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Bill Minutaglio

City on Fire: The Explosion That Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle Paperback – January 1, 2004

by Bill Minutaglio (Author)

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In 1947, Texas City was booming, bristling with chemical and oil plants built to fuel Europe's seemingly endless appetite for raw materials. In April, two oceangoing freighters holding a combined 3,000-plus tons of ammonium nitrate exploded. The effect was cataclysmic. Thousands of people were wounded or killed, the fire department was decimated, and planes were shot out of the sky. The blast broke windows in Houston, forty miles away, and rattled a seismograph in Denver. Chaos reigned: President Truman dispatched the National Guard, the New York Times sent its war correspondents, and the FBI launched an investigation.After a heroic recovery and massive relief effort, the brave residents of what had once been an average American town attempted to restore their lives. But they had to confront the possibility that the tragedy might have been caused by the very government they thought would protect them. And for the first time, average citizens confronted their government in the nation's highest court.City on Fire is a painstakingly researched saga of one of the most profound, but forgotten, disasters in American history.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Paperbacks
Publication date

January 1, 2004
Dimensions

5.31 x 0.72 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0060959916
ISBN-13

978-0060959913
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Hugh W. Stephens
71
Paperback
69 offers from $2.99

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A remarkable re-creation.a terrific nonfiction work that has the narrative force of an adventure novel." (Washington Post)

About the Author

Bill Minutaglio is the author of the highly acclaimed biography of President George W. Bush, First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty. He has won numerous national awards and has written for the New York Times, Talk, Outside, the Los Angeles Times, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist. He lives in the Texas hill country with his two children and his wife, the choreographer Holly Williams.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Paperbacks; 1st Edition (January 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060959916
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060959913
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.72 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,754,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #115,200 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
123 ratings

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Bill Minutaglio

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Bill Minutaglio is the PEN Center-award winning, bestselling author of several critically acclaimed books.

His work has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Newsweek, Washington Post, Guardian, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Outside and many other publications. His work has been featured, along with that of Ernest Hemingway, in Esquire's list of the greatest tales of survival ever written.

Reviewers have compared his writing to Tom Wolfe, Herman Melville and Hunter Thompson. His work has been optioned by Tom Cruise, published in China the United Kingdom, lauded by Oliver Stone. Among the writers who have offered praise on his book jackets: Buzz Bissinger, Sir Harold Evans, Douglas Brinkley, Gail Sheehy, James Lee Burke and Mario Puzo.

He has won numerous awards for his writing, including recognition from The National Association of Black Journalists and The National Conference of Christians and Jews, which saluted his work in fighting prejudice. He has been featured on The Today Show, NPR's Fresh Air and other programs. He has been interviewed by Katie Couric, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and many others.

His work has been called "excellent" by The New York Review of Books, New Republic and others. The NYTimes has called his work "fascinating." The San Francisco Chronicle has called his work "chilling." The Texas Observer said his book "City On Fire" was one of the "finest books ever written about Texas."

He has been honored as one of the Outstanding Teachers in the University of Texas statewide system. He is a contributor to The Texas Observer, one of America's oldest and important investigative magazines.

"Minutaglio has long been regarded as one of the great writers in Texas journalism."

The Austin American-Statesman

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

123 global ratings

5 star		69%
4 star		15%
3 star		11%
2 star		3%
1 star		1%

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Kindle Customer

Required reading for anyone who cares about truth

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

Brilliantly written and exhaustively researched, this is history for those who want to know what has really happened and what the consequences truly were. If, like me, you are disgusted by 'junk' history like the egregious bio of Washington, "You Never Forget Your First", treat your brain to something worthwhile.
.
'

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

In essence, it should have been something of a watershed event, as another similar incident on land also found its way into the news more recently. It was a major disaster because it was mishandled so badly. Sweeping disasters under the rug is also a political institution that leaves a mark almost as big in the aftermath of almost any man made disaster because no one wants to take the blame when shortcut are used and people try to turn a blind eye to any malfeasance, especially when that trite mishandling turns into a force that almost equals Hiroshima, either in destruction or death toll. In this event, what was assumed to be an ordinary inert chemical compound used for fertilizer was being loaded aboard two ships, the Grand-Champ and the High Flyer on April 16, 1947. Sometime during the night, the cargo caught fire but the officers on deck made limited attempts to stop the fire. Port authorities called the fire department and ordered the ship out to sea, but before that could happen, the Grand Champ exploded killing everyone in the vicinity and causing a chain reaction that destroyed much more as the Monsanto plant and the docks around were blown away. The fire raged as the city called for help and later, at about 1:11 PM, the High Flyer lived up to its name as it also exploded adding to the chaos. 648 known people were killed although the death toll could have been closer to 1000 or more because many migrants also worked the area and may not have been counted. Official estimates of property damage was around 125 million dollars, but could have been higher. Thousands fled the city while at least a thousand were injured when the blast shattered windows and moved houses off their foundations, or they were pelted by flying steel raining from the sky. Naturally, that wasn't the end of it as finger-pointing began to determine the cause as well as make restitutions even as clean-up began. It was a horrid mess that didn't end when the last ember was put out but dragged through the courts for years as political wrangling and corporate cover ups tried to hide or make little of what happened even while paying lip-service to the disaster. That part, unfortunately is still with us even though the disaster itself has faded. Still, some things changed, such as how the government is viewed, and how disasters are responded to.

One person found this helpful

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Liz Grimsley

Excellent history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 24, 2022

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Very well researched and readable. Even though the outcome is known it's a fascinating trip through the lives and fortunes of turn of the century Galveston and its residents. Highly recommend!

Helpful

Crystal Garland

Compeling Story of a Long Forgotten Tragedy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 6, 2012

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I came across this book after conducting research on the Ringling Bros. circus fire. Again, another tragedy that I never heard of! Bill Minutaglio takes you through the paces of each event leading up to the explosions of the Grandcamp and High Flyer. As I'm reading this book, my mind had a difficult time comprehending all the devastation. The explosion was so great that it blew the volunteer firemen to bits. None of their bodies were ever recovered.

The one thing I was extremely curious about was the after effects of all the petrochemicals (effects on the people, animals and the environment). 2300 tons of ammonium nitrate went straight in the atmosphere, and in Galveston Bay, along with the chemical plants that exploded. The entire townspeople (what was left of them) was breathing in that chemical soup. Even though they did evacuate the town a lot of people stayed to help with the rescue efforts. I wonder if anybody knows about the lingering after effects (cancer, respiratory problems, etc.) people had and how many eventually died of cancer. Not to mention that the government sprayed the town with DDT to stave off any diseases that might arise from all the dead bodies.

I thought the book was well written, although in some places I wondered about the factual content. I found some chapters disturbing (he talks about the racial segregation) and how white people treated African-Americans and Mexican-Americans even to the point of burying the unidentified dead (blacks couldn't be buried with whites). A must read about a tragedy that should not be forgotten.

4 people found this helpful

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Amomama

The blast that destroyed a town

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is one of the best books I have read on the subject. I was a three year old when it happened, but being a Texan, I have heard about it my entire life. However, no retelling could capture the events the way this book did. The Priest who foretold it, the deaths of so many, the virtual destruction of Texas City and the chemical and petrochemical industry at the time (quickly restored), was horrendous.

This is the recreation of a true life event.

2 people found this helpful

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Gloria Wix

My Home Town Disaster

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 15, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was born in Galveston and raised in Texas City until the age of about eleven (when we moved about 7 miles away to La Marque). I was 5 1/2 years old when my home town blew up. I can remember the blast like it was yesterday.

My uncle was a volunteer fireman. He jumped on a passing car and yelled to his wife he was going to the fire at the docks. He was never seen again.

I am familiar with some of the people profiled in this book, like Father Roach and Mr Trahan.

Recently I visited the museum in Texas City and saw a copy of this book so I ordered it to replace a previous copy lost on a trip.

9 people found this helpful

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City on Fire: The Explosion That Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle Paperback – January 1, 2004

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