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The San Francisco Earthquake
The authors use never-before-published eyewitness reports and previously ignored documents of the insurance companies, the military, and the Red Cross to tear away myths surrounding the holocaust. They expose the real villains and heroes, show how the political powers tried to conceal the amount of damage caused by the earthquake, reveal that the fire was spread by the inexperienced dynamite squads trying to contain it, and tell how the military executed people without trial.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1971
240 people are currently reading
456 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Thomas
119 books197 followersGordon Thomas (born 1933) is a Welsh author who has written more than fifty books.
Thomas was born in Wales, in a cemetery keeper's cottage where his grandmother lived. He had his first story published at nine years old in a Boy's Own Paper competition. With his father in the RAF, he traveled widely and was educated at the Cairo High School, the Maritz Brothers (in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) and, lastly, at Bedford Modern School. His first book, completed at the age of seventeen, is the story of a British spy in Russia during World War II, titled Descent Into Danger. He refused the offer of a job at a university in order to accompany a traveling fair for a year: he used those experiences for his novel, Bed of Nails. Since then his books have been published worldwide. He has been a foreign correspondent beginning with the Suez Crisis and ending with the first Gulf War. He was a BBC writer/producer for three flagship BBC programmes: Man Alive, Tomorrow's World and Horizon.
He is a regular contributor to Facta, the respected monthly Japanese news magazine, and he lectures widely on the secret world of intelligence. He also provides expert analysis on intelligence for US and European television and radio programs.His book Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors became a major documentary for Channel Four that he wrote and narrated: The Spy Machine. It followed three years of research during which he was given unprecedented access to Mossad’s main personnel. The documentary was co-produced by Open Media and Israfilm.
Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors has so far been published in 16 languages. A source for this book was Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli intelligence agent, and legendary Israeli spy Rafi Eitan. According to Charles Foster in Contemporary Review: "Writers who know their place are few and far between: fortunately Mr Thomas is one of them. By keeping to his place as a tremendous storyteller without a preacher's pretensions, he has put his book amongst the important chronicles of the state of Israel."
Thomas was born in Wales, in a cemetery keeper's cottage where his grandmother lived. He had his first story published at nine years old in a Boy's Own Paper competition. With his father in the RAF, he traveled widely and was educated at the Cairo High School, the Maritz Brothers (in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) and, lastly, at Bedford Modern School. His first book, completed at the age of seventeen, is the story of a British spy in Russia during World War II, titled Descent Into Danger. He refused the offer of a job at a university in order to accompany a traveling fair for a year: he used those experiences for his novel, Bed of Nails. Since then his books have been published worldwide. He has been a foreign correspondent beginning with the Suez Crisis and ending with the first Gulf War. He was a BBC writer/producer for three flagship BBC programmes: Man Alive, Tomorrow's World and Horizon.
He is a regular contributor to Facta, the respected monthly Japanese news magazine, and he lectures widely on the secret world of intelligence. He also provides expert analysis on intelligence for US and European television and radio programs.His book Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors became a major documentary for Channel Four that he wrote and narrated: The Spy Machine. It followed three years of research during which he was given unprecedented access to Mossad’s main personnel. The documentary was co-produced by Open Media and Israfilm.
Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors has so far been published in 16 languages. A source for this book was Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli intelligence agent, and legendary Israeli spy Rafi Eitan. According to Charles Foster in Contemporary Review: "Writers who know their place are few and far between: fortunately Mr Thomas is one of them. By keeping to his place as a tremendous storyteller without a preacher's pretensions, he has put his book amongst the important chronicles of the state of Israel."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
January 1, 2016
Easy and engaging read about a difficult time period. Not the most comprehensive or unemotional guide to the earthquake, but one based in personal anecdotes and stories, with many quotes directly from survivors interviewed by the authors. It's a very human history book, and that makes it very different from your average history.
I'm typically not a huge fan of history books that are so story-based, preferring to see a very organized, big-picture view, but I was captivated by this one. The stories captured my interest and I got through it very quickly.
An interesting note about the book is that, since it was written in 1971, the "next big one" he cautions us about has actually come and gone, with the 1989 quake. Sure, we're (always) due for another one, but I think living through that earthquake taught SF even more about what was and wasn't working, and the hysteria filling the book is probably not as justified as it was when it was written.
I'm typically not a huge fan of history books that are so story-based, preferring to see a very organized, big-picture view, but I was captivated by this one. The stories captured my interest and I got through it very quickly.
An interesting note about the book is that, since it was written in 1971, the "next big one" he cautions us about has actually come and gone, with the 1989 quake. Sure, we're (always) due for another one, but I think living through that earthquake taught SF even more about what was and wasn't working, and the hysteria filling the book is probably not as justified as it was when it was written.
April 16, 2018
One sentence removed all respect I had for the authors.
Up until that sentence the book was actually fairly good, deserving of four stars. Then they wrote "Like a child donning a toy uniform and assuming the fantasy role that went with it, Caruso, in his striped trousers and jacket, had dressed himself perfectly for his exercise in autism."
Whatever their intention, comparing some person's attitude with being autistic is in very poor taste. It's an insult to autistic everywhere. Being autistic is not an attitude that can be turned on and off at will. It is an essential part of who someone is - a part of their being. I know this because I have two sons on the autism spectrum and am autistic myself. Shame on these authors for using this appellation so cavalierly.
Up until that sentence the book was actually fairly good, deserving of four stars. Then they wrote "Like a child donning a toy uniform and assuming the fantasy role that went with it, Caruso, in his striped trousers and jacket, had dressed himself perfectly for his exercise in autism."
Whatever their intention, comparing some person's attitude with being autistic is in very poor taste. It's an insult to autistic everywhere. Being autistic is not an attitude that can be turned on and off at will. It is an essential part of who someone is - a part of their being. I know this because I have two sons on the autism spectrum and am autistic myself. Shame on these authors for using this appellation so cavalierly.
April 10, 2018
This was a very informative book. The authors did a lot of research and spoke to a lot of people who either survived the earthquake or were relatives of survivors. The book is a true story and it tells of the hell that the people lived through following the earthquake. You had the army come in and run the city, killing anyone at will that they thought were looters or not obeying their orders. You had the mayor who gave the order for the army to run the city, long after they had already taken control. You had thousands of people who were trying to escape the fires that followed the earthquake. There were dynamite charges bringing down buildings to try to contain the fires, which instead of helping, only added to the fires that were burning. The survivors lived in hell for days after the quake. This book shows what the true tragedy and aftermath of the quake caused to the survivors. Rats were running rampant in the streets because of the buildings that were coming down, plague was an aftermath of the conflagulation. I strongly suggest this book if you would like to read the real story of the 1906 quake. I visited the Winchester Mansion, which is miles away from the quake and saw some of the damage that was caused by the quake.
August 7, 2017
Fascinating....unless you live in San Francisco......
Good book, it goes into great detail, following some of the main players in the earthquake - the corrupt mayor, the crusading public figure, valiant interim fire chief, and General Funston, commander of the Presidio. The good general imposed what was essentially Marshall law and tried to keep order with his troops. He had a point, the powers that be (that were?) were spectacularly corrupt, making graft start form.
Trouble is Fun stones lads had their own problems, as young men given a gun, a catastrophe, vigilante power, and adrenaline tend to have. The order to shoot looters did not help, no stats were kept but likely many were shot trying to salvage their own stuff. Ah, and the boys did a bit of looting too, especially licorice stores. Perhaps not their finest moment.
But they tried, especially trying for a fire break by blasting houses. Trouble is, they didn't have much experience, so they tended the send blazing building parts into intact buildings. Oops.
There were may heroes in those days, the naval personnel from a nearby base did a great job fighting fires, and many did the right thing. Just like real life I suppose. Why won't you like this if you're from San Francisco? Because the author maintains it will happen again, which it will of course. But how bad? Are the buildings better off, our preparations better, our warning technology enough? My daughter and her family live there, I personally just hope he's wrong when he says nothings changed.
Good book, it goes into great detail, following some of the main players in the earthquake - the corrupt mayor, the crusading public figure, valiant interim fire chief, and General Funston, commander of the Presidio. The good general imposed what was essentially Marshall law and tried to keep order with his troops. He had a point, the powers that be (that were?) were spectacularly corrupt, making graft start form.
Trouble is Fun stones lads had their own problems, as young men given a gun, a catastrophe, vigilante power, and adrenaline tend to have. The order to shoot looters did not help, no stats were kept but likely many were shot trying to salvage their own stuff. Ah, and the boys did a bit of looting too, especially licorice stores. Perhaps not their finest moment.
But they tried, especially trying for a fire break by blasting houses. Trouble is, they didn't have much experience, so they tended the send blazing building parts into intact buildings. Oops.
There were may heroes in those days, the naval personnel from a nearby base did a great job fighting fires, and many did the right thing. Just like real life I suppose. Why won't you like this if you're from San Francisco? Because the author maintains it will happen again, which it will of course. But how bad? Are the buildings better off, our preparations better, our warning technology enough? My daughter and her family live there, I personally just hope he's wrong when he says nothings changed.
December 22, 2021
Rounded up from 3.5 stars. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake is probabably one of the best-known natural disasters in history. This book tries to give an hour-by-hour accounting of the 70+ hours of earthquake and fire damage. It does a reasonable job of describing the multitude number of mistakes made, and the bravery that eventually prevailed.
The 1906 city was a disaster waiting to happen with wooden houses, poor underground water pipes, rats and the lingering threat of plague, and massive corruption all centered on the San Andreas Fault, just waiting to be released. Fate took a hand in an 8.25 earthquake on April 18, which was followed by a horrible fire, both of which resulted in some 3000 dead (a figure derived at by modern research).
The city was ill-equipped to handle such a conflagration. As a result, another battle was waged between the army under Brigadier General Frederick Funston and civilian control under Mayor Eugene Schmitz. Dynamiting destroyed much that didn't need to be ruined, in an effort to put out the fire. Many people were shot without proof as looters. It was a terrible time for the city, but eventually the city was saved and started to rebuild. But the question still lingers, what would another massive quake do? Has San Francisco learned its lesson or are its collective fingers just crossed?
The 1906 city was a disaster waiting to happen with wooden houses, poor underground water pipes, rats and the lingering threat of plague, and massive corruption all centered on the San Andreas Fault, just waiting to be released. Fate took a hand in an 8.25 earthquake on April 18, which was followed by a horrible fire, both of which resulted in some 3000 dead (a figure derived at by modern research).
The city was ill-equipped to handle such a conflagration. As a result, another battle was waged between the army under Brigadier General Frederick Funston and civilian control under Mayor Eugene Schmitz. Dynamiting destroyed much that didn't need to be ruined, in an effort to put out the fire. Many people were shot without proof as looters. It was a terrible time for the city, but eventually the city was saved and started to rebuild. But the question still lingers, what would another massive quake do? Has San Francisco learned its lesson or are its collective fingers just crossed?
May 21, 2017
This is a really good account of the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906, all the more impressive in that it reads like a piece of eyewitness journalism, though it was published 65 years later.
The book is fast paced and captures the horrors of what happened. To give a sense of the writing, from the book:
"At the Ferry Building, the arrival and departure of refugees had become a fast-moving and streamlined operation. Passengers were permitted to take with them on the ferries only as many personal possessions as they could carry with them.
"One old man willingly gave up the wheelbarrow of things he had trundled down Market to the Ferry Building, but he firmly refused to part with a small box holding a white rat. It was, he explained to railroad officials, no ordinary rodent. 'It's a performing rat,' he insisted. 'He's like a son to me ....'
"Both made the crossing to Oakland.
"It took some time to persuade a young man to part with a stiff bundle in his arms. Inside the bundle were two dead babies. The father kept telling the railwaymen that they were asleep, and were being kept warm by his own body. They were all he had left in the world.
"In the end he made the crossing alone."
The book is fast paced and captures the horrors of what happened. To give a sense of the writing, from the book:
"At the Ferry Building, the arrival and departure of refugees had become a fast-moving and streamlined operation. Passengers were permitted to take with them on the ferries only as many personal possessions as they could carry with them.
"One old man willingly gave up the wheelbarrow of things he had trundled down Market to the Ferry Building, but he firmly refused to part with a small box holding a white rat. It was, he explained to railroad officials, no ordinary rodent. 'It's a performing rat,' he insisted. 'He's like a son to me ....'
"Both made the crossing to Oakland.
"It took some time to persuade a young man to part with a stiff bundle in his arms. Inside the bundle were two dead babies. The father kept telling the railwaymen that they were asleep, and were being kept warm by his own body. They were all he had left in the world.
"In the end he made the crossing alone."
December 31, 2022
What a fascinating and riveting account of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Beginning the day before and carrying on till the present day that the book was written (1970's). We follow many different people from General Funston who takes over the city minutes after the quake without authorization and leads the army on missions to stop looting that was horrifying and also fire breaks that would've been hilarious had it not been so tragic. The mayor Schmitz and his sidekick Ruef who were stealing from the city and took advantage of the quake to make themselves look better only to end in a wild dramatic trial afterwards. The singer Caruso who goes from hysteria to weird calmness back to hysteria. We also see policeman Ingham who dreamt of the city being destroyed by fire before the quake and saw his nightmare come true. And of course many different everyday people who watched helpless as their homes were destroyed, loved ones lost some never to be seen again. It's a gripping if outdated account given that a large quake hit that area since this was written. Doubtful there will be an update but still enjoyable.
January 23, 2019
Interesting to read about the many human machinations that were interwoven with the tasks associated with dealing with the physical catastrophes triggered by the earthquake, the latter including buildings collapsing, utilities destroyed, fires everywhere, people injured or killed or simply overwhelmed by trauma and loss. The social and political maneuvering was, in the end, as devastating to San Francisco as the earthquake itself.
One note: the book was written in the early 1970s and subsequently the San Francisco area was struck by an earthquake of more than 8 magnitude in 1989. Thankfully, some of the impacts were mitigated by actions taken and policies enacted following the 1906 earthquake.
One note: the book was written in the early 1970s and subsequently the San Francisco area was struck by an earthquake of more than 8 magnitude in 1989. Thankfully, some of the impacts were mitigated by actions taken and policies enacted following the 1906 earthquake.
April 1, 2018
Riveting description of the 1906 earthquake and aftermath
This was a riveting description of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and it's aftermath. The stories leading up to the earthquake could sometimes be overly detailed and it was hard to understand the value other than giving readers a slice of life or making the story more personal. I understand the objective, but I found myself skimming through a lot of it. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical insight into San Francisco during that era and the characters who found themselves or put themselves in charge of emergency response.
This was a riveting description of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and it's aftermath. The stories leading up to the earthquake could sometimes be overly detailed and it was hard to understand the value other than giving readers a slice of life or making the story more personal. I understand the objective, but I found myself skimming through a lot of it. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical insight into San Francisco during that era and the characters who found themselves or put themselves in charge of emergency response.
August 19, 2019
An easy read and very informative. Even being a native Californian and experiencing a few earthquakes myself, I had no idea what went on in the streets for 3 days after the quake. The haphazard destruction in an alleged attempt to control the fire was appalling, as was the corrupt behavior of the military under orders of Brig Gen Funston. The estimated total loss was between $350-500M (almost $14B today). I had no idea how destroyed San Francisco was. There are about 25 B&W photos which are amazing. The inside front cover has a map showing some important landmarks as well as the areas destroyed by the fires.
November 27, 2020
Interesting telling of the minutes and days following the 1906 earthquake. I find the history interesting, but the many, many characters introduced by Thomas and Morgan-Witts left me largely struggling to follow the unfolding story. Though chapters were organized chronologically to capture separate chunks of hours following the initial event, the story itself of how the event unfolded seemed disjointed and chaotic. I am sure that the hours following the earthquake were in fact chaotic and disjointed, however I would have preferred the history presented by this book to be a bit more refined and easier to follow.
October 21, 2021
I've been researching the life of Ina Coolbrith, California's first poet laureate, and that's what led me to this book. She lived through the quake and watched as the fire consumed her home on Russian Hill -- along with all her books and an almost-completed manuscript about the history of California literature from 1843 to the time of the quake. This book, published in 1971, takes the tragedy hour by hour, and reveals much about the major players -- sometimes competent and compassionate, but more often corrupt, and ignorant. Very interesting. (Although I didn't really want to know that much about Enrico Caruso).
April 9, 2020
I thought this would be a dry history about the San Francisco earthquake, but it was much more like a thriller about certain prominent people in San Francisco in the aftermath of the quake. I learned all sorts of things about what San Francisco was like in 1906, like the fact that there was bubonic plague in the slum areas. By the time I was finished, the destruction of the city (more by fire than by earthquake) almost seemed like an act of divine punishment for a town that was steeped in corruption of every kind.
March 7, 2022
Earthquake in San Francisco 1906
If you've ever lived in California, you're acquainted with earthquakes, but the 1906 earth that hit San Francisco, was a monumental one! And what if it happened today? The story behind 'the story' was very eye opening to me. I wasn't aware of all the corruption in San Francisco, the terrible decisions that were made, and how totally unprepared they were! Even if you know about the earthquake and the fire, you will discover new things from eye witness accounts, and historical documents.
If you've ever lived in California, you're acquainted with earthquakes, but the 1906 earth that hit San Francisco, was a monumental one! And what if it happened today? The story behind 'the story' was very eye opening to me. I wasn't aware of all the corruption in San Francisco, the terrible decisions that were made, and how totally unprepared they were! Even if you know about the earthquake and the fire, you will discover new things from eye witness accounts, and historical documents.
April 23, 2018
Excellent reading history
This book was well-written and extremely interesting. I studied geology in college and pretty well understood the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 from that scientific perspective. However, this book expanded that perspective and further introduced interesting personal perspectives I to the mix. I was entertained and horrified in the telling. Great book.
This book was well-written and extremely interesting. I studied geology in college and pretty well understood the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 from that scientific perspective. However, this book expanded that perspective and further introduced interesting personal perspectives I to the mix. I was entertained and horrified in the telling. Great book.
August 25, 2018
A great read for someone like me who loves American history. It reads like it was happening right now, including all the corruption in politics. Loved the pictures but it would have even been better if there was a map of San Francisco at the time of the earthquake. The Presidio is mentioned quite a bit in the story and it was given to the city by the army many years ago and eventually bought by Lukas Films, where Star Wars is filmed!
May 20, 2022
It is unfortunate as the book touches upon a number of interesting aspects of the events surrounding the earthquake and fire but is undone by a structure focused on loosely linking together a number personal stories and anecdotes collected from unknown sources. Presumably, this was with the intent to be of interest to a mass market audience but unfortunately leaves anyone interested in a true history of the event sorely disappointed.
December 5, 2022
Very interesting . More about the aftermath, politics, and cultural issues of San Francisco . Some of the infighting among federal, state and city governments sounded familiar. Realized that this was written in 1971 before the 1989 earthquake. Loved the personal stories such as Enrico Caruso, John Barrymore, Leland Stanford, William R. Hurst, the founder of Bank of America And so many others .
Some very surprising issues like martial law without any permission , bribery , looting outcomes , trickery of insurance companies etc.
Some very surprising issues like martial law without any permission , bribery , looting outcomes , trickery of insurance companies etc.
August 18, 2018
Page turner
Historical nonfiction written in a captivating manner very personal accounts very detailed but not boring to read. Interesting photos of the events and people. Glad the misery ended but not the book
Historical nonfiction written in a captivating manner very personal accounts very detailed but not boring to read. Interesting photos of the events and people. Glad the misery ended but not the book
November 1, 2018
1906 Disaster
What an incredible book that takes us into the public and private lives of the people who suffered so greatly.Never knew much of the corruption of the city officals.this is a great read and a very easy understanding of the aftermath of a great tragedy.
What an incredible book that takes us into the public and private lives of the people who suffered so greatly.Never knew much of the corruption of the city officals.this is a great read and a very easy understanding of the aftermath of a great tragedy.
May 3, 2020
Very good book - I really enjoyed the way it was written. Not as a novel but easy to understand. Although it was copyrighted 1971 it was very informative with an hourly and daily description of various parts of the city and how people reacted to it. I would definitely recommend it.
January 19, 2022
If you read only one book about the 1906 quake, try Dennis Smith’s book instead. This is good as a fill in afterwards. Some of the information in Thomas’s book such as the Caruso story conflicts with Smith’s book.
October 27, 2017
A excellent read on the subject. It is actually two events the earthquake and the fire. Takes out through the event hour by hour. A good read, and an excellent research source on the subject. Enjoy!
February 10, 2018
I've read quite a bit on the subject and I really enjoyed how the authors put this account together. Hour by hour, first hand tales of the disaster make for a real page-turner.
March 27, 2018
Really good book but...
I really enjoyed this book and learned a great deal. However there was some information that was not followed up. That would be my only complaint.
I really enjoyed this book and learned a great deal. However there was some information that was not followed up. That would be my only complaint.
August 3, 2018
Very informative. The eye-witness accounts were great. The author made you feel you were there.
August 4, 2018
It is an excellent read of the earthquake.
February 14, 2019
Many personal anecdotes which helped set the stage. I can't even imagine. Review to come.
February 28, 2020
This is a fascinating account of the San Francisco earthquake and the fire it caused that devastated the city.
April 25, 2020
interesting and different take on the minute by minute quake. loved the political take. what a loss.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews