The Johnstown Flood by David McCollough

David McCollough is a brilliant narrative historian, and his account of the Johnstown Flood is one of the best historical works I’ve ever read.  He covers the details of the day, the people involved, the decisions made (mostly bad, some good), and the heroism of the participants and survivors.  One will never forget the ride of John Hess in his engine down the railroad track just yards in front of the 30-foot wall of water, screaming his whistle at top volume and thereby saving hundreds of lives in the town of Conemaugh.  The images of people on rooftops being carried away, some scrambling to safety, others never seen of again, are so vivid that reading the book made me want to visit Johnstown, see the geography and trace the path of the flood.

After the flood and fire had passed, 2000 people lay dead and the town of Johnstown and all of its industry was destroyed.  Down river, towards Pittsburgh, 10 miles of railroad track–the only link to Johnstown–were completely torn up by the raging waters.  Do you know how long it took the Pennsylvania Railroad to restore the 10 miles of track and run a relief train to the people in Johnstown?  One day.  Relief poured in from all over the country, all of it private, none from the government, state or federal.  The president wrote a $300 check as a private citizen to the relief effort, and that was considered quite generous.

McCollough interviewed survivors of the flood for the book, (it was written in the early 1960s and the survivors were still in their 80s) and recounts a number of first-hand accounts of the experience.  A tremendous work documenting an America that is gone now, but one that we all need to occasionally get a glimpse of.

McCollough’s other books are said to be fabulous as well.  I have read “John Adams”, the well-deserved winner of the Pulitzer prize and the basis for the HBO miniseries on John Adams, and I also highly recommend this book.  Adams is popularly underrated as a Founding Father, but McCollough shows how crucial he was to America. Adams was the driving force for independence, for example. Similarly, with his book “1776”, which covers the period between Lexington and Concord to Trenton, McCollough makes it quite clear how very near a thing the Revolution was, and how much we all owe, even today, to George Washington. Also highly recommended.