and well written.
Book Description
On the morning of April 18, 1906, an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale ripped through sleeping San Francisco. At the Palace Hotel, opera star Enrico Caruso fled, half dressed, into the street; John Barrymore searched through the chaos for a bar where he could get a whiskey; orphans screamed for parents crushed to death in their beds. Drawing on contemporary reports and eye-witness accounts, Dan Kurzman captures the fear and madness that raged through a city reduced to rubble. But in this breathtaking pastiche of real-life tragedies, the author also records acts of extraordinary courage. As many as 10,000 people died in the quake and fires that followed, yet the rugged populace refused to quit the city, vowing instead to resurrect it from the ashes. Now, the past comes alive again in this unforgettable history, a masterful account of nature at its worst...and indomitable American spirit at its best.
Customer Reviews:
History through anecdotes.......2005-11-29
I was curious to compare the events in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with the New Orleans Katrina disaster. I wasn't looking for a deeply researched history book, so this one answered my questions adequately. The author doesn't load you up with knowledge about earthquake faults and the scientific background behind plate tectonics. This is mostly a collection of anecdotes from people who lived through the earthquake, the events they experienced and observed, and some background on the political and business climate in which it all occurred.
And that was enough to demonstrate how little we humans have learned about preparing for disaster in the past hundred years. Let's see:
* The fire chief had been complaining for years that the city's water system was inadequate to cope with a major event. That was beginning to be addressed -- in fact there was a hearing about improving the water supply for fireman on the day the earthquake hit -- but the politicos felt the money could be better invested elsewhere. (Gosh, does that sound familiar?)
* Many of the responses from the political people first on the scene were accomplished in a CYA manner. The mayor, for example, was about to be indicted for corruption (and eventually he was, after the earthquake and fire), so his first actions were to secure political support.
* Poor communication stymied relief efforts. In some cases, food and clothing arrived but the distribution process wasn't in place.
* Also, the politicians tried to erase the "bad PR" after the fact, by insisting the body count was much lower than it was (the official numbers were in the hundreds, while on-the-scene reports indicated that many people were shot as looters and the real numbers were in the many-thousands).
* The events brought out the best and worst of people, from strangers who would help one another to police who turned to looting.
All of these sound very familiar, don't they?
The actual events were eerie. I've been in San Francisco often enough to recognize street names and landmarks, and I've heard some of the "society" names often enough to know to whom they were referring. If you've visited the City as a tourist a few times, I'm sure it'd give you another way to appreciate its past.
The book could have used another pass through by a good editor. There are some weird typos and unclear passages. And, as another reviewer said, this is less a history book with deep research and billions of citations than it is a set of anecdotes based on what the author could find at the time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it, and it did cover the info I'd been interested in learning about.
Dreadful.......2005-01-04
I am a former history major at Stanford University, a Bay Area native who now lives in the Midwest, someone who reveres San Francisco history. I have been meaning to write this review for a long time. The NY Times was brutal in its review of this book, which prompted Mr. Kurtzman to write back, attacking the reviewer, who called this book completely episodic. It is that and then some. I have not read Mr. Kurtzman's other books, but after this effort, I'm not likely to. This book is just one lazy, meandering vignette after another, with no structure, theme, or cohesion. Even the title, "Disaster", is a blatant use of Glady's Hansen's brilliant, seminal work "Denial of Disaster." I knew I was in trouble when I read the credits in the front: Kurzman refers to the great historian Malcolm Barker, author of Three Fearful Days, as "Malcolm Walker." The use of other people's structure and story lines is appalling. In their ground-breaking 1971 book The San Francisco Earthquake, Max Witts and Thomas Gordon open with a description of Enrico Caruso coming to San Francisco, fighting with his co-star, escaping Mount Vesuvius, and lines like "Caruso decided he would need more protection than the insurance policy...He bought himself a revolver and fifty rounds of ammunition...By the time the train reached San Francisco, Caruso had become a passable gun handler." Now look what Kurtzman does on Page One. After telling us about Caruso's fight with his costar, his escaping Mount Vesuvius, etc.; he writes "And so he purchased a pistol and fifty bullets...And while crossing the western plains, he spent his time learning how to load the gun and draw it with a flick of his wrist." Kurzman virtually duplicates the opening chapter from someone else's book, then proceeds to tell us the almost identical tales of the identical characters -- Abe Ruef, Dennis Sullivan --as exist in the Gladys Hansen and Thomas/Witt books. I could not find a single fact that was new and insightful, other than Kurzman's claim that 10,000 died -- a statement he fails to corroborate -- though all of us who have studied it know that the official death count of about 500 is a huge lie. I have read virtually every book on this subject, and this is emphatically the worst. Try "Denial of Disaster", or "Three Fearful Days", or "The Great San Francisco Earthquake, or even James Dalessandro's marvelous novel, 1906, which paints an extraordinary picture of how the military ran about shooting suspected looters and dynamiting the place to oblivion. I tried to find something redeeming in "Disaster." I fear that only its name fit that effort.
"A blazing red. . . a hot red, a consuming red".......2004-01-14
Disaster! is a well-written, fast-moving look at the experience of many lives (famous and otherwise) in the face of one of the greatest disasters in U.S. history. The book looks at the unconventional frontier spirit of California's greatest city of the time, spoiled by the graft and corruption of past business and political figures and the current administration of Mayor Schmitz and city boss Abraham Reuf, and tarnished in reputation by the red light districts of Barbary Coast among others, yet loved dearly by most of its residents. It would burn for 74 hours and then, after it burned itself out, mercilessly came the rain. The spirit of optimism was shaken by the experience, but was definitely not destroyed as the city celebrated its rebuilding only nine years later.
The book reveals the good and the bad brought out of people by the disaster. As one witness stated, "I had a Catholic Priest kneel by me in the park...and prayed to the holy Father for relief for my pain and ease to my body. I saw a poor woman, barefoot, told to 'Go to Hell and be glad of it,' for asking for a glass of milk at a dairyman's wagon; she had in her arms a baby with its legs broken" (pg. 149). In many cases, the primitive frontier life returned to the Bay just following the quake. Some militiamen took Mayor Schmitz's proclamation that looters should be shot on sight to the extreme, killing many civilians for trivial matters. In other cases, neighbors of different ethnic and social groups came together-made equal by their loss. One survivor's memory of a free spree at a candy store before it was to be dynamited in an attempt to stop the fire's path carried with him eighty years (pg. 138).
The people whose stories are told include a 10-year old future Major League pitcher who searches frantically for the love of his life; a couple separated and presumed dead by neighbors yet never giving up the search for each other; another couple who insisted on going ahead with their wedding plans despite the chaos around them; the renown prima donna tenor Enrico Caruso who thought he had avoided disaster by postponing plans to go to Naples just before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius; Mayor Schmitz who the very day of the earthquake was to go to a hearing for a case of corruption against him; the head of the Bank of Italy (later the Bank of America) risking life and limb to save his customer's deposits from his doomed building-the list goes on.
The stories are told sporadically in 41 short chapters (some as short as three pages). Some of the stories are almost too spread out. The story of actor John Barrymore's experience, for example, was introduced on page 13 and did not continue until page 166. This style makes it a little difficult to follow at times, but I think it is still better than completing one story and then moving on to the next making the book painfully redundant. Each story is unique enough to jog the memory after a few lines. The book has source notes, a list of people whose experiences are described, a map of the San Francisco area, and a lengthy bibliography. I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
An Interesting, Anecdotal History.......2003-07-26
"Disaster!" is an interesting, anecdotal account of the lives of those who lived through the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. The characters are many, both major an minor. After all of the attention to the September 11 attacks, it is worthwhile to step back and take a look at a natural, and even more destructive, disaster.
Among the major characters are Mayor Eugene Schmitz, Gen. Franklin Funston and Acting Fire Chief John Dougherty.
Mayor Eugene Schmitz was a former concert violinist and concert conductor who had come to power at the head of the Union Labor Party. Although committed to the promotion of the cause of Labor, he used his power to direct graft to himself and his friends. In the earthquake he saw an opportunity to win support which might keep him out of a well deserved prison term.
Gen. Franklin Funston, deputy commander of the army garrison at the Presidio, ordered his troops into the city to render assistance and to restore order. By force of his troops, Funston became, for a few days, the virtual dictator of San Francisco.
Assistant Fire Chief John Dougherty succeeded to the head of the SFFD upon the death of Chief Dennis Sullivan early in the crisis. It was he who rallied the fire fighters through the four days of seemingly hopeless struggle against the all consuming fire.
Amadeo Peter Gianini, founder of the Bank of Italy, which would, in time, become the current Bank of America, assured his place in history and the future of the Bank, by moving the vault contents to his home before the bank was destroyed by the fire.
Although the earthquake did much of the damage, even more was done by the resulting fires. Fires started by upset stoves and broken gas pipes spread and merged until most of the city was in ashes. Hampered by lack of water due to water mains broken by the fire, the heroic fire department had little other than dynamite with which to fight the fire until its progress toward the shoreline and the arrival of naval fire fighting vessels made brine available.
Police and troops used force and coercion to obtain the labor necessary to clear debris and render aid. Unfortunately, the troops also shot many innocent citizens and helped themselves to a liberal share of the booty.
Most of all, "Disaster!" is the story of people, ordinary or famous, who made their way through the chaos. The strong point of this book is less the revelation of a unified story than the interweaving of a collection of individual anecdotes. Enrico Caruso had canceled a performance in Naples due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, only to perform in San Francisco the night before the earthquake. San Franciscans fled their homes, married and gave birth and did so many other things while their world crashed around them. Ultimately, San Francisco survived and rose like the Phoenix to create a city greater than any they had enjoyed before. Read, enjoy and be inspired.
Earthquake, Wind And Fire..........2003-02-11
The format that Mr. Kurzman chose for this book works very well. The book is only about 250 pages long and is divided into 41 brief chapters. Mr. Kurzman darts back and forth, telling you about what is happening to various people that he has chosen to zero in on. For the most part, these are "just common people" but he also tells you about Enrico Caruso and John Barrymore, who happened to be in the city at the time of the earthquake and fire. Caruso and Barrymore actually provide some comic relief from the tragic events described throughout most of the book. Caruso was supposed to have gone to Naples to perform, but went to San Francisco with the Metropolitan Opera Company instead. He had heard frightening tales about the "wild west" and so he bought a gun, learned how to use it, and kept it concealed under his clothing- "just in case"! Mount Vesuvius erupted at this time and Caruso thanked his lucky stars that he had chosen to go to San Francisco instead....well, he thanked his lucky stars for awhile, anyway. Barrymore had signed on to make a theatrical tour of Australia. After he thought about it, he regretted this decision and even after the earthquake hit he spent most of his time hoping he'd miss the boat to Australia. But, again, the book mostly describes the destruction of property and the loss of lives that accompanied the earthquake and fire. The rapid cutting from chapter to chapter effectively recreates the confusion and panic that enveloped the city. Mr. Kurzman widens the scope of the book to include information about political corruption, which contributed to the devastation. For example, the chief of the fire department had been pushing for new equipment but the mayor wasn't interested in spending money on something that couldn't provide him with kickbacks. Additionally, construction contractors tried to cut corners by using substandard mortar, which increased the number of buildings that just disintegrated during the earthquake. Mr. Kurzman writes about the people who charged vastly inflated prices for food and transportation during the crisis, and he also reports on the members of the militia who looted and even murdered when they were supposed to be upholding the law. Desperate homeowners, who knew that insurance wouldn't cover damage caused by earthquakes, set fire to their own homes when they began to be fear that Mother Nature wouldn't do the job herself. One image that has remained with me is of the 3 story hotel that collapsed into a huge crack in the street. The bottom 2 stories wound up underground and many people drowned in the water pouring out of broken water mains. Only the people on the 3rd floor, now at street level, could crawl to safety. Despite advances in construction and fire prevention and containment, could anything nearly this bad ever happen again? Unfortunately, we may find out. Mr. Kurzman quotes geologists who estimate that a quake of this magnitude could be expected to occur in the SF Bay area approximately every 60-100 years. 2006 will be the 100th anniversary of the great fire and quake...
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1906 The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
Darrell Heppner
Manufacturer: Airleaf Publishing
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Earthquake Days: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake & Fire in 3-D
ASIN: 1594534152 |
Product Description
On April 16th, 2006, San Francisco and the world will remember and celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire! It was an awesome event for its time and place. The 1906 Earthquake measured 8.25 on the Richter Scale and lasted around a minute and a half. In was 50 times more powerful than the 1989 "World Series Earthquake" which measured a mere 6.7 and lasted only 15 seconds. One must remember that the Richter Scale is logarithmic to the base of ten; in other words, 8.25 is 10 times more powerful than 7.25 and 100 times more powerful than 6.25! The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was one of the most powerful ever measured anywhere on the Earth. The damage was so severe and the displacement of the Earth so great that seismologists were forced to fundamentally change their theories of the destruction potential of earthquakes and the faults which cause them. In places, the ground moved as much as 18 feet horizontally. This book tells the story in works and full page photographs. In Chapter One, you will see the City as it was before the earthquake. Chapter Two is "the earth in agony and the sky burning." Chapter Three features side by side photos of major buildings before the events and after them. Chapter Four is the City rising from the ashes and the rebuilding of the City. All of the photographs come from albums and glass negatives in the author's collection. The albums were collected by his wife, Anne, many years ago while living in San Francisco. The box of 68 original glass negatives were discovered by the author about five years at an Alameda flea market one Sunday morning. This Centennial Edition contains 116 full page photographs.
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Just after 5:00 AM on April 18, 1906, a earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale ripped through San Francisco, toppling buildings, exploding gas mains, & trapping thousands of citizens beneath tons of stone, broken wood, & twisted metal. And then came the fires: hellish, gas-fueled conflagrations. Rats from smuggling boats began to spread bubonic plague through the city. With water mains destroyed, firemen could only stand & watch for 3 terrifying days as the fires consumed the remains left by the earthquake. As many as 10,000 people died in the catastrophe. Kurzman recreates one of the most horrific events of the 20th cent. He captures the fear & madness, yet also uncovers extraordinary courage & humanity & honorable acts. Illustrations.
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The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire (Graphic Library)
Michael Burgan
Manufacturer: Graphic Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1429601558 |
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The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 (Great Disasters and Their Reforms)
Lisa A. Chippendale
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
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ASIN: 0791052702 |
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