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 DARK
TIDE (Beacon
Press) by Stephen Puleo. 2003. Nonfiction/history.
At
noon
on
January 15, 1919
the residents along
Boston
’s waterfront heard a sudden and deafening crash. Within moments, people
were running for their lives from a 25 foot tidal wave of molasses. A 50
foot, 2.3 million gallon molasses tank had crashed to the earth resulting
in death, destruction, and lawsuits. Using eyewitness accounts, court
records, and other testimonies, Dark
Tide collects almost a decade of history from the tank’s
construction to the results of the lawsuits brought against the tank’s
owners, U.S. Industry Alcohol (USIA). Along with the history of the
molasses tank and accident, Stephen Puleo relates
US
history in the context of the accident and how it shaped the tank’s
rapid construction and lawsuit defense.
What
makes Dark Tide absolutely
fascinating is that you could take the same events that happened back
then, transplant them into today’s society, and we’d basically see
same results and reactions. The rush job and cheap construction of the
tank smells of the same situation concerning Boston’s Big Dig, although
the Big Dig’s cutting was done to rip-off money and the tank’s cutting
was to save money. One of USIA’s defense of the collapse was placing
blame on Italian Anarchists, who had a history of this sort of terrorism.
Sound familiar? Then, of course, there are the long drawn out lawsuits.
Boy, some things never change. Puleo does a tremendous job wrapping social
and political issues around the ill fated tank’s construction and fall.
Those involved in the molasses flood, namely the victims, are so
beautifully discussed; you’ll certainly feel bad for those who where
injured or died. I was drawn to this book due to my Grandfather telling me
about this tragedy many, many years ago. Although Gramps was only three
when the tank fell, he swore to me that as a child and adult, he could
still smell the molasses on hot days when visiting the impacted area. My
Grandmother on the other hand, says he’s full of shyt. Dark Tide also
includes some photographs that help drive the devastation home. If you buy
this book, be sure to pick up the edition that includes a new afterward; a
hand written letter by an eyewitness to the flood.
Dark Tide is an amazing
book meticulously detailing a previously uncharted, and tragic, historical
event. – Denis Sheehan
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