Name: 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
Brand: Richard Hansen
SKU: 9780738596587
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

1906 San Francisco Earthquake

9780738596587

$24.99

The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 is an unparalleled disaster in the history of San Francisco. More than 4.5 square miles of San Francisco burned and crumbled into a windswept desert of desolation. We will see this scene from behind the camera, covering before the earthquake through the fire and into the rebuilding of the city. The waterfront in the east to Golden Gate Park in the west and the marina in the north to Mission District in the south will be viewed. City hall and along Market Street through the center of the city will be covered. Stories from survivors and new information, like doctored photographs, will be included. Thirty years of research will be merged to give you an accurate account.

Cover image for 1906 San Francisco Earthquake with a damaged downtown street and a vintage car

Fighting Fire in the Sierra National Forest

9781626193710

$21.99

To live in the foothills on the periphery of the Sierra National Forest is to live with the certainty of summer wildfires. Each year, from April forward, Californians watch the sky and sniff the air for telltale signs of smoke. While fire remains a constant threat, the strategy for combating it has evolved with the understanding of its beneficial role in the forest environment. Marcia Penner Freedman traces the history of firefighting and fire management from the forest's early years through the policy shifts that began in the 1960s and the measures used today.

Cover image for Fighting Fire in the Sierra National Forest, isbn: 9781626193710

Hawai'i Tsunamis

9781467132633

$24.99

This book's stories and images invite readers to honor and learn from those lost in tragic tsunami events. Each person has a history, an account of things said and done, and preserving these stories helps people to understand the past and make thoughtful decisions for the future. Many people believe that there is good in everything that happens; even tragedies can have positive outcomes. This is certainly true for Hilo, which has been shaped physically, culturally, and economically by the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960. In the waves' wake, lives and livelihoods were lost. Hilo would reel from the catastrophes, but the spirit of resilience would shine through, and Hilo would emerge not unscathed, but not undone. Strength and compassion emerge from the stories of fate in how people responded to one another and how they rebuilt.

St. Francis Dam Disaster

9780738520797

$24.99

Minutes before midnight on the evening of March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed. The dam's 200-foot concrete wall crumpled, sending billions of gallons of raging flood waters down San Francisquito Canyon, sweeping 54 miles down the Santa Clara River to the sea, and claiming over 450 lives in the disaster. Captured here in over 200 images is a photographic record of the devastation caused by the flood, and the heroic efforts of residents and rescue workers.

Built by the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Water Works and Supply, the failure of the St. Francis Dam on its first filling was the greatest American civil engineering failure of the 20th century. Beginning at dawn on the morning after the disaster, stunned local residents picked up their cameras to record the path of destruction, and professional photographers moved in to take images of the washed-out bridges, destroyed homes and buildings, Red Cross workers giving aid, and the massive clean-up that followed. The event was one of the worst disasters in California's history, second only to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

Cover image for St. Francis Dam Disaster, isbn: 9780738520797

The 1964 Flood of Humboldt and Del Norte

9781467130882

$24.99

The 1964 flood in the Eel and Klamath Rivers drainages represents an extreme weather event. Both the Northern California and Southern Oregon coasts are host to many floods, but the 1964 flood stands out as a representation of the perfect storm. Three events occurred that led to the flood. First, a cold front moved in and dropped several feet of snow. Second, a warm front called the pineapple connection moved in and released lots of rain while melting the snowfall—local measurements varied from 20 to 32 inches of rainwater in three days. And third, the highest tide of the year had backed up debris and water for several miles. At its peak, the Eel River was discharging more than 800,000 cubic feet per second. Another contributing factor was that besides being one of the fastest rising and falling rivers in the world, the Eel River has the heaviest sediment load second only to the Yellow River in China.

Cover image for The 1964 Flood of Humboldt and Del Norte, isbn: 9781467130882

The Clara Nevada

9781609492885

$21.99

February 5, 1898. Witnesses report a giant orange fireball reflected in the glacial waters of Alaska's Lynn Canal. At the height of Klondike gold fever, the Clara Nevada disappeared into an epic storm— taking passengers and priceless cargo with her. Was the explosion an accident or a robbery gone wrong? Did Captain C.H. Lewis make off with $165,000 ($13.6 million in today's currency) in raw gold? Or was the sinking a case of a sea-weary steamer meeting an untimely end? Alaska historian Steven C. Levi combs the archives to piece together the true account of the Clara Nevada's final voyage, attempting to solve the riddle of the lost steamer that resurfaced ten years after that tragic night and became known as Alaska's ghost ship.

Book cover of The Clara Nevada with turquoise mountains and a steamship on a green lake in Alaska.

The Teton Dam Disaster

9780738548616

$24.99

While cameras rolled, the newly completed Teton Dam collapsed shortly before noon on June 5, 1976. The resulting wall of water, 80 billion gallons strong, battered town after town during its three-day rampage through the Upper Snake River Valley in eastern Idaho. Impounding the flood-prone Teton River, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation dam failed during the reservoir's initial fill, ripping homes from foundations, drowning thousands of livestock, and stripping acres of valuable topsoil. Amazingly only 11 lives were lost during the disaster, as most residents heeded the flood warnings. Presenting photographs from local newspapers, archives, museums, historical societies, and witnesses, this book documents the dam's spectacular failure, the tremendous damage, and the Herculean cleanup and rebuilding process following one of the worst engineering disasters of the last 50 years. Today the investigation into why the 305-foot-tall earth-fill dam crumbled-ironically a dam built for flood control-still prompts debate.

Book cover for The Teton Dam Disaster showing a vintage flood scene with people wading in water and vehicles

The Wyoming Blizzard of 1949

9781625859358

$23.99

Snow, wind and frigid temperatures devastated parts of Wyoming and neighboring states in 1949. For nearly two months, towns and ranches were marooned by enormous drifts, some reportedly eighty feet tall. The storm stranded hundreds of motorists on the highways and stalled nearly two dozen trains at depots throughout the state. Communities pulled together to assist not only their neighbors but also anyone unable to escape the snowstorm. The deaths of motorists and livestock weighed heavily on the minds of Americans as news spread nationwide. Author and historian James Fuller recounts these harrowing stories of tenacity and fortitude.