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Title: Johnstown Flood
Review: Johnstown Flood. David McCullough. 1967. 304 Pages.This was a good book. I read it as a prelude to David McCullough's lecture on 21SEP2006 in Scranton. The book is 70% social history (it was written in 1967!). It is well written and the photos are interesting. About 15% is prelude to disaster, setting the scene. About 20% is post disaster, recovery. Some of that is quite interesting. Apparently the immigrant group moving in and taking cheap labor jobs were the Hungarians (Hunkies). Well, during the recovery there were reports in the press (vilifications really) of roving bands of looting, dead desecrating, raping, killing etc all done by these Hungarians. Except they were not called Hungarians, they were labeled the Huns. Though the drawings of them were stereotypical Hungarians with their big mustaches etc. The bulk then is on the disaster ... the big raging wall of water which passed through Johnstown in 10 minutes flat.
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