Table of Contents
Preface vii
Chapter 1 America's Roots of Manifest Destiny: The Massacre at Turners Falls (1676) 1
Chapter 2 "Poor Creatures" Perish on Irish Famine Ship: The Wreck of the Brig St. John (1849) 6
Chapter 3 Keepers Warned of Danger; No One Listened Collapse of Minot's Ledge Lighthouse (1851) 13
Chapter 4 Boston Harbor's Worst Shipwreck: The Sinking of the Maritana (1861) 20
Chapter 5 One Man's Courage: The Wreck of the Eveline Treat (1865) 27
Chapter 6 The Great Revere Disaster: Crash on the Eastern Railroad (1871) 34
Chapter 7 Wholesale Ruin: The Great Boston Fire (1872) 44
Chapter 8 The Mill River Flood: Failure of the Williamsburg Dam (1874) 55
Chapter 9 Women, Children Die, Blocked by Wall of Flames: The Granite Mill No. 1 Fire (1874) 66
Chapter 10 Calamity at Devil's Bridge Reef: The City of Columbus Tragedy (1884) 72
Chapter 11 Suburban Nightmare: The Collapse of Bussey Bridge (1887) 81
Chapter 12 The Benchmark Winter Storm: Trapped by a Blizzard (1888) 90
Chapter 13 Birth of the Deadliest Killer: The Spanish Influenza (1918) 99
Chapter 14 The Battle of Orleans: U-Boat Attack on Cape Cod (1918) 107
Chapter 18 A Sticky Situation: The Great Molasses Flood (1919) 114
Chapter 16 Washed Away: The Failure of the Wheeler Dam (1927) 122
Chapter 17 Water Over the Dam: The Connecticut River Floods (1936) 130
Chapter 18 Record-Breaking Storm: The New England Hurricane (1938) 139
Chapter 19 Twelve Minutes of Hell: The Cocoanut Grove Fire (1942) 148
Chapter 20 It Couldn't Happen Here: The Worcester Tornado (1953) 158
Chapter 21 The Greatest Rescue in Maritime History: The Sinking of the Andrea Doha (1956) 166
Chapter 22 Sixteen-Story Rescue: Building Collapse in Brighton (1971) 176
Chapter 23 Slow-Motion Disaster: The Sinking of the Argo Merchant (1976) 184
Chapter 24 Wind, Waves, and Snow: The Great Whiteout (1978) 194
Chapter 25 Underground Miracle: Collision at Back Bay Station (1990) 203
Bibliography 210
About the Author 222
