The Longest Minute by Matthew J. Davenport is a thoughtfully-written account of the horrors of the San Francisco earthquake which shook for about a minute but left lasting horrible repercussions for thousands and thousands of people. Many died and half the city was displaced. It is impossible to imagine the raw terror people felt as fire after fire spread after desperate attempts to contain them failed. However, the author writes with such clarity I could practically taste, smell, touch, hear and see the frightful chaos. The sheer power of earthquakes and their ability to destroy so much in mere seconds is chilling.

If you are keen to learn more about this catastrophe, this book is for you. Just know it is painstakingly detailed which is wonderful to history fans like myself but could be long for some with just a passing interest. Much of the writing is focused on before, during and after the ignited fires (including wood stoves) which destroyed over 80% of the city.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this outstanding book. I've read about this before but learned so much more here. Well worth reading.