Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 7 pm
Stephen Puleo’s DARK TIDE: THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD
at Weston Public Library, 87 School Street, Weston, MA 02493
Presentation, Q&A, Book-signing
Join well-known Boston historian Stephen Puleo at Weston Public Library as he shares with readers the story of that ill-fated winter day in Boston. Shortly after noon on January 15, 1919, a 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed on Boston’s waterfront, disgorging its contents in a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that traveled at 35 miles per hour. The Great Boston Molasses Flood claimed the lives of 21 people and caused widespread destruction.
ABOUT THE BOOK
For the first time, the story of the flood is told here in its full historical context, from the tank’s construction in 1915 through the multi-year lawsuit that followed the disaster. DARK TIDE uses the gripping drama of the flood to examine the sweeping changes brought about by World War I, Prohibition, the anarchist movement, immigration, and the expanding role of big business in society. It’s also a chronicle of the courage of ordinary people, from the firemen caught in an unimaginable catastrophe to the soldier-lawyer who presided over the lawsuit with heroic impartiality.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Puleo is an author, historian, university teacher, public speaker, and communications professional. He is a former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor of feature stories and book reviews to American History magazine and the Boston Globe. He teaches at Suffolk University in Boston.
For more information, contact: Wellesley Books, (781) 431-1160
events@wellesleybooks.com
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