San Francisco Is Burning

Download or read book San Francisco is Burning written by Dennis Smith and published by Viking Adult. This book was released on 2005 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "At 5:12 A.M. on the morning of April 18, 1906, San Francisco was struck by one of the worst earthquakes ever recorded, a disaster that instantly killed hundreds and leveled large sections of the city. The quake has become a watershed event in American history, yet with the passage of time its drama has overshadowed the even greater calamity to which it gave rise: the fires that broke out as the result of toppling chimneys, broken flues, and severed gas lines. These blazes burned for days and were ultimately responsible for the deaths of as many as three thousand people, the destruction of more than five hundred blocks and twenty-eight thousand buildings, and the dislocation of some two hundred thousand residents." "In San Francisco Is Burning, Dennis Smith recounts the three terrible days of the tragedy with an almost cinematic immediacy, tracing the drama through the experiences of a number of people who lived it: a valiant naval officer who helped save the city's piers and wharves, the corrupt mayor, a firefighter who witnessed firsthand the staggering intensity of the fires, a woman who ran a shelter in Chinatown, and the army general who took command of the city and inadvertently placed the city and its people at even greater risk." "Above all, San Francisco Is Burning is a compelling and timely account of how a city copes with catastrophe - how it prepares for such contingencies and how effectively it deals with them when they occur. Smith reveals how San Francisco's corrupt municipal government had paid little heed to the warnings of its fire chief about the inadequacies of the public water system, a failing that would leave the city particularly vulnerable to spreading blazes. Once the fires began, a number of decisions made by the emergency leadership not only proved ineffective hut actually exacerbated the situation. Dynamiting to create firebreaks became, in the hands of amateurs, a dangerous incendiary, while the enforced evacuation of many of the city's neighborhoods deprived them of a volunteer fire brigade, desperate to save their own homes. But the most drastic measure - the declaration of martial law and posting of militia with shoot-to-kill orders against looters - turned out to be the most damaging of all as it led to senseless deaths and the demoralizing of an already overwhelmed populace."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Burning Book written by Jessica Bruder and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-08-07 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jessica Bruderis a reporter for theOregonian.Her writing has also appeared in theNew York Times,theWashington Post,and theNew York Observer.She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Download or read book Black Fire written by Robert Graysmith and published by Crown. This book was released on 2013-10-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first biography of the little-known real-life Tom Sawyer, told through a harrowing account of Sawyer's involvement in the hunt for a serial arsonist who terrorized mid-nineteenth century San Francisco. When San Francisco Daily Morning Call reporter Mark Twain met Tom Sawyer in 1863, he was seeking a subject for his first novel. He learned that Sawyer was a volunteer firefighter, local hero, and a former “Torch Boy,” racing ahead of hand-drawn fire engines at night carrying torches to light the way. When a mysterious serial arsonist known as “The Lightkeeper” was in the process of burning San Francisco to the ground, Sawyer played a key role in stopping him, helping to contain what is now considered the most disastrous and costly series of fires ever experienced by an American metropolis. By chronicling how Sawyer took it upon himself to investigate, expose, and stop the arsonist, Black Fire details Sawyer’s remarkable life and illustrates why Twain would later feel compelled to name his iconic character after him when writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. A vivid portrayal of the gritty, corrupt, and violent world of the Gold Rush-era West, Black Fire is the most vibrant and thorough account of Sawyer’s relationship with Mark Twain, and of the devastating fires that baptized San Francisco.

Download or read book I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 (I Survived #5) written by Lauren Tarshis and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2012-03-01 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The terrifying details of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake jump off the page!Ten-year-old Leo loves being a newsboy in San Francisco -- not only does he get to make some money to help his family, he's free to explore the amazing, hilly city as it changes and grows with the new century. Horse-drawn carriages share the streets with shiny new automobiles, new businesses and families move in every day from everywhere, and anything seems possible.But early one spring morning, everything changes. Leo's world is shaken -- literally -- and he finds himself stranded in the middle of San Francisco as it crumbles and burns to the ground. Does Leo have what it takes to survive this devastating disaster?The I SURVIVED series continues with another thrilling story of a boy caught in one of history's most terrifying disasters!

Download or read book California Burning written by Katherine Blunt and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revelatory, urgent narrative with national implications, exploring the decline of California’s largest utility company that led to countless wildfires — including the one that destroyed the town of Paradise – and the human cost of infrastructure failure Pacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries, establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In California Burning, Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer finalist Katherine Blunt examines how that legacy fell apart—unraveling a long history of deadly failures in which Pacific Gas and Electric endangered millions of Northern Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. As PG&E prioritized profits and politics, power lines went unchecked—until a rusted hook purchased for 56 cents in 1921 split in two, sparking the deadliest wildfire in California history. Beginning with PG&E’s public reckoning after the Paradise fire, Blunt chronicles the evolution of PG&E’s shareholder base, from innovators who built some of California's first long-distance power lines to aggressive investors keen on reaping dividends. Following key players through pivotal decisions and legal battles, California Burning reveals the forces that shaped the plight of PG&E: deregulation and market-gaming led by Enron Corp., an unyielding push for renewable energy, and a swift increase in wildfire risk throughout the West, while regulators and lawmakers pushed their own agendas. California Burning is a deeply reported, character-driven narrative, the story of a disaster expanding into a much bigger exploration of accountability. It’s an American tragedy that serves as a cautionary tale for utilities across the nation—especially as climate change makes aging infrastructure more vulnerable, with potentially fatal consequences.

Download or read book Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society written by Kevin Evans and published by Last Gasp. This book was released on 2019-06-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A template for pranksters, artists, adventurers and anyone interested in rampant creativity, this is the history of the most influential underground cabal that has never been exposed by the mainstream media. Rising from the ashes of the mysterious and legendary Suicide Club, the Cacophony Society at its zenith hosted chapters in most major US cities and influenced much of what was once called the 'underground'. Packed with original art, never before published photographs, original documents and incredulous news stories this is an homage to the San Francisco group.

Download or read book 1906 San Francisco Earthquake written by Richard Hansen and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-27 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the greatest disasters of the twentieth century, in words and photos. The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 was an unparalleled catastrophe in the history of San Francisco. More than 4.5 square miles of the city burned and crumbled into a windswept desert of desolation. This book is filled with remarkable images, from before the earthquake through the blaze and into the rebuilding. With stories from survivors, and extensive photographs of sites from the waterfront in the east to Golden Gate Park in the west, the marina in the north to the Mission District in the south, readers can gain a vivid sense of this major historical event and how it affected one of America’s greatest cities.