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The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906
Philip L. Fradkin
How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself
University of California Press
April 2006
448 pages ISBN: 0520248201 Trade Size (reprint)
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Historical
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unpublished eyewitness accounts and photographs, this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.
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