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It Happened In...
It Happened in Seattle
From the great Seattle fire of 1889 to World Trade Organization riots in 1999, thirty events that shaped the history of the Emerald City.
- GenresHistory
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 14, 2019
Unsurprisingly, there is so much about my own city that I did not know.
A great collection of stories. The format of the book (short interesting chapters, unrelated to each other) made it perfect reading material during my daily commute.
Highly recommended for all Seattleites!
A great collection of stories. The format of the book (short interesting chapters, unrelated to each other) made it perfect reading material during my daily commute.
Highly recommended for all Seattleites!
April 7, 2020
This is a collection of short stories about interesting things that happened in Seattle. It was fun to read and learn some of the weird little anecdotes.
August 4, 2018
I’d give 2.5 stars if I could.
Having grown up in the Seattle area, I still found myself learning so much history that I’d never been taught. The stories were fascinating and painted a broad picture that helps inform my understanding of the Seattle and PNW culture we see today. It sparked a bit of googling and I’m sure some of these stories will be fun to share among family and friends at get-togethers.
The writing, however, was hard to get through. The author gives a casual approach, as if he were chatting with you across the table. I’m normally okay with that, but he added a lot of filler that just didn’t work for me.
Several chapters opened with weird descriptions of some vague person, as if he’s writing an historical fiction novel - and then suddenly said person is forcefully connected into the main storyline. Example: In one chapter, we read multiple paragraphs about two unidentified love-birds wandering lost in a Seattle neighborhood, described all the way down to the details of their attire... only to bring us to the story of Kurt Cobain’s untimely death and the search for his grave. Is this couple real? Fictitious? The author leaves me with the impression they are crafted from his mind, yet symbolic of the many who DO come looking for Cobain’s resting place each year. Why not just say that? Does a chapter on the death of one of music’s most iconic men need filler to be readable? In a chapter that is 4 pages long (about standard for each story), why did this consume nearly 2 pages?! This happened on several occasions, and I found it tedious, unhelpful, and detracting from the stories.
I also found the author’s writing to be somewhat juvenile at times. He randomly put quotes around words that I felt didn’t need them. He set up his (possibly fictitious - but who can tell?) characters at the beginning of a chapter as a man linked with two girls “one frumpy, one pretty”. (Are those the best adjectives we can use?) Then, very stereotypically, we quickly learn that the blonde woman is too stupid to get a joke made by the man she’s with. Very subtly in places, I also felt he had biases that showed through, but perhaps to some degree that’s inevitable.
Overall, I liked the content. I would recommend it to anyone searching for a short book on Seattle History, whether stranger or long time resident. There’s bound to be something here you haven’t heard, and it’s a great jumping-off point for further research!
Having grown up in the Seattle area, I still found myself learning so much history that I’d never been taught. The stories were fascinating and painted a broad picture that helps inform my understanding of the Seattle and PNW culture we see today. It sparked a bit of googling and I’m sure some of these stories will be fun to share among family and friends at get-togethers.
The writing, however, was hard to get through. The author gives a casual approach, as if he were chatting with you across the table. I’m normally okay with that, but he added a lot of filler that just didn’t work for me.
Several chapters opened with weird descriptions of some vague person, as if he’s writing an historical fiction novel - and then suddenly said person is forcefully connected into the main storyline. Example: In one chapter, we read multiple paragraphs about two unidentified love-birds wandering lost in a Seattle neighborhood, described all the way down to the details of their attire... only to bring us to the story of Kurt Cobain’s untimely death and the search for his grave. Is this couple real? Fictitious? The author leaves me with the impression they are crafted from his mind, yet symbolic of the many who DO come looking for Cobain’s resting place each year. Why not just say that? Does a chapter on the death of one of music’s most iconic men need filler to be readable? In a chapter that is 4 pages long (about standard for each story), why did this consume nearly 2 pages?! This happened on several occasions, and I found it tedious, unhelpful, and detracting from the stories.
I also found the author’s writing to be somewhat juvenile at times. He randomly put quotes around words that I felt didn’t need them. He set up his (possibly fictitious - but who can tell?) characters at the beginning of a chapter as a man linked with two girls “one frumpy, one pretty”. (Are those the best adjectives we can use?) Then, very stereotypically, we quickly learn that the blonde woman is too stupid to get a joke made by the man she’s with. Very subtly in places, I also felt he had biases that showed through, but perhaps to some degree that’s inevitable.
Overall, I liked the content. I would recommend it to anyone searching for a short book on Seattle History, whether stranger or long time resident. There’s bound to be something here you haven’t heard, and it’s a great jumping-off point for further research!
October 5, 2020
I found this book in a second hand bookstore in Tri-Cities. It's a great at giving little snapshots of Seattle's history. It doesn't read like a history book, more like a knowledgable friend passing on little tidbits of history.
November 21, 2019
Great idea - very poor execution.
November 20, 2020
sampled and found worthy!
January 8, 2017
An interesting, if brief, look into the history of my hometown.
June 20, 2019
A quick, easy read on Seattle history. Spans from settlement to 2001 Nisqually Quake. Though many of the brief tales warrant (and have) their own full histories, this is a fun and easy read of well-known (and a few lesser) moments in Seattle's past.
As best I can tell, it's an accurate tomb. It does, however, perpetuate one clear falsehood: that the Chinese Room in the Smith Tower was furnished with goods provided by the empress of China. Though that myth was invented by the building's owners at time of its completion, it is simply untrue.
Enjoy this read, then go search fuller histories on the tales you like best. Seattle is rich with incredible history and this book is a great spark for those.
As best I can tell, it's an accurate tomb. It does, however, perpetuate one clear falsehood: that the Chinese Room in the Smith Tower was furnished with goods provided by the empress of China. Though that myth was invented by the building's owners at time of its completion, it is simply untrue.
Enjoy this read, then go search fuller histories on the tales you like best. Seattle is rich with incredible history and this book is a great spark for those.
July 8, 2016
Short vignettes about remarkable events that happened in Seattle.
I was surprised that the book was published in 2010, yet the last event written about happened in 2001. It seems like *something* must have happened in those 9 years. But still, it was a good book: quick reads about big (many not-so-happy) events in Seattle, like the founding of Seattle, Asa Mercer and the "Here Come the Brides" imports, bootlegging, lynchings, the World's Fair, Starbucks, grunge, a mass murder, and arson, among others.
I was surprised that the book was published in 2010, yet the last event written about happened in 2001. It seems like *something* must have happened in those 9 years. But still, it was a good book: quick reads about big (many not-so-happy) events in Seattle, like the founding of Seattle, Asa Mercer and the "Here Come the Brides" imports, bootlegging, lynchings, the World's Fair, Starbucks, grunge, a mass murder, and arson, among others.
June 30, 2013
A thin, readable volume. After a heartening start, the last several entries concern senseless acts of violence instigated by mentally ill people. It reminds one that a city needs to work towards positive breakthroughs, lest such crimes become the headlines by default.
November 8, 2015
Very readable. the beginning of the book is quite interesting, but when the time live approaches more modern days the stories are banal or of brutal crimes that made headlines.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews