Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $15.00
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
Purchase
Description
Shortly after noon on January 15, 1919, a fifty-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed on Boston’s waterfront, disgorging its contents as a fifteen-foot-high wave of molasses that briefly traveled at thirty-five miles an hour. Dark Tide tells the compelling story of this man-made disaster that claimed the lives of twenty-one people and scores of animals and caused widespread destruction.
Dark Tide has been selected as a "town-wide reading book" for five Massachusetts communities including Holliston, Mass.
Narrated with gusto . . . [Puleo’s] enthusiasm for a little-known catastrophe is infectious.” The New Yorker
Compelling . . . Puleo has done justice to a gripping historical story.” Ralph Ranalli, Boston Globe
Thoroughly researched, the volume weaves together the stories of the people and families affected by the disaster . . . The cleanup lasted months, the lawsuits years, the fearful memories a lifetime.” Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press
Giving a human face to tragedy is part of the brilliance of Stephen Puleo’s Dark Tide . . . Until they were given voice in this book, the characters who drove the story were forgotten.” Caroline Leavitt, Boston Sunday Globe
Reviews
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-07-05
Summary: "Dark Tide"
This is not only a book about the the molasses tank coming apart at the seams and the lose of lives because of it but a history of Bostons' North End and the social/political activities that were happening at that time ( WWI). The similarities of then and now are amazing. A very good read....
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-05-23
Summary: "Interesting and Historical"
Dark Tide encompasses far more than the molasses disaster in 1919, but links the event to other historical, national and world events of the time. Stephen Puleo's research is meticulously documented, for history buffs, and is a wonderful look back in time. In doing so, the reader will see that not much has changed over time. So many things then can easily be transposed on events and attitudes today.
Dark Tide starts out a bit difficult to read as the author tries to fit all the various events together in some kind of coherent picture. Considering he does not employ fictional characters to make the story more exciting, I must give him credit for a pretty decent job.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-05-09
Summary: "Worth a Read for History Buffs"
Our book club tries to read books from different genres and books that may be out of our comfort zone. This book was our May selection for historical non-fiction. We were all pleasantly surprised by how interesting and well-written this book turned out to be. Like many tragedies, the molasses flood resulted in one of the first class action civil suits and spawned many changes in the engineering/building code requirements.
If you enjoyed reading Dennis Lehane's The Given Day, you learned about the molasses flood. This book provides far more detail and is the first consolidated research on the topic.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-05-01
Summary: "very interesting book"
Well written historical book.There was a tank filled with molasses which burst and caused much damage and loss of life.Steven Puloe very well researched this book for a long time especially the court room procedings.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-04-02
Summary: "Excellent, easy-to-read history of Boston"
I've read this book before and thought enough of it to buy it. It's an excellent history of the Boston molasses flood.