The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Being a Pittsburgh girl I have often heard references to the Johnstown Flood and can't imagine a better telling then McCullough's.  Incredibly well researched, it is not just about the flood.  There is also much about the industrial caste system generated by the burgeoning steel industry.  Did the people in Carnegie and Frick's circle really ignore the condition of the dam that created their recreational lake?  Were they unaware of the danger?  Were the down-river immigrant blur collar communities that powered their wealth expendable? Using individual stories as well as broad historical perspective,  McCullough shares a tale of both hubris and heroics - all part of a tragedy in which the extremes of nature played only a small part.