The Johnstown Flood

By: David McCullough

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

At the end of the last 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 portrait of life in 19th-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. This is a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are behaving responsibly.

©1968 David McCullough (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Excellent historical narrative

Enjoyed this even more than I expected. Hermann as a narrator makes the stories even more enjoyable. This is the second Audible book I've "read" with Hermann as the narrator....I will actually seek more books read by him because he makes the story even more enjoyable.

Technical issues?

A good read and an exhaustive study of the causes and effects of one of our nation's most horrific disasters.

My only problem with this book is the occasional long lags (as much as 15 seconds) between some of the chapters. On several occasions I found myself checking my audio device to make sure it was still operating properly. Annoying, but not serious enough to make the listen a bad one.

Solid non-fiction read

I knew nothing about this flood, other than the name. It was a fascinating look at one of our largest man-made disasters. A truly tragic tale, but filled with heroic people, as well as interesting looks at historical figures. I wanted to listen each day, wondering how certain people were going to get out of this disaster. Learned a lot and was entertained - that's a good book!

Good listen

Love Edward Hermann's voice but wonder if David McCullough, himself, might not have been even better.

Interesting story; would love to know more

Very descriptive

Very explicit and descriptive account of such a tragic event. If you have ever lived near a river, it will take you home.

Important history

Fascinating history I otherwise knew nothing about.
Amazing example of how complacency upstream and downstream can lead to disaster.

The back stories are so interesting

McCullough tells this story in a manner that engages the brain to want to know more. The engineering details are important and compelled me to find maps, etc of the Johnstown area.

This is as good as John Adams and The Brooklyn Bridge.

Couldn't stop listening to the story.

What about Edward Herrmann’s performance did you like?

I could read about anything that David McCullough wrote, or that Edward Hermann narrated. Put them together and you have a dynamite combination for an audio book. By far my favorite audio books narrator.

Another fantastic book by McCullough

Who could not like ANY book by David McCullough? Vivid, well researched, exceptionally written and well read. You cannot go wrong.

Dramatic and true

lots of direct quotes, covered many aspects of this dramatic, true story in a way that kept my interest for almost the whole time. a few parts were pretty dry but I appreciated how thorough it was. what a horrible incident.