Nonfiction November – Week 4 Stranger than Fiction?

Wow week 4 already!! The description for this week as copied from The Thousand Book Project is:

Week 4: (November 22-26) – Stranger Than Fiction with Christopher at Plucked from the StacksThis week we’re focusing on all the great nonfiction books that *almost* don’t seem real. A sports biography involving overcoming massive obstacles, a profile on a bizarre scam, a look into the natural wonders in our world—basically, if it makes your jaw drop, you can highlight it for this week’s topic.

The book I chose for this week, and I only chose one, is one that I read quite a few years ago but it has stuck with me all this time.. and I just realized I made sort of a dad joke there. That was unintentional, honestly.

This whole event is so crazy to even consider. And terrifying! A giant tank of molasses burst open in Boston’s North End, flooding the streets with two million gallons of molasses, even causing a 15 foot wave. The horror of being caught in that flood is unimaginable. People and animals died, building were crushed in that dark tide of molasses, which reached speeds of 35 miles per hour. There is even a legend that on warm days, you can still catch a faint scent of the molasses rising from the streets.

This book was bizarre and tragic, and like I said, a book that has stayed with me for years.

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29 thoughts on “Nonfiction November – Week 4 Stranger than Fiction?

  1. I’ve definitely heard about that happening but it’s still such a strange thing to think about actually happening! Sounds like it might be a bit like Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson – this storm that no one thought was possible just wiped the whole place out.

    But molasses! MOLASSES!

    Liked by 1 person

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