Disaster

Our Disaster American history book series chronicles the tragedies in history that devastated a place in the United States. Discover how the circus disaster of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Train contributed to the demise of the circus industry. Peer into the waters of Cape Cod’s “Graveyard of Ships”, then meet the survivors of the Wyoming Blizzard of 1949.  Pay tribute to the first responders who rescued campers during the 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake as well as the firefighters who battled the great Strand Theatre Fire in 1941. From vicious tornadoes to the greatest storms in the past century, these disaster books revive the voices of those lost to historical tragedies. [View all Disaster books]
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A History of Connecticut's Deadliest Tornadoes
A History of Connecticut's Deadliest Tornadoes
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The 1935 Republican River Flood
The 1935 Republican River Flood
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The West Plains Dance Hall Explosion
The West Plains Dance Hall Explosion
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Memphis and the Superflood of 1937
Memphis and the Superflood of 1937
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina
The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina
$14.99 $10.49 Save 30%
The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City
The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod
The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Columbus and the Great Flood of 1913:
Columbus and the Great Flood of 1913:
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The Cedar Keys Hurricane of 1896
The Cedar Keys Hurricane of 1896
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Disaster on the Potomac
Disaster on the Potomac
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Explosion on the Potomac
Explosion on the Potomac
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

A History of Connecticut's Deadliest Tornadoes

9781626197893

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The Wallingford tornado of 1878 took less than two minutes, but it killed at the rate of one person per second. Twisters in Connecticut are incredibly rare, but they're often disastrous and sometimes deadly. The Windsor tornado of 1979 destroyed a field of aircraft that had survived World War II. The 1787 Wethersfield tornado ripped off a barn roof in New Britain, traveled on to Newington and finally subsided in Wethersfield after destroying a family farm. Locals remember the 1989 cyclone that ripped through Hamden and cost the state millions of dollars in repairs. Join local author Robert Hubbard as he shares the tales of these natural disasters and those who witnessed them.
A History of Connecticut's Deadliest Tornadoes

The 1935 Republican River Flood

9781626198555

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
On May 31, 1935, a storm system surged along the Republican River, bursting its banks in a matter of minutes with a roar that could be heard miles away. The greatest flood to hit the tri-state area of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, it left behind a landscape rearranged beyond recognition and claimed more than one hundred casualties. However, amid all the destruction and sorrow, amazing acts of heroism and unwavering courage were reported throughout the valley. Author Joy Hayden reveals the historic disaster and the steadfast resolve of those who witnessed it.
The 1935 Republican River Flood

The West Plains Dance Hall Explosion

9781609491161

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The 1928 explosion that transformed a West Plains dance hall into a raging inferno sparked feverish national media attention and decades of bitterness in the Missouri town it tore apart. And while the story inspired a popular country song, the firestorm that claimed thirty-nine lives remains an unsolved mystery. In this first book on the notorious catastrophe, Lin Waterhouse presents a clear account of the event and its aftermath that judiciously weighs conflicting testimony and deeply respects the personal anguish experienced by parents forced to identify their children by their clothing and personal trinkets.
The West Plains Dance Hall Explosion

Memphis and the Superflood of 1937

9781596295308

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Experience the historic superflood that decimated the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and the resilience displayed by the people of Memphis.

The greatest flood in United States history struck the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys in January 1937. Perhaps no single flood in the United States had caused as much damage, displayed as much brutal natural force and displaced as many people. Not even the calamitous flood of 1927, which has eclipsed the '37 flood in terms of historical coverage was as massive. Author and Memphis local Patrick O'Daniel illustrates how this national natural disaster affected Memphis, in particular, and how the politicians of the day, from national figures like FDR to local political bosses like Ed Crump, handled unprecedented infrastructural challenges. Yet beyond politics and policy, O'Daniel tells the story of this historic disaster through the eyes of everyday Memphians, their struggles, care for thousands of desperate refugees and the measures they took to save their city from this devastating flood.

Memphis and the Superflood of 1937

The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina

9781596293915

$14.99 $10.49 Save 30%
From the horrific Independence Hurricane of 1775, the most lethal storm to strike its coast, to the ruinous Hugo in September 1989, a path has been cut along the shores of the Tarheel State-a path not easily forgotten. Engagingly written and illustrated with historical photos that graphically depict the disastrous effects of these mighty storms, this book is a gripping read!
The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina

The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City

9781596296886

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The mountain snows melted and the rains came. In 1853, thousands fled the rising water; in 1889, two days of torrential rain ravaged the city; and in 1936, the infamous St. Patrick's Day flood saw a swell of ten feet. Perched on the banks of the Potomac River, the city of Cumberland, Maryland, has been plagued by devastating floods since its foundation. Time and again, deluges have brought the city to its knees. Yet the Queen City has always risen triumphant and undimmed from the raging waters. With this stunning collection of images, historian and author Albert L. Feldstein chronicles the history of Cumberland through its floods and the valiant efforts of its citizens to stem the tide.
The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City

The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod

9781609490508

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Get a first-hand account and fascinating new details of the story behind The Finest Hours, the film portraying the harrowing rescue of the SS Pendleton in 1952.

On February 18, 1952, off the coast of Cape Cod, a fierce nor'easter snapped in half two 503-foot oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. Human grace and grit, leadership and endurance prevail as Theresa Mitchell Barbo and Captain W. Russell Webster (Ret.) recount the historic, heroic rescue of thirty-two merchant mariners from the sinking Pendleton by four young Coast Guardsmen aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG36500. A foreword by former Commandant Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) and an essay by Master Chief John ""Jack"" Downey (Ret.), a veteran of thousands of modern-day small boat rescues, round out the special third edition of this classic work on Coast Guard history.

The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod

Columbus and the Great Flood of 1913:

9781626190610

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Beginning on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, Columbus and the Ohio Valley endured a downpour that would produce the largest flood in one hundred years. Heavy rains came on the heels of an especially cold winter, resulting in a torrent of runoff over saturated and frozen ground. Rivers and streams quickly overflowed and levees failed, sending tsunami-like floodwater into unsuspecting communities and claiming four hundred lives. There were ninety-six deaths in Columbus alone when the swollen Scioto River emptied water that ran nine to seventeen feet deep through the streets of the near west side. Join Conrade C. Hinds and the Columbus Landmarks Foundation in a closer look at a flood disaster that reshaped the American Midwest.
Columbus and the Great Flood of 1913:

The Cedar Keys Hurricane of 1896

9781596296121

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Families watched in horror as walls of water swept away homes and businesses, and men held onto saplings for their lives while the winds howled.

The destruction was beyond belief. Buildings on Atsena Otie were swept away so completely that only cracked stone foundations remained, and the forests of red cedar that gave the islands their name and livelihood were flattened. Resulting in dozens of deaths and millions of dollars in damage, Hurricane Number 4 in 1896 changed the Cedar Keys forever and set the city on a path to the present. Historian Alvin F. Oickle, drawing on firsthand accounts and extensive archival research, tells the story of ordinary Floridians who were faced, like so many before and so many since, with nature's fury.

The Cedar Keys Hurricane of 1896

Disaster on the Potomac

9781596298132

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
For passengers of the steamboat Wawaset, August 8, 1873, began with a pleasant cruise from Washington, D.C., down the Potomac River. As the Wawaset came into sight of a small Virginia landing, fire broke out below decks, and frantic passengers leapt from the flames only to be pulled down by the swift waters. Author Alvin F. Oickle puts a human face to the tragedy as he profiles some of the seventy-five who perished, among them young mother Alethea Gray and six members of the Reed family. With a fast-paced style and firsthand accounts, Oickle masterfully narrates the last run of the Wawaset against the backdrop of a tense post-Civil War society.
Disaster on the Potomac

Explosion on the Potomac

9781626191976

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
In 1844, the USS Princeton" was the most technologically sophisticated warship in the world. Its captain, Robert Stockton, and President John Tyler were both zealous expansionists, and they hoped that it would be the forerunner in a formidable steam-powered fleet. On a Potomac cruise intended to impress power brokers, the ship's main gun--the Peacemaker--exploded as the vessel neared Mount Vernon. Eight died horribly, while twenty others were injured. Two of Tyler's most important cabinet members were instantly lost, and the president himself had a near miss--making it the worst physical disaster to befall a presidential administration. The tragedy set off an unpredictable wave of events that cost Tyler a second term, nearly scuttled plans to add Texas to the Union and stirred up sectional rancor that drove the nation closer to civil war. Author Kerry Walters chronicles this little-known disaster that altered the course of the nation's history."
Explosion on the Potomac