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Ben MarcusBen Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of... Continue »
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This title in other editions

Dark Tide Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919

by Stephen Puleo

Dark Tide Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 Cover

ISBN13: 9780807050217
ISBN10: 0807050210
All Product Details

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

"Dark Tide is the definitive account of Americas most fascinating and surreal disaster.” —John Marr, San Francisco Bay Guardian

Shortly after noon on January 15, 1919, a fifty-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed on Bostons 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 . . . [Puleos] 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 Puleos Dark Tide . . . Until they were given voice in this book, the characters who drove the story were forgotten.” —Caroline Leavitt, Boston Sunday Globe

Synopsis:

Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters was playing cards in Boston's North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window-"Oh my God!" he shouted to the other men, "Run!"

A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston's waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn't known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster.

About the Author

Stephen Puleo is author of the critically acclaimed Boston-area bestseller Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. A former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor to American History magazine, he holds a master's degree in history and wrote his thesis on Italian immigration and the settlement of Boston's North End. He donates a portion of his book proceeds to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leading charitable funder and advocate of juvenile (Type 1) diabetes research. Stephen and his wife, Kate, live in the Boston area.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:

ELAINE47, January 1, 2012 (view all comments by ELAINE47)
This is one of those rare books you just can't put down. I have read snippits about the "Great Molasses Flood" of Boston but they generally present in a humorous context. In fact, this was a tragedy that caused immense death and destruction, and was entirely preventable. In 1919 xenophobia was rampant in Boston. The war had ended, immigrants were "invading" from all over the world, and anarchists were perceived everywhere.Sacco & Vanzetti were making headlines--and the Irish and Italian mobs were "running the streets of Boston." Big business capitalized on cheap immigrant labor and cheap materials -- "corner-cutting" augmented business profits mightily. Thus, the leaking molasses tank was a trivial matter---it was painted brown to disquise the leakage, until one day......

In addition to the tragedy, this book provides a real education into the politics of business, immigration, and the living conditions in postwar Boston. The individual stories of saviors and victims that day forever discards the penumbra of humor from this tragic event as the "Great Molasses Flood" takes its rightful place among great American tragedies.
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jankelley47, January 2, 2011 (view all comments by jankelley47)
This is one of the most amazing books I've read in years--- The Boston Molasses Flood is a little known tragedy-- I have lived around Boston all my life and have seen it reference only twice. Both times it was as a joke! Stephen Puleo brings together the political zeitgeist in Boston, the origins of the Slave Trade, the Sacco-Vanzetti case, as well as the well known mob rule that existed in 1919--and connects them together in a way that gives new insights into those lawless and xenophobic times. Don't miss this spectacular book!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780807050217
Author:
Puleo, Stephen
Publisher:
Beacon Press
Location:
Boston
Subject:
Modern - 20th Century
Subject:
Industrial Health & Safety
Subject:
United States - 20th Century (1900-1945)
Subject:
United States - State & Local - General
Subject:
United States - State & Local - New England
Subject:
Floods
Subject:
History
Subject:
Boston (Mass.) History 1865-
Subject:
Floods - Massachusetts - Boston - History -
Subject:
General History
Subject:
World History-General
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
September 2004
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
280
Dimensions:
9.09x6.02x.75 in. .98 lbs.

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Dark Tide Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$16.00 In Stock
Product details 280 pages Beacon Press - English 9780807050217 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters was playing cards in Boston's North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window-"Oh my God!" he shouted to the other men, "Run!"

A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston's waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn't known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster.

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