{"product_id":"the-johnstown-flood-9780671207144","title":"The Johnstown Flood","description":"The stunning story of one of America's great disasters, a preventable tragedy of Gilded Age America, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.At the end of the nineteenth century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal. Graced by David McCullough's remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for \u003ci\u003eTruman \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eJohn Adams\u003c\/i\u003e, and twice received the National Book Award, for \u003ci\u003eThe Path Between the Seas\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMornings on Horseback\u003c\/i\u003e. His other acclaimed books include \u003ci\u003eThe Johnstown Flood\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eGreat Bridge\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBrave Companions\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e1776\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Greater Journey\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe American Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wright Brothers\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Pioneers\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50594093433106,"sku":"9780671207144","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b911aa3b-51dd-4a4f-a152-b494bd1668af.jpg?v=1732126768","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-johnstown-flood-9780671207144","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}