Everything in Its Path

by Steve Alcorn

THE LATEST EDITION OF THIS BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE BY SEARCHING FOR ISBN 143822494X Just after midnight on March 13, 1928 the recently constructed St. Francis Dam gave way, releasing a 160-foot-high wall of water down San Francisquito Canyon. The torrent swept huge pieces of the dam, some weighing thousands of tons, more than a half mile downstream. Four hours later the water thundered into the Pacific Ocean after erasing nearly everything in its 50-mile path. By morning, more than five hundred people were dead or missing. It was the worst American civil engineering disaster of the twentieth century. Everything In Its Path tells the story of Santa Paula archaeologist Randall Thompson and his daughter Kate, who are excavating a Chumash Indian site in San Francisquito Canyon. As the dig progresses, Randall is puzzled by remains interred beneath a layer of silt. Kate explores the town of Castaic Junction and the dam's powerhouse, she getting to know the real-life residents. Then she makes an alarming the dam is leaking! Intertwined with Kate and Randall's story is that of the prehistoric Chumash settlement. Tribe member Singing Bird is tormented by dreams of water, and her village being swept away. But leader Lone Wolf belittles her premonitions, and threatens her if she speaks out. As storm clouds gather, Singing Bird must decide whether to submit to Lone Wolf or try to save the tribe from the awful event she foresees. Across the centuries the two girls' fates are drawn together, culminating in a remarkable discovery as they struggle to save their loved ones from a force that will sweep away Everything In Its Path .

Paperback

First published March 13, 2003

About the author

Steve Alcorn is the author of a wide range of fiction and nonfiction works. His novels include the mystery A Matter of Justice, the historical novel Everything In Its Path, and the romance Ring of Diamonds (under the pseudonym Sharon Stevens). His best-selling history of the Imagineers who built Epcot, Building a Better Mouse, was co-written with author David Green.

During the past decade Steve has helped more than 30,000 students turn their story ideas into reality, and many of his students have published novels they developed in his classes, taught through http://writingacademy.com

When he isn't writing and teaching, Steve is the CEO of Alcorn McBride Inc., a leading theme park design company.

Reviews

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

I found this little Treasure of a book on a random Kindle book search. The cover looked bland and boring but the summary caught my attention. The story is about two girls from two different time periods. One girl was on an archaeological dig with her father, studying the remains of the other girl's native American ancestrial village. Both girls foresee a disaster and try to save their loved ones. Both saw destruction by water. Ironically, even their mothers had similar names. Singing Bird's mother was called Purple Flower and Kate's mother was called Violet. In the end, Kate's intuition brought the answers to some of the mystery of what happened to Singing Bird's village and they got to honor both the ones they lost and the ancient Chumash who were also lost in that valley.
I was even more fascinated to learn this story was based on real events. Kate's having more factual evidence than Singing Bird's prehistoric peoples' part in the story. I live in California and never even heard of the chumash. Can't wait to learn more! Love books that make me want to research and educate myself Haha