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Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror, 1906, by the Survivors and Rescuers
Today there is no one left alive who experienced the great earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. That is why it is important to tell the story. Many recall the terrible quake there in 1989, which caused a rupture in the earth of 25 miles and measured about 7.0 on the Richter scale. The 1906 quake had a rupture of 290 miles and was estimated at 7.8 and, by some, up to 8.3 on the Richter scale. It released 16 times the amount of energy as the 1989 quake (at a minimum). It boggles the mind to imagine what it was like near the epicenter. This is the story of what it was like -- told by the survivors, rescuers and eyewitnesses to the immense power, and terror, that was unleashed that day.
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1906
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 18, 2024
Technically I read the Pseudoscorpion edition, "The San Francisco Horror", a 74-page collection of excerpts from the complete story, designed and edited by a J. Dunstan, of which only 175 copies were printed by Colpa Press in SF. I found this little gem (if you can call it that) at green apple books in SF, which I highly recommend checking out if you're there.
I guess I had the vague idea that SF experienced some sort of significant earthquake around the turn of the last century, but what actually occurred, at least as recorded, was utterly shocking. On the morning of April 18, 1906, SF experienced a massive earthquake, but it was what followed that would forever change the "proud and beautiful city" and "its manifold glories, its palaces and vast commercial emporiums".
The scenes described, which only increase in egregiousness from the above opening sentence, are unimaginable as one walks the city and appreciates the blue sky, chic pastel homes, and perennial green foliage. The closest comparison in literature is Voltaire's description of the Lisbon earthquake in Candide. What makes the SF earthquake possibly worse is the immense effort taken to avert the conflagration, which was virtually futile. As San Francisco deals with its current issues I found a glimmer of hope in the astounding recovery it was able to make after this devastating disaster.
I guess I had the vague idea that SF experienced some sort of significant earthquake around the turn of the last century, but what actually occurred, at least as recorded, was utterly shocking. On the morning of April 18, 1906, SF experienced a massive earthquake, but it was what followed that would forever change the "proud and beautiful city" and "its manifold glories, its palaces and vast commercial emporiums".
After four days and three nights that have no parallel outside of Dante's Inferno, the city of San Francisco, the American metropolis by the Golden Gate, was a mass of glowing embers fast resolving into heaps of grey ashes.
The scenes described, which only increase in egregiousness from the above opening sentence, are unimaginable as one walks the city and appreciates the blue sky, chic pastel homes, and perennial green foliage. The closest comparison in literature is Voltaire's description of the Lisbon earthquake in Candide. What makes the SF earthquake possibly worse is the immense effort taken to avert the conflagration, which was virtually futile. As San Francisco deals with its current issues I found a glimmer of hope in the astounding recovery it was able to make after this devastating disaster.
February 21, 2013
This book, published in 1906 just months after the earthquake and fire devastated San Francisco, chronicles what happened over those three days. The last third or so of the book discusses other tectonic and volcanic disasters around the world both modern and historical, from the eruption of Vesuvius, to Sodom and Gomorrah, to Lisbon and beyond.
I actually own a hardcover of this book that I purchased as a library discard around 1993. As a native Californian, I was very pleased to possess the book, but I never got around to reading it because of its condition. The binding is weak, and even more it has a lovely yet fragile paper embellishment of Lady Liberty wrapped a cloak of sympathy around the shoulders of the weeping lady of San Francisco. I didn't want to harm the book by reading it.
However, for my recent research on the disaster of 1906, I wanted to read this material since it dated to the time. This is where modern technology is awesome. I found the text on Gutenberg for free, converted it to pdf, and read it with ease using the GoodReader app. The application also enabled me to bookmark and highlight. No worries of damaging my actual copy!
While The Complete Story was interesting, it was also hyperbolic to the extreme and very much a product of its time period. I didn't get as much useful information out of it as I hoped. The data is very redundant and not well edited; you can tell it was rushed to print after the disaster. Everything is sensational in a reality show sort of way. It relishes in describing how people were crushed to death and how the bodies were robbed, but at the same time it's ridiculously effusive in its praise of those in command, such as the corrupt Mayor Schmitz, who ruled the city by graft and favored his rich handlers, even during the disaster. It happily notes how the disaster brought together Italian, Jewish, Japanese and Chinese neighbors together, but in the chapter on Chinatown the racism oozes off the page and it practically celebrates the demise of such a den of sin.
I did enjoy reading about the science of the time period. A bit that was especially amusing read, "The old theory that the very center of the earth is a molten mass... is no longer held. He asserts that the latest idea is that the center of the earth is more rigid than glass, though less rigid than steel. About this is more or less molten matter, and over all the surface crust of the earth. This molten matter causes the surface of the earth to give, or sag, and form what is called 'wrinkling.' When water comes in contact with the heated mass an explosion follows that finds its outlet through the places where there is least resistance, and the result is a volcano." The book repeats this theory quite often, that volcanic eruptions are caused by water upon the leaking heat of the earth, causing something akin to a boiler explosion.
I'm still proud I own the book and pleased that I was finally able to read it, even if it's not a particularly good book by any standards.
I actually own a hardcover of this book that I purchased as a library discard around 1993. As a native Californian, I was very pleased to possess the book, but I never got around to reading it because of its condition. The binding is weak, and even more it has a lovely yet fragile paper embellishment of Lady Liberty wrapped a cloak of sympathy around the shoulders of the weeping lady of San Francisco. I didn't want to harm the book by reading it.
However, for my recent research on the disaster of 1906, I wanted to read this material since it dated to the time. This is where modern technology is awesome. I found the text on Gutenberg for free, converted it to pdf, and read it with ease using the GoodReader app. The application also enabled me to bookmark and highlight. No worries of damaging my actual copy!
While The Complete Story was interesting, it was also hyperbolic to the extreme and very much a product of its time period. I didn't get as much useful information out of it as I hoped. The data is very redundant and not well edited; you can tell it was rushed to print after the disaster. Everything is sensational in a reality show sort of way. It relishes in describing how people were crushed to death and how the bodies were robbed, but at the same time it's ridiculously effusive in its praise of those in command, such as the corrupt Mayor Schmitz, who ruled the city by graft and favored his rich handlers, even during the disaster. It happily notes how the disaster brought together Italian, Jewish, Japanese and Chinese neighbors together, but in the chapter on Chinatown the racism oozes off the page and it practically celebrates the demise of such a den of sin.
I did enjoy reading about the science of the time period. A bit that was especially amusing read, "The old theory that the very center of the earth is a molten mass... is no longer held. He asserts that the latest idea is that the center of the earth is more rigid than glass, though less rigid than steel. About this is more or less molten matter, and over all the surface crust of the earth. This molten matter causes the surface of the earth to give, or sag, and form what is called 'wrinkling.' When water comes in contact with the heated mass an explosion follows that finds its outlet through the places where there is least resistance, and the result is a volcano." The book repeats this theory quite often, that volcanic eruptions are caused by water upon the leaking heat of the earth, causing something akin to a boiler explosion.
I'm still proud I own the book and pleased that I was finally able to read it, even if it's not a particularly good book by any standards.
January 15, 2021
Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror, Trumbull White
Book Review by, Charles Saliva
This book is pretty good to read and amazing story, it had impact to the people and the social economic of the settings. There are some amazing structures and, This story was made after the event happened.
This book is about personal stories and opinion of the characters, from the wealthy people who lived at the Hilltops to the needful people in their hometown. Other people were totally replaced to the lovely city of government.
If you’re interested in a tragedy like earthquakes, fires, or disasters, there is a lot of that in this book, all clearly explained for a reader. A good descriptions of the various possible causes of tragedy. There are bonus chapters added at the end of the book about tragedies, the descriptions are well and the book is accessible to a reader. It has none of the maps and illustrations in this book, but the text is very descriptive, and it is easy to imagine just by reading it.
I got excited when I first saw the cover of the book and the description, and I also enjoyed this book because of what it is about. This story is different from what actually happened with some changes, this story was made right after the tragedy happened in San Francisco. So if you love reading about tragedies like earthquakes and wildfires I recommend this book for you!
Book Review by, Charles Saliva
This book is pretty good to read and amazing story, it had impact to the people and the social economic of the settings. There are some amazing structures and, This story was made after the event happened.
This book is about personal stories and opinion of the characters, from the wealthy people who lived at the Hilltops to the needful people in their hometown. Other people were totally replaced to the lovely city of government.
If you’re interested in a tragedy like earthquakes, fires, or disasters, there is a lot of that in this book, all clearly explained for a reader. A good descriptions of the various possible causes of tragedy. There are bonus chapters added at the end of the book about tragedies, the descriptions are well and the book is accessible to a reader. It has none of the maps and illustrations in this book, but the text is very descriptive, and it is easy to imagine just by reading it.
I got excited when I first saw the cover of the book and the description, and I also enjoyed this book because of what it is about. This story is different from what actually happened with some changes, this story was made right after the tragedy happened in San Francisco. So if you love reading about tragedies like earthquakes and wildfires I recommend this book for you!
March 8, 2015
Informative in a boosterish sort of way. Published a few months after the 1906 earthquake, this collects first hand accounts and pictures of the event, packaged together with some suspect commentary on the science behind earthquakes and a long tangent about famous quakes and volcano eruptions around the world.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews