Denial of Disaster

by Gladys Hansen, Emmet Condon

With beautiful laser scanner duotones and 365 previously unpublished photographs, this is a fascinating study of the "great quake" in San Francisco in 1906--and of the likelihood of a similar quake today.

Genres: History

160 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Gladys Hansen (1925-2017) was an American librarian, archivist and author. She was an expert on the history of San Francisco and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Reviews

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gladys Hansen was the San Francisco city archivist who discovered the widely quoted death toll from the 1906 earthquake was undercounted by tens of thousands. The book meticulously points out all the buildings that sank into liquefied fill dirt along the city's historic creeks and lagoons, where people drowned in their beds. An exact casualty count was complicated because no one recorded all the people who fled the devastation by any means they could -- and many the dead were erased where they'd expired when the firestorm leveled most of the city.

The book is a treasury of photos I haven't seen anywhere else, including the temporary burial ground in Washington Square and bodies of fallen humans and cattle. Some of the stories collected here are quite heartbreaking, like the man who begged to be shot when he couldn't be dug from the ruins before the fire overtook him.

Rather than focus on the populace's recovery after the disaster, Hansen focuses on the systematic way the insurance companies downplayed the devastation and the railroads -- which owned swathes of land -- pushed for the city to be rebuilt in place. The political machinations are impressive.

The final section of the book, written by Emmet Condon, a retired fire chief, warns the city is still in danger. The 1989 quake, which damaged the Bay Bridge and took down several of the freeways, pales in comparison to what Condon predicts.

The book gets a star taken off because its design isn't great. Photos don't align with the text nearby, but worse, the oversized book (14 inches tall) is hard to read and hard to shelve. Still, if you're fascinated by San Francisco history, this is a must-read.

[Lyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best and most engaging book on the San Francisco great earthquake and fire that I have found. Highly recommend it to all interested in the subject.

[Corgi Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing historical book of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Includes eye witness accounts of children and adults. Full of interesting information and photographs.