In the spring of 1889, Americans are enjoying the spoils of an industrial revolution, but in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the wheels of industry are brought to a grinding halt when the South Fork dam bursts.
Bennett Marsh, a nineteen-year-old kitchen-hand, wants nothing more than to leave South Fork and attend the Julliard School of Music in New York. Bennett's father, Percival, a steel-mill worker lured by the glamour of high society, is trapped in a dead-end job, and struggles to find his place as parent and provider.
John Parke, the resident engineer at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, questions the integrity of the dam while his gadabout wife and upper-crust club members wine and dine around him in ignorant bliss. When a storm inundates the valley with torrential rain, Parke's greatest fear comes true. Twenty million tons of water spill into the Allegheny Valley, devastating the lives of the 30,000 people living below it.
When the dam breaks, and Bennett and Percival must count on each other to survive, they are given a chance to discover the bond between them, but it may have come too late.
"In Wade in the Water, Michael Oates creatively transforms the events and characters of the Johnstown flood into a wildly inventive and unpredictable tale."
-- Richard Burkert, President and CEO of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association
"Michael Oates has written an absorbing work of historical fiction. Using thinly disguised historical figures (e.g. Andrew Carnegie, Henry Frick), he tells the story of the largely forgotten Johnstown flood of 1889. By creating well-developed characters enmeshed an involving tale, the Oates is able to convey the horror of being helplessly caught up in this unnatural disaster. The book is well researched and skillfully blends fact and fiction in a manner that reminds one of [Doctorow's] Ragtime. If one were teaching a course of history through fiction, this would be a strong addition to the syllabus."
-- Vince Buck, professor emeritus, California State University
"Michael Oates revisits a tragic moment in American history with his novel Wade In The Water, a touching coming of age tale plunging the reader into the swirling waters of a devastating flood that destroyed the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889 and took the lives over 2,000 men, women, and children. Perhaps overshadowed by more recent disasters such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the Johnstown flood has been forgotten by many. Oates brings its memory back with a gripping story that hooks you from the very start and flows on with identifiable characters and expressive narration, almost lyrical at times, exploring the choices people make as they survive or succumb to tragedy."
-- Debra Holland, New York Times bestselling author of The Montana Sky Series
"The 'Johnstown Flood' of 1889 survives as a dimly recalled phrase, but memory of the actual scope of the catastrophe has faded with time. In 'Wade in the Water', Michael Oates brings the drama and tragedy of the flood back with immediate, wrenching impact. Told through the eyes of memorable characters whose personal struggles are instantly erased by the immensity of the disaster, Oates conveys the terror of that horrible moment with meticulous historical accuracy. 'Wade in the Water' is the story of people - including real characters like Clara Barton of the Red Cross - caught in a nightmare of destruction comparable to the annihilation of Pompeii, with loss of life exceeding any American disaster up to that time. Oates tells a stirring story that highlights the fragility of life and the endurance of the human spirit."
-- John M. Adams Historian, Author of The Millionaire and the Mummies
Genre: Historical
Bennett Marsh, a nineteen-year-old kitchen-hand, wants nothing more than to leave South Fork and attend the Julliard School of Music in New York. Bennett's father, Percival, a steel-mill worker lured by the glamour of high society, is trapped in a dead-end job, and struggles to find his place as parent and provider.
John Parke, the resident engineer at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, questions the integrity of the dam while his gadabout wife and upper-crust club members wine and dine around him in ignorant bliss. When a storm inundates the valley with torrential rain, Parke's greatest fear comes true. Twenty million tons of water spill into the Allegheny Valley, devastating the lives of the 30,000 people living below it.
When the dam breaks, and Bennett and Percival must count on each other to survive, they are given a chance to discover the bond between them, but it may have come too late.
"In Wade in the Water, Michael Oates creatively transforms the events and characters of the Johnstown flood into a wildly inventive and unpredictable tale."
-- Richard Burkert, President and CEO of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association
"Michael Oates has written an absorbing work of historical fiction. Using thinly disguised historical figures (e.g. Andrew Carnegie, Henry Frick), he tells the story of the largely forgotten Johnstown flood of 1889. By creating well-developed characters enmeshed an involving tale, the Oates is able to convey the horror of being helplessly caught up in this unnatural disaster. The book is well researched and skillfully blends fact and fiction in a manner that reminds one of [Doctorow's] Ragtime. If one were teaching a course of history through fiction, this would be a strong addition to the syllabus."
-- Vince Buck, professor emeritus, California State University
"Michael Oates revisits a tragic moment in American history with his novel Wade In The Water, a touching coming of age tale plunging the reader into the swirling waters of a devastating flood that destroyed the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889 and took the lives over 2,000 men, women, and children. Perhaps overshadowed by more recent disasters such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the Johnstown flood has been forgotten by many. Oates brings its memory back with a gripping story that hooks you from the very start and flows on with identifiable characters and expressive narration, almost lyrical at times, exploring the choices people make as they survive or succumb to tragedy."
-- Debra Holland, New York Times bestselling author of The Montana Sky Series
"The 'Johnstown Flood' of 1889 survives as a dimly recalled phrase, but memory of the actual scope of the catastrophe has faded with time. In 'Wade in the Water', Michael Oates brings the drama and tragedy of the flood back with immediate, wrenching impact. Told through the eyes of memorable characters whose personal struggles are instantly erased by the immensity of the disaster, Oates conveys the terror of that horrible moment with meticulous historical accuracy. 'Wade in the Water' is the story of people - including real characters like Clara Barton of the Red Cross - caught in a nightmare of destruction comparable to the annihilation of Pompeii, with loss of life exceeding any American disaster up to that time. Oates tells a stirring story that highlights the fragility of life and the endurance of the human spirit."
-- John M. Adams Historian, Author of The Millionaire and the Mummies
Genre: Historical
Used availability for Michael Stephan Oates's Wade in the Water