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The Night The Lights Went Out by the Staff of New York Times


dragonmyst

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From the back cover:

"1700 subway passengers rescued from atop the Williamsburg bridge

Pilot banks eighty passenger plane for landing and airfield disappears

Bachelor asks train conductor to perform marriage ceremony

Inmates of Massachusetts prison go on two hour rampage

Zoo used has heaters to keep cobras, iguanas and crocodiles alive

Here is the full, fantastic story of the biggest blackout in history. Suddenly man's ability to fly weightless around the globe faded to irrelevance. People rediscovered their feet; the candle came back to its own; the infinate resiliency of the human spirit was demonstrated anew. The new York Times describes how individuals met the emergency in cities and villages, reports on the investigations launched by power companies; city and state governments, and by washington; and examines the far-reaching implications of this crisis- a crisis that could happen again"

 

From the front,

"The big blackout that affected 30,000,000 people. Spread over nine states and three Canadian provinces. A night of confusion, courage, humor, and adventure. "

 

I found this book in a used bookstore, but you can get it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OD751K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GWoXybM5ZD885This book was published in 1965 and describes the big blackout that affected a large area during the same year. This was a really fascinating read, and became one of my favorite non fiction books. It really drives home how dependant so many things are on electricity, and how much more chaos there would be now that we are even more dependant on it. Especially since a lot less people in the city own portable radios, flashlights, and candles! I also got nostalgia for something I have never known. How dependable and hard working news companies used to be.

Edited by dragonmyst
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@dragonmyst, this sounds like such a great find in a secondhand bookstore! This is also talked about in that Polanski film "Rosemary's Baby". The whole concept of an entire metropolis going dark really tickles me!

 

My goal this year is to read more nonfiction so may very well try to get my hands on this at some point!

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