johnstownread

IamIamIam

Half Magic | Edward Eager

Gotta love when you know what kind of kerfuffle they're talking about!!!!
#JohnstownRead #JohnstownFlood

Bradleygirl HALF MAGIC FTW 😁😁😁😁 4y

IamIamIam @Bradleygirl 😂💜😂💜 4y

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Lauram

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

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I finished this book 4 months ago for #Johnstownread. This was my third book by McCullough and probably my favorite of the three. McCullough gives plenty of information that helped me to better understand all of the factors that made the flood so disastrous.

Lauram A friend of mine read the book with me. On Friday and Saturday, we went on a mini road trip to visit the Johnstown area. The above pictures are from our tour. We walked on dam remnants, went inside the exclusive clubhouse that was once lakefront property, drove by the stone bridge that blocked burning debris, and visited the cemetery where the flood victims were buried.

5y

Librarybelle I need to visit Johnstown and visit the sites as well. It sounds like a good visit, but yet also a humbling one. Thank you for sharing! 5y

Amiable Oh, I loved this one, too. I‘m a big fan of McCullough and I thought this was one of his best. 5y

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Crazeedi @Lauram do you live in PA? Ive been through Johnstown but have never visited the places. I've read a couple great books about the flood, so sad the things that were ignored 5y

Crazeedi @Librarybelle then you can drive 90 minutes north and visit me!😉😍 5y

Lauram @Librarybelle I‘ll give you plenty of notification if there‘s another McCullough trip in my future! The NPS tour around the dam and lake was really great. (edited) 5y

Lauram @Crazeedi No, I don‘t live I. PA. I‘m in North East Ohio. 5y

Crazeedi @Lauram ❤👍 5y

Crazeedi @Lauram you're close to me anyway I'm sure, we vacation at pymatuning, we live near venango/clarion/butler county line! 5y

kspenmoll This was such a great book! 5y

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Librarybelle

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

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Amazingly, this is my least favorite of McCullough‘s books I‘ve read, but it‘s still good - the beginning didn‘t completely capture me. But, McCullough verbally paints a picture of horror and fear and devastation that is shocking. It‘s a testament to the power of nature, as well as arguably the power of greed. Recommended. Finished for #JohnstownRead and this also fits (sadly) #SomethingWithADeath for #Nonfiction2019 .

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

howjessicareads I never finished this one. Listened to about half on audio (while pregnant and hormonal), and cried so much driving to work one day that I had to pull over because I couldn‘t see. 😭😭 Maybe now I‘m brave enough to reattempt. 😜 6y

Kaye Great review. 6y

Librarybelle @howjessreads It is a hard read. Some of the documented stories are almost too unreal. 6y

Librarybelle Thanks, @kaye ! 6y

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Librarybelle

Chocolate Cream Pie Murder | Joanne Fluke

I vowed to read ARCs this month for #ARCMadDash , but my physical book reading has been very limited the last couple weeks. I‘m finishing up The Johnstown Flood for #JohnstownRead , but I really wanted to start this one. #Zeke is joining me for a cuddly Caturday morning. #catsoflitsy

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Librarybelle

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

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4. How did the townspeople cope after the flood? Talk about the administrative, governmental measures they undertook the day after the deluge. Were you impressed by their level-headedness or ingenuity?

#JohnstownRead

Librarybelle Question from LitLovers.com 6y

Lauram I‘m always surprised that in situations like Johnstown, there are individuals willing to step up, organize, and lead others. Despite the intense loss of life and trauma experienced by these people, they find a way to move on. 6y

Lauram But I‘m not sure they did cope? I think there are certainly those that did and those who didn‘t. The kindness and generosity of others around the US and world as well as humanitarian efforts certainly helps to comfort and protect those who were suffering. 6y

Librarybelle Yes, @Lauram - it was amazing to see those who took charge until “reinforcements” arrived. Coping is such a strong word for a situation like this - how can someone cope? Many people left and most were traumatized forever from their experiences. 6y

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Librarybelle

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

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3. Is McCullough able—through his use of only language and imagery—to create a vivid picture of what the wall of water would have looked like? Overall, are McCullough's descriptive powers as a writer up to the task?

#JohnstownRead

Librarybelle Question from LitLovers.com 6y

IamIamIam Absolutely... I've been to Niagara Falls so it gave me pause when McCullough said the force of the lake was like letting the Niagara River run through the town for 30 plus minutes. I was stunned by how terrifying that must have been!! 6y

Lauram McCullough is absolutely able to create a vivid picture. Comparisons to Niagara Falls, the death mist, and the sentence that described the top layer of mud that traveled ahead of the water (I can‘t find the specifics of the sentence) were amazing and terrifying. 6y

Librarybelle He painted such a vivid picture! It was horrific but yet spellbinding, however horrible that sounds. He‘s a perfect wordsmith for this, and he even added a few bits of humor in the telling. @IamIamIam @Lauram 6y

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Librarybelle

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

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2. Could something of the magnitude of the Johnstown Flood happen today? Why...or why not? Or would you say that we have, in fact, experienced similar kinds of man-made disasters in recent years?

#JohnstownRead

Librarybelle Question from LitLovers.com 6y

IamIamIam I was amazed to find that there were 2 subsequent floods of the same area in the 1930s and 1977! The weather patterns seem to be cyclical if the area floods that frequently 6y

IamIamIam And I'm sorry to give an answer that I didn't fully research on that one... lol, I'm also thinking of rainfall and drainage in PA following the flood of Hershey Park. That was 2 days after we left the campgrounds!!! 6y

Lauram These disasters have happened since Johnstown and will continue to happen. Admittedly no lives have been lost, but in my area there has been a lot of surprise flooding as certain areas become more developed, infrastructure isn‘t well maintained, and storms have become more intense due to climate change. 6y

Librarybelle @IamIamIam The Hershey flooding! I live about an hour away from Hershey...it was bad and scary. I agree with @Lauram - development and climate change are leading causes to modern day flooding issues. I‘ve seen flooding where there has never been flooding before, thanks to new construction. 6y

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Librarybelle

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

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1. McCullough insists that the Johnstown flood was not a natural disaster. Is he right? Where McCullough lays the blame? The dam was repaired after its purchase in 1879—why were those repairs not sufficient? Should individuals have been held accountable?

#JohnstownRead

Tadams4 Such a well done book! So many layers of problems contributing to the disaster which could have been prevented. 6y

Librarybelle Question from LitLovers.com 6y

Librarybelle @Tadams4 So true - so many things contributed to the disaster that could have been prevented! 6y

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IamIamIam I agree that it was not a natural disaster because it was documented that vital elements were removed and compromised the integrity of the dam after it was purchased. I believe that was the second owners. Please correct me if I'm wrong but the dam had been seen to be sagging in the center years before anything happened so signs were there. 6y

Lauram Like @Tadams4 said, there were so many layers of problems that contributed to the disaster. It was certainly man-made- they didn‘t use the best resources available (engineers, materials) changing geological features (removal of trees, obstructed rivers). 6y

Lauram @IamIamIam You‘re not wrong. There were a lot of overlooked issues. 6y

Librarybelle Yes, @IamIamIam and @Lauram - the dam was sagging (I think because the club asked for it to be lowered to accommodate a road??). I kept thinking it was a “perfect storm” of sorts, the rains and the dam construction and the lack of initial fear or worry. 6y

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Librarybelle

Johnstown Flood | David McCullough

Today‘s the day for discussion! I‘m going to post the questions under the spoiler. Admittedly, these are questions from the LitLovers website. I use this site a lot for my library book discussions. Sorry - I like crafting discussion questions on Litsy, but life‘s a little crazy at the moment!

Big thank you to everyone who joined in on #JohnstownRead . I loved reading the posts!

kspenmoll, Reviewsbylola, IamIamIam, BridgetteM, Lauram

Librarybelle Sorry @Mdargusch ...I‘m having issues tagging you in the post, so I wanted to make sure you knew about the questions too! 6y

IamIamIam LitLovers is great!!! It's such an awesome resource!! Looking forward to it and thanks for all you're doing! 6y

Librarybelle @IamIamIam ❤️❤️❤️ I have the questions posted under #JohnstownRead , so whenever you‘re ready to answer, feel free! 6y

IamIamIam @Librarybelle Will do!!! 6y

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