Disaster! The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906

Rating:
Summary: Close but no Cigar
Review: This book could have been a masterpiece. Parts of the book portray the compelling human drama of the San Francisco earthquake and fire as if you were there. Other parts are disjointed and confusing. The problem is that the author is unable to connect these seemingly random human events into a coherent whole. In all fairness, perhaps this is impossible to do given the complexity of the event. It doesn't help, however, that the author completely gets the geology of the earthquake wrong at the very beginning of the book. In spite of all these criticisms, this book is worth reading. In several chapters, the author accomplishes the impossible. He is able to describe the experiences of individuals, combine them to make a convincing whole, and make you feel as if you were there! If only the whole book could have been like that.

Rating:
Summary: Close but no Cigar
Review: This book could have been a masterpiece. Parts of the book portray the compelling human drama of the San Francisco earthquake and fire as if you were there. Other parts are disjointed and confusing. The problem is that the author is unable to connect these seemingly random human events into a coherent whole. In all fairness, perhaps this is impossible to do given the complexity of the event. It doesn't help, however, that the author completely gets the geology of the earthquake wrong at the very beginning of the book. In spite of all these criticisms, this book is worth reading. In several chapters, the author accomplishes the impossible. He is able to describe the experiences of individuals, combine them to make a convincing whole, and make you feel as if you were there! If only the whole book could have been like that.