The true story of a horrifying natural disaster—and the corruption
that made it worse—by the New York Times–bestselling authors of
Voyage of the Damned. In late April 1902, Mount Pelée, a volcano on
the Caribbean island Martinique, began to wake up. It emitted clouds
of ash and smoke for two weeks until violently erupting on May 8. Over
30,000 residents of St. Pierre were killed; they burned to death under
rivers of hot lava and suffocated under pounds of hot ash. Only three
people managed to survive: a prisoner trapped in a dungeon-like jail
cell, a man on the outskirts of town, and a young girl found floating
unconscious in a boat days later. So how did a town of thousands
not heed the warnings of nature and local scientists, instead staying
behind to perish in the onslaught of volcanic ash? Why did the
newspapers publish articles assuring readers that the volcano was
harmless? And why did the authorities refuse to allow the American
Consul to contact Washington about the conditions? The answer lies in
politics: With an election on the horizon, the political leaders of
Martinique ignored the welfare of their people in order to consolidate
the votes they needed to win. A gripping and informative book on
the disastrous effects of a natural disaster coupled with corruption,
The Day the World Ended reveals the story of a city engulfed in flames
and the political leaders that chose to kill their people rather than
give up their political power.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781497658806
Publisert
2017
Utgiver
Vendor
Open Road Media
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter