Recently Read

[gnomi]

More 50bookchallenge books:

#34: The Rothschilds: A Family Portrait by Frederic Morton: A comprehensive history of the Rothschild family, from Mayer Rothschild's beginnings in the Frankfurt ghetto to the 1960s. Weaving family history and world history, the book gives a fascinating look into the ways in which the Rothschilds helped shape European history from the mid-18th century through the mid-20th century (the edition of the book that I read was published in the mid-1960s; there is, I believe, an updated version of the book now available).

#35: Dark Tide: the great Boston molasses flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo: On January 15, 1919, the giant molasses tank located in Boston's North End disintegrated, causing a flood of 2.3 million gallons of molasses. In its path, buildings were destroyed and 21 people were killed. According to the author, this is the first book to investigate the complete story of the molasses flood, putting it into historical context and exploring the impact of the disaster on Boston and its people

Comments

[cahwyguy.livejournal.com]

I actually read #34 ages ago. FYI, it was turned into a musical, The Rothschilds, with music by Bock/Harnick (right after they did Fiddler), and starring Hal Linden as Meyer Rothschild.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Yup - I'm quite familiar with "The Rothschilds," the musical. The music was stuck in my head through much of reading the book.

[cahwyguy.livejournal.com]

It was actually the first musical I saw, back in 1972 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in LA. I still remember the stage design with the rotating columns, which as a 12 yo, just fascinated me. It started me down the dangerous path of being into Broadway Musicals.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

There was really a Boston Molasses Flood? Oh, dear.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Indeed there was. And there's an urban legend that, under certain weather conditions, one can still smell molasses in the North End, near the site of the disaster.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

You got to read Dark Tide? Cool! What did you think? I really enjoyed it.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed it, as well. It was very similar in structure to other disaster books I've read recently (Ship Ablaze, about the General Slocum ferry boat disaster and Triangle, about the Triangle Shirt Waist fire), which I appreciated - discussin not just the disaster itself but also the historical and social context of the event.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was all the surrounding dynamics that made it so interesting.