There have been a lot of disaster stories read, and most have been recommended by Gary Strokosch, who is otherwise a mild-mannered, peaceful guy. Indeed, the genre so fascinates him that there have even been a number of independent study books read in his spare time.


47 Down: The 1922 Argonaut Gold Mine Disaster (2004)
by O. Henry Mace

The Black Box: All-New Cockpit Voice Recorder Accounts of In-flight Accidents (1998)
by Malcolm MacPherson

The Children’s Blizzard (2004) [read review]
by David Laskin

The Circus Fire: A True Story (2000)
by Stewart O’Nan

Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917 (2005)
by Laura M. MacDonald

Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 (2003)
by Stephen Puleo

Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic (1995)
by George W. Hilton

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (1959)
by Alfred Lansing

F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the 20th Century (2007)
by Mark Levine

Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire (1999)
by John MacLean

Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History (2002)
by Denise Gess and William Lutz

Fort Dearborn (2007)
by Jerry Crimmins

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of Whaleship Essex (2000)
by Nathaniel Philbrick

Into the Wild (1998)
by Jon Krakauer

Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II (2011)
by Mitchell Zuckoff

The Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America (1998)
by John Barry

Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II (2004)
by Robert Kurson

The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History (1999)
by Peter Maas

Triangle: The Fire That Changed America (2003)
by David von Drehle

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl (2006)
by Timothy Egan

Independent Study Books

The Cocoanut Grove Fire (2005) [read review]
by Stephanie Schorow

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster (1997)
by Jon Krakauer

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History (1999)
by Erik Larson

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea (1997)
by Sebastian Junger