Date Published: June 15, 1998
Format: Trade Paperback
Source: Own Physical Non-Fiction Shelf
Date Read: January 13-25, 2019
Physical Non-Fiction Shelf Read Down
Blurb
The 1906 earthquake shook San Francisco for sixty seconds and ignited fires that raged for three days, killing more than 3,000 people and destroying 500 city blocks. Dozens of first-hand accounts by people who endured the catastrophe. Stories of watching the quake approach and rip open the streets. Fighting the fire from inside the mint. Being trapped in the basement as City Hall collapsed.
Review
Barker wrote a quick introduction to the book, then let the people of San Francisco during the time really tell the story. These stories are from a broad section of the population, from the mayor to the National Guardsmen (a relatively new development of the military) to the fireman and the opera singer Caruso. I learned a lot - such as the cattle stampede and the saving of the Mint and Hotaling's whiskey. A good source of primary research for the historian and history buff alike.
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