Dark Tide

Author: Stephen Puleo
Genre: History, Non-fiction
Publisher: Beacon, 2004
Pages: 280
Rating: Recommend

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.

Review: This was an excellent read. I cannot wait to visit Boston again and see the North End where this happened. Not only does the author describe the flood in great detail, he covers the politics and economics of the time as well.

History lovers will find this interesting.