This book is about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. That
being said, except for a few anecdotes, you don’t actually get to the
earthquake until you are halfway through the book. That is not a bad thing. I
can imagine that some people might be put off by the discussion of Geology and
plate tectonics, and history. But I was not. If you are going to talk about the
most destructive earthquake that ever hit the United States, I for one, would
like to know how it happened, and what came before it, and what came before
that. It was not the biggest earthquake ever to hit the United States, but it was
the most destructive, especially when you include the fire, which was the
direct result of the earthquake.
Winchester starts by taking us on a personal journey he
made when he decided to traverse the entirety of the North American tectonic
Plate from the eastern edge in the middle of Iceland to the western edge in
California. Along the way he stops in at sites of famous earthquakes including
Charleston South Carolina (1886) and New Madrid Missouri (1811) and an earlier
San Francisco quake (1868). Of course, in 1868 there was not much to destroy in
San Francisco, no skyscrapers and a lot fewer people. By 1906 San Fransico was the
major city of the west coast. So, the earthquake and fire which came after were
devastating on a level not seen outside of war. Earthquakes are common on the
edges of tectonic plates (where San Francisco is), but then why do we have
earthquakes in the middle of plates (like South Carolina and Missouri?)
Winchester poses this question and then answers it.
He finds personal stories of people who lived through the
quake and fire. I think histories like this work best if they are quoting the
people who were there at the time. Not that personal recollections are always
accurate, but you get a better feeling for the emotional experience. He follows the aftermath, insurance claims
and rebuilding, and why San Francisco was not able to regain its status as the
most important city of the West.
It doesn’t matter how important we humans think we are, all
our great achievements can come crashing down in an instant when pitted against
nature. And those who fail to heed the warnings (and there were plenty of
warnings) are going to get what’s coming to them. It is just unfortunate that
they are going to take others down with them.
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