A Crack in the Edge of the World: The Great American Earthquake of 1906 - Softcover

Winchester, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141016345 ISBN 13: 9780141016344

Publisher: Penguin, 2006

Synopsis

A burgeoning new city is built on the dreams of the American gold rush. It is also built upon a landscape that has been stretching, sliding and breaking apart for millennia. In 1906 the dreams of this city, came crashing down beneath the rippling wave of a horrifying earthquake that turned roads into great rippling rivers, that set buildings ablaze for days on end, that made homes collapse upon themselves. Simon Winchester's breathtaking story delves deep beneath the surface of the earth, and explains to us why the world moves as it does; and breaks apart with such devastating results. At the same time he never lets us forget the human story: what happened in this new, seemingly blessed city on the 18th April 1906. As he vividly portrays the lives of the people who suffered and survived the devastation, he also tells a universal story: the hubris of man as he ignores the warnings of nature and how we respond and try to understand the world around us. Compelling, moving and enlightening, Simon Winchester brings to light the world beneath our feet, and through the story of this one terrifying event one hundred years ago, begins to make sense of our world now.

About this title

Review:

'Captivatingly readable . . . written with a passion and intelligence that make it compelling' -- Independent on Sunday

'Exhilarating . . . Winchester is beguiling, hugely entertaining . . . an enthusiastic guide to this mayhem' -- Bernard Cornwell, Mail on Sunday

‘Engrossing, fascinating. Winchester combines a gift for storytelling and a passion for geology to compelling effect’ -- Time Out

‘Fascinating reading, lucid, revealing. Stands on its own as an informative and enjoyable book’ -- Literary Review

‘Gripping first-hand accounts, a vivid account of the city, fascinating stuff’ -- Daily Telegraph

‘The scientific, geological, human and political stories behind the San Francisco earthquake. Read it and shiver’ -- Herald

‘Wide-ranging, gripping, fascinatingly described’ -- Sunday Telegraph

About the Author:

A bestselling author in both Britain and America, Simon Winchester was born and educated in England and now lives in Massachusetts. Having reported from almost everywhere during more than thirty years as a foreign correspondent, he now contributes to a variety of American and British magazines and newspapers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0141016345
• ISBN 13: 9780141016344
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464