Riassunto
A compelling exploration of more than 200 events that have devastated our country.
From the "starving time" at Jamestown, the smallpox epidemic during the Revolutionary War, and the "year without a summer" in 1816 to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the San Francisco earthquake, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11, disasters and crises have profoundly shaped American history. These catastrophic events have not only upended people's lives and wreaked untold havoc, they have often transformed society and demarcated one era from another. They have also spurred the nation to action and ignited vast social change.
Encompassing a broad array of events-hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, floods, epidemics, riots, assassinations, rebellions, shipwrecks, collisions, plagues, depressions, explosions, tornadoes, blizzards, poisonings, scandals, bombings, bridge collapses, dam failures, environmental calamities, and others-this volume covers 201 of the most significant calamities and crises in American history. Each chapter focuses on one major catastrophe, examining its cause, initial moment, the sensation of living through it, the immediate and long-range response, and its lasting impact and enduring legacy. Vividly capturing the most haunting and traumatic moments in our nation's past, American Disasters provides a thrilling and informative account of U.S. history.
Product Description
This book offers a compelling exploration of more than 200 events that have devastated our country.Disasters, calamities, and crises have profoundly shaped American history - from the "starving time" at Jamestown, the smallpox epidemic during the Revolutionary War, and the "year without a summer" in 1816 to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the San Francisco earthquake, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Not only have these catastrophic events upended lives and wreaked untold havoc, they have often transformed society, demarcating one era from another and generating vast social change.Broadly defined to encompass a huge array of events that have altered American life, and shaped the nation's consciousness, "American Disasters" provides a thrilling and informative account of U.S. history.Presented chronologically, this comprehensive reference covers more than 200 of the most significant, life-altering disasters from 1492 to the present, including hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires, massacres, riots, assassinations, rebellions, shipwrecks, collisions, epidemics, plagues, depressions, explosions, tornadoes, blizzards, poisonings, scandals, bombings, bridge collapses, environmental calamities, and much, much more. Written in narrative form and signed by leading historians, each article features a fact box highlighting the major details of the event and an engaging "you-are-there" format, which allows readers a firsthand look at people living through the experience.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Su questo libro" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
