Matthew J. Davenport

The Longest Minute: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 by Matthew J. Davenport
Overview: Drawing on a wide range of primary source documents, learn about one of the most devastating disasters in American history.
Take-aways: Students are fascinated by natural disasters. Use this combination of history and science to build an interdisciplinary approach that shares the devastating impact of the earthquake and fire on the largest city in the American west at the time.
ARC courtesy of St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of Macmillan.… (more)

The Longest Minute: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 by Matthew J. Davenport is a very highly recommended, well researched and authoritative account of the historic 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck San Francisco at 5:12 on April 18, 1906 and the days of fires which followed. The Longest Minute reads like a novel at times. The fear is intense as the huge earthquake hits early in the morning and devastates the city. Then the fires begin and the terror starts.

This is a well written and researched account of the natural disaster, but more importantly this is about the extensive fires that devastated the city. The Longest Minute is also the story of some of the people who lived through the disaster and some who were lost. The corruption and discrimination present during this time period is contrasted with the selfless individuals, workers, emergency responders, military personal, and the fire department who risked their lives and worked tirelessly to save who and what they could.

Davenport makes this narrative of the historical events intimately personal as he draws from a plethora of sources, including letters, manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, memoirs, diaries, official reports, court transcripts, and archival records to tell the accounts of individuals. He presents the history of the area and creates a complete written picture of the totality of the disaster. This is an excellent choice for anyone interested in learning about the San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/10/the-longest-minute.html… (more)

At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook San Francisco, catching the city off guard. Shockwaves caused immense destruction, collapsing buildings and igniting fires that turned into a destructive firestorm. In the following days, flames consumed the city and trapped survivors while firefighters battled to save what they could. Drawn from first-hand accounts in diaries and letters, destruction, greed, and survival is revealed.

I’ve always heard about the Great San Francisco Earthquake, knew it was a devastating disaster, but I didn’t know much more about it than that. This book caught my attention as soon as I saw it. As soon as I started reading, it had my attention. What happened during the disaster and how there had been previous fires to warn what was possible, kept me glued to the page.

This was not an easy read, with descriptions of how people died. There were several instances I felt like crying because it was such a tragedy and decisions made were not always the best. (As they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty). It was also not quite as long as I was expecting. There are a lot of references from diaries, news articles, and letters from the event, so the last quarter of the book is made up of those sources.

Overall, I thought it was a sobering yet fascinating read. I would definitely recommend it to readers who are interested in historical events.

I received an early copy through NetGalley, and all opinions expressed are my own.… (more)

historic-buildings, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, seismology, greed, corruption, nonfiction, biography, Chinatown*****

The earthquake left the city with fallen buildings, unusable streets, broken water and gas lines, displaced and devastated families, and fires that encompassed everything.
Before all this there was a history and people and development. And corruption, rapid population growth, slipshod construction and penny-pinching development of basic city services, and greed. This eminently readable and factual book is hallmarked by intense meticulous research and documentation, seismology and geology, fire science as related to the devastating fires, newspaper accounts, true stories of individuals as recorded in their own hand, and personalized understanding of the devastation left behind as well as the monumental task ahead of the people.
Not a dry textbook or doomsday scenario but a very readable presentation.
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!… (more)