--- product_id: 209529516 title: "Johnstown Flood (Touchstone Books (Paperback))" price: "129 zł" currency: PLN in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.pl/products/209529516-johnstown-flood-touchstone-books-paperback store_origin: PL region: Poland --- # Johnstown Flood (Touchstone Books (Paperback)) **Price:** 129 zł **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Johnstown Flood (Touchstone Books (Paperback)) - **How much does it cost?** 129 zł with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pl](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/209529516-johnstown-flood-touchstone-books-paperback) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Buy Johnstown Flood (Touchstone Books (Paperback)) 2nd Touchstone ed by McCullough, David (ISBN: 9780671207144) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Review: Consequential Loss Compensation...be dammed! - This aspect of culpability, in fact, a lack of culpability, is quite striking throughout David McCullough's well-written and researched narrative. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, founded in 1879 by Benjamin Ruff, was a private, elitist and highly secretive summer resort for Pittsburgh's leading industrialists and financier's such as Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon and the like, together with other less well-known personages, albeit still wealthy and influential, with a limited number of other members who were well connected. The club owned the South Fork lake, dam, clubhouse, cottages and some 160 acres of surrounding land. The lake and dam were located at an elevation of 1618 feet (493 metres) above Johnstown on the slopes of the Allegheny Mountain range, a distance of some 15 miles from Johnstown. In 1879, Benjamin Ruff purchased the lake and dam plus other property detailed above and created an exclusive club. A number of significant modifications were made to the dam under Ruff's ownership, most of which were instrumental in its collapse - but you need to read the book to appreciate these. The lake just prior to the dam collapsing was approximately 2 miles in length (3.2 km) and nearly a mile (1.6 km) at its widest point and had a water level of circa 72 feet (22 metres). The dam itself was 931 feet in width (284 metres) made from an earth core with rubble facing. On the 31 May 1889 the dam was holding back some 20 million tons (18,144 metric tonne) of water. Heavy rainfall had swollen the lake such that water was pouring over the top centre section of the dam, gradually eroding the earth until suddenly the dam gave way released the lake water, creating a wall of water travelling at 420,000 cubic feet per second (12,000 cubic metres per second) heading straight for Jamestown. Witnesses said the entire lake emptied in 57 to 65 minutes (estimates vary somewhat), the wall of water some 40 feet (12 metres) in height nearest the ground with the top layer cascading over the lower layer, which was subject to more ground drag resistance, reaching an estimated height of perhaps 100 feet (30.5 metres approximately). The devastation to property, possessions and the loss of life (many of those killed were never found) was catastrophic. But here's the strange part: no one was held accountable. Culpability didn't come into any of the subsequent reports or litigation cases, all of which failed. Why? Well, by the time of the dam collapsed, Benjamin Ruff was dead. The argument being put forward by senior club members was that Ruff was responsible for repairs to the dam and those wealthy members of the club placed their confidence in Ruff's professional experience and knowledge, when in fact, Ruff was not professionally qualified in any shape or form and some of his so-called repairs were nothing short of an amateur bodge, that proved ill-advised and highly dangerous. Had he lived he most likely would have been arrested and charged with manslaughter...who knows? As matters stood, there was no one on whom the local towns people or the state could pin the blame on. There were at least four major reasons why the dam failed, all of which are explained in clear prose in the book. This is a story encompassing stupidity, lack of professional engineering involvement and wealthy club members who put their misguided trust in Benjamin Ruff's knowledge and ability. It is an easy to read account of a disaster on a scale that is hard to imagine and was avoidable if it had been handled by professionals. Notwithstanding this, it is an excellent narrative, well worth reading. As for this reviewer, I'm now starting David McCullough's 'The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris' which also has the hallmarks of an enthralling read, so you may see another review shortly. Stay safe and enjoy your reading. Review: Another great one friom McCullough - I enjoyed David McCullough's book. The style is very similar to that of Eric Larson's book Isaac's Storm: The Drowning of Galveston, 8 September 1900 . They both start the evening before as one man (in this case John G. Parke Jr.) notices the weather is somehow different this night than others. There is a premonition of disaster, although in McCullough's book, John Parke seems not to pay much attention. We then catch a glimpse of Johnstown on the eve of the flood and get a brief history of the place, a booming town heading into the twentieth century, not unlike Galveston, Texas, although the latter was much richer. When disaster does strike we've met some of the characters and so our connection and understanding are so much deeper and more human. This disaster is not just history, but it effected real people, whose lives changed forever. In McCullough's case, live interviews with survivors only strengthen this effect. I would say, however, that although I found the book interesting, I felt there was too much technical detail surrounding the dam and the flood itself. I would have liked to read more details of people's lives before, during and after the flood. It would have been nice for McCullough to include more details he had read in newspaper accounts and from talking to the survivors. All in all, though, I think it is an interesting read, and shows us how big money is often not accountable. A lesson we still need today. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 786,226 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 11,399 in Engineering & Technology 17,429 in World History (Books) 70,045 in Social Sciences (Books) | | Customer reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,605) | | Dimensions | 15.56 x 2.29 x 23.5 cm | | Edition | 2nd Touchstone ed | | ISBN-10 | 0671207148 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0671207144 | | Item weight | 340 g | | Language | English | | Print length | 304 pages | | Publication date | 15 Jan. 1987 | | Publisher | Simon & Schuster | ## Images ![Johnstown Flood (Touchstone Books (Paperback)) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81dUxogXLzL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Consequential Loss Compensation...be dammed! *by B***A on 6 August 2020* This aspect of culpability, in fact, a lack of culpability, is quite striking throughout David McCullough's well-written and researched narrative. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, founded in 1879 by Benjamin Ruff, was a private, elitist and highly secretive summer resort for Pittsburgh's leading industrialists and financier's such as Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon and the like, together with other less well-known personages, albeit still wealthy and influential, with a limited number of other members who were well connected. The club owned the South Fork lake, dam, clubhouse, cottages and some 160 acres of surrounding land. The lake and dam were located at an elevation of 1618 feet (493 metres) above Johnstown on the slopes of the Allegheny Mountain range, a distance of some 15 miles from Johnstown. In 1879, Benjamin Ruff purchased the lake and dam plus other property detailed above and created an exclusive club. A number of significant modifications were made to the dam under Ruff's ownership, most of which were instrumental in its collapse - but you need to read the book to appreciate these. The lake just prior to the dam collapsing was approximately 2 miles in length (3.2 km) and nearly a mile (1.6 km) at its widest point and had a water level of circa 72 feet (22 metres). The dam itself was 931 feet in width (284 metres) made from an earth core with rubble facing. On the 31 May 1889 the dam was holding back some 20 million tons (18,144 metric tonne) of water. Heavy rainfall had swollen the lake such that water was pouring over the top centre section of the dam, gradually eroding the earth until suddenly the dam gave way released the lake water, creating a wall of water travelling at 420,000 cubic feet per second (12,000 cubic metres per second) heading straight for Jamestown. Witnesses said the entire lake emptied in 57 to 65 minutes (estimates vary somewhat), the wall of water some 40 feet (12 metres) in height nearest the ground with the top layer cascading over the lower layer, which was subject to more ground drag resistance, reaching an estimated height of perhaps 100 feet (30.5 metres approximately). The devastation to property, possessions and the loss of life (many of those killed were never found) was catastrophic. But here's the strange part: no one was held accountable. Culpability didn't come into any of the subsequent reports or litigation cases, all of which failed. Why? Well, by the time of the dam collapsed, Benjamin Ruff was dead. The argument being put forward by senior club members was that Ruff was responsible for repairs to the dam and those wealthy members of the club placed their confidence in Ruff's professional experience and knowledge, when in fact, Ruff was not professionally qualified in any shape or form and some of his so-called repairs were nothing short of an amateur bodge, that proved ill-advised and highly dangerous. Had he lived he most likely would have been arrested and charged with manslaughter...who knows? As matters stood, there was no one on whom the local towns people or the state could pin the blame on. There were at least four major reasons why the dam failed, all of which are explained in clear prose in the book. This is a story encompassing stupidity, lack of professional engineering involvement and wealthy club members who put their misguided trust in Benjamin Ruff's knowledge and ability. It is an easy to read account of a disaster on a scale that is hard to imagine and was avoidable if it had been handled by professionals. Notwithstanding this, it is an excellent narrative, well worth reading. As for this reviewer, I'm now starting David McCullough's 'The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris' which also has the hallmarks of an enthralling read, so you may see another review shortly. Stay safe and enjoy your reading. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another great one friom McCullough *by R***N on 8 September 2013* I enjoyed David McCullough's book. The style is very similar to that of Eric Larson's book Isaac's Storm: The Drowning of Galveston, 8 September 1900 . They both start the evening before as one man (in this case John G. Parke Jr.) notices the weather is somehow different this night than others. There is a premonition of disaster, although in McCullough's book, John Parke seems not to pay much attention. We then catch a glimpse of Johnstown on the eve of the flood and get a brief history of the place, a booming town heading into the twentieth century, not unlike Galveston, Texas, although the latter was much richer. When disaster does strike we've met some of the characters and so our connection and understanding are so much deeper and more human. This disaster is not just history, but it effected real people, whose lives changed forever. In McCullough's case, live interviews with survivors only strengthen this effect. I would say, however, that although I found the book interesting, I felt there was too much technical detail surrounding the dam and the flood itself. I would have liked to read more details of people's lives before, during and after the flood. It would have been nice for McCullough to include more details he had read in newspaper accounts and from talking to the survivors. All in all, though, I think it is an interesting read, and shows us how big money is often not accountable. A lesson we still need today. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Johnstown Flood *by D***Y on 12 December 2016* Probably the least known disaster that has occurred in the USA, the Johnstown flood of 1889 resulted in over 2000 deaths, massive financial loss and the devastation of a thriving Pennsylvania community. Johnstown was located at the bottom of a river valley which made it susceptible to serious but manageable flooding during periods of sustained and heavy rainfall. In 1852, an earth dam was constructed some 15 miles upstream of Johnstown in order to create a lake which would serve to provide top-up water for a canal system which unfortunately was obsolete by the time the dam was completed. Over the next thirty years, the dam and surrounding lands changed ownership several times, maintenance was carried out on an ad hoc basis and the lake was always substantially below the capacity of the dam to retain the waters. However, in 1879 a group of extremely wealthy business men purchased the area and began building an exclusive fishing and hunting facility which would eventually see the lake increase to its full capacity thereby putting the ill-maintained dam under maximum stress. Very little effort was made to establish the strength and underlying condition of the dam and the inhabitants of downstream communities regularly expressed concern that under conditions of heavy rainfall the dam would break with catastrophic results. Such an eventuality was realised in May 1889 when after a prolonged period of storms and heavy rainfall, the dam overtopped and progressively collapsed sending millions of tons of water hurtling down the valley towards Johnstown and intermediate smaller communities. David McCullough in this, his first book, describes in excellent detail the background and consequences of the ensuing inundation that became known as the Johnstown flood as it was that township that suffered the greatest loss of life and property. Any readers already familiar with the author’s later books will not be disappointed with this first publication as it exhibits a profound level of research resulting in a very readable and informative narrative. Well worth reading even if you are not interested in modern American history. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Johnstown Flood - The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 - The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pl/products/209529516-johnstown-flood-touchstone-books-paperback](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/209529516-johnstown-flood-touchstone-books-paperback) --- *Product available on Desertcart Poland* *Store origin: PL* *Last updated: 2026-05-08*