Flood

by Richard Martin Stern

The forces of greed confront the forces of nature in this suspenseful story about a faulty dam near a Midwestern metropolis and the tireless emergency workers who try to save the dam, minimize flood damage, and evacuate the populace

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Richard Martin Stern was an American novelist. Stern began his writing career in the 1950s with mystery tales of private investigators, winning a 1959 Edgar Award for Best First Novel, for The Bright Road to Fear.
He was most notable for his 1973 novel The Tower, in which a fire engulfs a new metal-and-glass frame skyrise. Stern was inspired to write the novel by the construction of the World Trade Center in New York City. Warner Brothers bought the rights to the novel shortly after its publication for roughly $400,000, and Stern's book, in combination with the novel The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson, was the basis for the movie The Towering Inferno, produced by Irwin Allen and directed by John Guillermin and featuring an all-star cast. The film, shot with a $14 million budget, earned more than $100 million at the American box office.
Stern was known mainly for his mysteries and disaster-related suspense. He died on October 31, 2001, after prolonged illness. He was 86.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started a little slow and I had a hard time keeping the characters straight at first, but it ended up being very exciting and very good story. This is a novel, but it could and it has happened. This is an old book. It was my mother’s. It even still smelled like our basement bookshelf. That was a nice bonus!

[ChrisGA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't really connect with any of the characters but interesting.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read! Good stuff on emergency planning. Take the 70s sexism with a pinch of salt…

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a booksale find of mine a long time ago. The fast-paced plot concerns a town in the Southwestern United States that is in imminent danger from the dam above it – the dam that, ironically, supplies all the town’s power and has allowed for its rapid population growth. The hero of the story is Jay Harper, a geophysicist who stumbles upon the fact that the dam is at risk while spending the day searching for links to his ancestors. As his theories gain credence and prove true, it’s up to the town’s political and business powers to work together toward a solution – and the clock is ticking. I enjoyed reading this book and seeing how a town in crisis quickly developed and implemented emergency plans, working with what little time they had and putting aside petty differences. It’s also incredibly informative on the subject of dams, floods, and earthquakes, explaining just how chain reactions can start. Finally, this book has some of the best cover artwork I’ve ever seen.

Favorite quotes: “Man’s senses were feeble things indeed. But man’s capacity to alter what was, and sometimes, too often, to destroy it, was almost limitless.”

“The great god ‘progress’ is both demanding and insatiable.” – Jay Harper

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flood: A Disaster that Could Happen, Richard Martin Stern, RDC-M V 2 1980, 9/80.