The first thing I would like to say about this book is that it had a little map in the front, which I loved. I flipped back to it several times for reference when certain locations were mentioned. I love when books include maps, even if they are just basic line drawn maps. I loved that there were snippets from the daily lives of people from various walks of life- firemen, workers, tavern owners... It really gave you a sense of what life was like in Boston during this time period for people in various positions. (I found this context important for the aftermath of the disaster, as the poorer working class were treated in a disheartening way.) This book also gave a glimpse of other events going on during this time period, which, as a historian, I loved for the context of the time period. I have seen other reviews complain that the focus of the book wasn't solely telling the story of the flood, but I was quite pleased with it. I learned about several suspicious fires and bombings of places that supplied goods and services to the war effort, which I was unware of. (I always feel bad that I know virtually nothing about United States history, as my education focused on European History and World War II.)

To speak specifically on the flood itself, a large containment tank was built to house molasses. The tank itself was 50 feet tall, and held 2.3 million gallons of molasses at the time of the event. Molasses was used for the manufacture of alcohol and munitions. The tank collapsed, releasing a 15 feet tall deluge that rushed the town at around 35 miles per hour. The affected area in comparison with the size of modern day Boston seems so small, but looking at images of the event it seems like such a huge area. A lot of people were swept out into Boston Harbor and not recovered for several months. Many were consumed by molasses and hard to identify. The cleanup effort was tremendous. People claimed to still be able to smell it during the summer, and, incidentally, I had a friend who served on the USS Constitution, and she said that you could smell it. I would love to add this area to my historical tour of Boston I wish to take one of these days.

I happened to run across this book at the used book store here in the city, and it cost me seventy five cents. I thought it was a good price, and I had vaguely heard of this incident. I learned a lot from this book, so it was certainly worth the time I spent reading it and the dollar I paid for it. I really learned a lot and enjoyed it.