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Books: Real Events
Aardman, Harvey. THE FINAL CROSSING Copyright 1990. The story of the ship Normandie's final trip across the Atlantic to America before the outbreak of WWII. The ship carried a number of famous people fleeing from Nazi Germany. It was also targeted for destruction by the Germans to get at the gold reserves of France, hidden on the ship.
American Bonding Company of Baltimore. THE BALTIMORE FIRE THROUGH A CAMERA Copyright 1904. A book given away as an advertisement by the American Bonding Company. (They probably insured companies against fire and theft.) This paperback book is chock full of pictures of various areas of Baltimore as seen right after the fire. Most likely, these pictures were taken for the bonding company for documentation purposes, since they were going to have to pay these people their insurance money. They figured all those pictures would make a nice book.
Angle, Paul M. THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE Copyright 1946, published by the Chicago Historical Society. Letters describing the fire from seven of the survivors, along with pictures. This edition was published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the fire, which happened in 1871.
Archbold, Rick. HINDENBURG: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY Copyright 1994. An enormous book covering every detail of the Hindenburg, from the invention of the zeppelin to the 1937 tragedy in Lakehurst, right up to today's zeppelins. Lots of illustrations. This book is similar to Titanic: An Illustrated History.
Ballard, Bob THE DISCOVERY OF THE BISMARCK Copyright 1990. The story of the Bismarck, a German warship built during WWII. After the Bismarck sunk the British battle cruiser Hood, Churchill gave the order to "sink the Bismarck!", launching what arguably could be called the greatest sea chase of the war. Ballard discovered the ship in 1989 using the same techniques as when searching for the Titanic. THE LOST SHIPS OF GUADALCANAL Copyright 1993. The story of how the ships of Guadalcanal, the site of a famous WWII battle, got to be there, and a documentation of Ballard's exploration of the many ships lying on the bottom of the ocean there. Lots of pictures. EXPLORING THE LUSITANIA Copyright 1995. The story of the Lusitania, sunk by a German U-boat during WWI, and Ballard's exploration of the wreck. Lots of pictures. LOST LINERS Written w/ Rick Archbold, copyright 1997. A huge book, the same size as Titanic, an Illustrated History. In addition to a big section on the Titanic, though, this one has lots of stuff about other sunken ocean liners, including illustrations and pictures showing what they look like now, lying on the sea floor.
Barry, John M. RISING TIDE Copyright 1997. "The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and how it changed America."
Burton, Hal. THE MORRO CASTLE: TRAGEDY AT SEA Copyright 1973. The captain of a ship returning from a cruise to Cuba dies suddenly, then a fire breaks out mysteriously, gutting the ship and killing 135 people. The ship ended up running aground off of Asbury Park, NJ and became a tourist attraction for a few months before it was finally scrapped.
Butler, David. LUSITANIA Copyright 1982. Novel about the sinking of the Lusitania, a ship sunk by a German U-boat during WWI.
Canning, John. GREAT DISASTERS Copyright 1976. Documenting 40 of the worst disasters in the world which have happened in the 20th century. Includes some disasters not normaly mentioned in other books of this type. Good pictures.
Cleary, Margot Keam. GREAT DISASTERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY Copyright 1990. An oversize book full of cool pictures of some of the more well known disasters.
Coakley, Deirdre; Greenspun, Hank; and Gerard, Gary. DAY THE MGM GRAND HOTEL BURNED Copyright 1982. (Will update author info shortly-book has been "checked out of our library".) All about the events leading up to and happenings during the horrible fire at the famous Las Vegas casino. Also includes a chapter written by a fireman, which has a step by step of what to do when travelling to avoid getting caught in a fire like this.
Cromie, Robert. THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE Copyright 1958. The story of the terrible fire of 1871, started by Mrs. O'Leary's cow.
With Kogan, Herman. THE GREAT FIRE,CHICAGO 1871 Copyright 1971. Another book all about the great Chicago Fire. This one has lots of actual pictures, while the other book has mostly illustrations.
Cush, Cathie. SHIPWRECKS Copyright 1997. A number of shipwrecks, including the Titanic, are discussed in this book, which includes lots of pictures of what they look like now, at the bottom of the ocean.
Drinker, Frederick. HORRORS OF TORNADO, FLOOD AND FIRE Copyright 1913 by George Bertron. Antique book documenting natural disasters in the late 1800's and early 1900's. It's cool to read someone's point of view that was alive during the time of the disasters he is writing about.
Eastlake, Keith. GREAT TRAIN DISASTERS Copyright 1997. This book takes a look at over 50 of the worst train accidents of the 20th century.
Elliott, Ron. INSIDE THE BEVERLY HILLS SUPPER CLUB FIRE Copyright 1996. All about the big fire at a Cincinatti, Ohio supper club that happened on May 28, 1977. This horrible fire, which took 165 lives, is second only to the famous 1942 fire at the Cocoanut Grove in Boston, which took over 500 lives. This is a good story, from the point of view of someone working there at the time, with lots of pictures and a detailed history of the supper club, which started out as an illegal gambling hall.
Everett, Marshall. THE GREAT CHICAGO THEATER DISASTER Copyright 1904 by D.B. McCurdy. About a fire that broke out in Chicago's Iroquois Theater on December 30, 1903.
Fischler, Stan. THE SUBWAY: A TRIP THROUGH TIME ON NEW YORK'S RAPID TRANSIT Copyright 1997. A complete history of the New York City subway system. Includes a detailed chapter on disasters that happened.
Floyd, Candace. AMERICA'S GREAT DISASTERS Copyright 1990. Mostly a picture book. Documents some of the greatest disasters of all time, separated into chapters including floods, storms, fires, building collapses, earthquakes, mining and transportation disasters.
Flynn, Mike. HINDENBURG Copyright 1999. A history of zeppelins, including a detailed history of the creation and voyages of the Hindenburg, ultimately ending in disaster.
Frank, Beryl. PLANE CRASHES Copyright 1981. Documentation of 40 airplane disasters occuring between 1930 and 1980.
Gero, David. AVIATION DISASTERS Copyright 2000. An encyclopedia of almost 300 airline disasters from the 1950's right up to the present day.
Hoehling, A.A.
With Hoehling, Mary. THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE LUSITANIA Copyright 1956. Story of the sinking of the great ocean liner reconstructed from survivor accounts. LOST AT SEA Copyright 1984. 8 different ship disasters are explored, such as the Morro Castle, Lusitania, Cyclops, and others.
Hoffer, William SAVED! Copyright 1979. True story of the Andrea Doria, a cruise ship which accidentally ran into another and slowly sank over 10 hours. FREEFALL Written with Marilyn Mona Hoffer, copyright 1989. One of the new 767 passenger jets runs out of gas in midair, due to a difference in fuel calculations and faulty equipment. The pilot was forced to glide the plane to a safe landing. See the disaster movies section for details about the made for tv movie adapted from this book. The name was changed to Falling From the Sky: Flight 174 for the movie.
Ian Allen Publishing. BRITISH RAILWAY DISASTERS Copyright 1996. A compendium of the worst of railroad disasters in Great Britain, from the 1880's to the present day.
Junger, Sebastian. THE PERFECT STORM Copyright 1997. The true story of the crew of the Andrea Gail, a Massachussets swordfishing boat that was lost in a terrible storm in 1991. Made into a fantastic movie-see the disaster movies section for details about the movie adapted from this book.
Keylin, Arleen and Brown, Gene. DISASTERS: FROM THE PAGES OF THE NEW YORK TIMES Copyright 1976. A huge 315 page book, which is basically full page copies of New York Times articles, starting in 1871, with the Chicago Fire and going all the way to 1975, with the crash of an airliner at Kennedy Airport in NYC. Includes all the familiar disasters like Titanic, Lusitania, and many more. Really neat book. On the pages where there is a full page reprint, you can read articles on the other news happening on the same day.
Kinder, Gary. SHIP OF GOLD IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA Copyright 1998. About the sinking of the S.S. Central America, a steamer carrying 600 passengers which sank in 1857. The story is intertwined with the present day story of the discovery of the wreck and recovery of the treasure trove of articles that had been underwater for 130 years.
Klutz Publishing. DISASTER SCIENCE Copyright 1998. A really neat kid's book explaining how and why different types of disasters happen., including volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and more. Includes cool before and after page flip pictures for each section.
Kolata, Gina. FLU Copyright 1999. The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918, which killed 40 million people, and the search for the virus that caused it.
Larson, Eric. ISAAC'S STORM Copyright 1999. All about the terrible hurricane that hit Galveston, TX in 1900, devastating the town and killing over 6,000 people. Isaac is the scientist who worked for the meteorology office, who would be forever scarred by the fact that he refused to believe, and therefore did not warn the town, that the hurricane was coming.
Lord, Walter. THE GOOD YEARS Copyright 1960. The writer of A Night To Remember compiled this book of facts covering the years 1900-1914. Includes entries about the Titanic, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, and many other events.
Lowe, David. THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE Copyright 1979. This book is a reprint of the book, Reminiscences of Chicago During the Great Fire, published in 1915 by The Lakeside Press. The original introduction has been replaced with one written by Lowe, who also selected the pictures and illustrations for the book.
Maddocks, Melvin. THE GREAT LINERS Copyright 1978. This book is part of the Time Life series on The Seafarers. Includes many of the most famous passenger liners ever afloat.
Marshall, Logan. OUR NATIONAL CALAMITY OF FIRE, FLOOD AND TORNADO Copyright 1913 by L.T. Myers. Antique book documenting many natural disasters of the time. THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC AND GREAT SEA DISASTERS Copyright 1912. One of the first books to be published about the disaster, this one is a good judge of exactly what the feelings of the time right after it really were. The writer compiles survivor accounts and other information known at the time, as well as listing details of what were considered to be other great sea disasters of the era.
Maas, Peter. THE TERRIBLE HOURS Copyright 1999. The story of the Squalus, a WWII submarine that sunk with 33 crew members still alive, and the Navy officer that attempts to rescue them.
McCullough, David. THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD Copyright 1968. The story of the 1889 Johnstown, PA flood, caused by a dam break.
Miller, William H. THE FABULOUS INTERIORS OF THE GREAT OCEAN LINERS IN HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS Copyright 1985. Pictures of the interior of 72 different ocean liners including the Titanic, Andrea Doria, and many others are included.
Mooney, Michael. THE HINDENBURG Copyright 1972. Book detailing the events leading up to the crash of the zeppelin Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey, in 1937. Some speculation as to whether there was a conspiracy. See the disaster movies section for details about the movie made from this book.
Morris, Charles. MORRIS'S STORY OF THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE OF 1908 Copyright 1909 by E.M. Scull. An account of the 1908 earthquake that happened in Italy. Also a section about other similar disasters.
Nappo, Salvatore. POMPEII: A GUIDE TO THE ANCIENT CITY Copyright 1998. A complete building by building guide to Pompeii, an Italian city destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
Nash, Jay Robert. DARKEST HOURS Copyright 1976. An encyclopedia with descriptions of thousands of disasters, worldwide, from ancient times to the present.
Negroni, Christine. DEADLY DEPARTURE Copyright 2000. "Why the experts failed to prevent the TWA Flight 800 Disaster and how it could happen again", according to the cover. A very good analysis of the explosion of a 747 off Long Island in 1996.
O'Nan, Stewart. THE CIRCUS FIRE Copyright 2000. In Hartford, CT in 1944, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey big top caught fire with 7,000 people trapped inside. This is a moment by moment recounting of the tragedy.
Preston, Richard. THE HOT ZONE Copyright 1994. The true story of a deadly biological virus, which kills 9 out of 10 of it's victims, that almost broke out in the Washington, D.C. area.
Reed, Robert C. TRAIN WRECKS: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF ACCIDENTS ON THE MAIN LINE Copyright 1967. A compendium of accidents involving trains, separated into categories according to the type of accident. Lots of pictures, even from accidents happening in the 1800's.
Regis, Ed. VIRUS GROUND ZERO Copyright 1996. How the Center for Disease Control fights deadly diseases.
Russell, Hubert D. COMPLETE STORY OF THE SAN FRANCISCO HORROR Copyright 1906. Introduction by Bishop Samuel Fallows. Story of the San Francisco Earthquake, along with a couple of chapters on the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and other disasters of the day.
Savadove, Larry and Bucholz, Margaret. GREAT STORMS OF THE JERSEY SHORE Copyright 1993. Documents all of the hurricanes that have hit the New Jersey shoreline, with lots of pictures.
Server, Lee. THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS Copyright 1996. All about our love affair with ocean liners, including a section on the Titanic.
Sharpe, Mike. AIR DISASTERS: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TRAGEDIES Copyright 1998. Explores some of the major air disasters, breaking them down into categories such as human error, collision, weather, mechanical failure, and acts of agression. Includes disasters such as the Hindenburg, TWA 800, and the Air Florida crash in Washington, DC.
Simpson, Colin. THE LUSITANIA Copyright 1972. Another novel about the sinking of the Lusitania.
Thomas, Gordon & Witts, Max Morgan. THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE Copyright 1971. Documents the 1906 disaster and speculates about future earthquakes and what could happen.
Time-Life Books. POMPEII: THE VANISHED CITY Copyright 1992. One in their series of Lost Civilizations books. Lots of pictures along with the story of the Italian city destroyed by a volcano in 79 A.D.
Thompson, Dick. VOLCANO COWBOYS Copyright 2000. The story of the geologists that risk their lives that they might save others. The prediction of volcano eruptions has come a long way and this is a good way to learn more about it. Includes details about Mount St. Helens and other volcano disasters.
Tyler, Sydney. SAN FRANCISCO'S GREAT DISASTER Copyright 1906. Written right after the 1906 quake, this book is a great one to read, since at the time, it was still fresh in everyone's minds. The writer also includes a few other natural disasters, such as Vesuvius.
Walker, James Herbert. THE JOHNSTOWN HORROR OR VALLEY OF DEATH Copyright 1889. Published right after the flood which decimated a small town in Pennsylvania.
Walker, John. DISASTERS Copyright 1973. A small encyclopedia of the more well known disasters, but includes some obscure stuff, too. Interesting.
Ward, Kaari; editor. GREAT DISASTERS Copyright 1989. A Reader's Digest compendium of disasters, from ancient times to recent.
Watson, Milton. DISASTERS AT SEA Copyright 1987; updated and recopyrighted 1995 by William Miller. An encyclopedia of all passenger ship disasters which have happened since 1900.
Zeni, David. FORGOTTEN EMPRESS Copyright 1998. The story of the Empress of Ireland, a passenger liner which sunk in the St. Lawrence River in 1914.
Aasheim, Ashley. A STILLNESS AT SEA Copyright 1983. A fictional story set around the true story of the Lusitania, the ship who's sinking began World War I.
Lytton, Sir Edward Bulwer THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII Written in 1834, this is probably public domain by now. A historical romance based on the author's impressions of what might have happened as Mount Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii in 79 A.D. A number of movies have been based on this novel.
LIFE October 13, 1972. "Lusitania". Introduces new facts about the sinking that had come to light after 57 years.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC April, 1999. "Return to the Battle of Midway". An account of Robert Ballard's expedition to find the U.S.S. Yorktown, downed in the battle of Midway in June, 1942. Includes lots of pictures.
POPULAR SCIENCE November, 1997. "What Really Downed the Hindenburg". New evidence that the coating painted on the outer skin played a hand in causing the fire.
Comments, things we should check out or add? Please Email / knighton@cablespeed.com
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