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The Day the World Ended

By: Gordon Thomas, Max Morgan-Witts
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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Summary

In late April 1902, Mount Pelee, a volcano on the Caribbean island Martinique, began to wake up. It emitted clouds of ash and smoke for two weeks until violently erupting on May 8. Over 30,000 residents of St. Pierre were killed; they burned to death under rivers of hot lava and suffocated under pounds of hot ash. Only three people managed to survive: a prisoner trapped in a dungeon-like jail cell, a man on the outskirts of town, and a young girl found floating unconscious in a boat days later.

So how did a town of thousands not heed the warnings of nature and local scientists, instead staying behind to perish in the onslaught of volcanic ash? Why did the newspapers publish articles assuring readers that the volcano was harmless? And why did the authorities refuse to allow the American Consul to contact Washington about the conditions? The answer lies in politics: With an election on the horizon, the political leaders of Martinique ignored the welfare of their people in order to consolidate the votes they needed to win.

A gripping and informative book on the disastrous effects of a natural disaster coupled with corruption, The Day the World Ended reveals the story of a city engulfed in flames and the political leaders that chose to kill their people rather than give up their political power.

©1969 Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts (P)2020 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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Written like fiction?

Shame. Story is promising. but the narration doesn't make for a smooth easy listen. This airy, gravely delivery was both hard to absorb and easy to tune out of. Also the tone of the narration doesn't suit the subject matter. This fellow could be reviewing a nice day at the beach with this tone.

Wasted opportunity. Audible should get a copy of "La Catastrophe" and have it narrated properly if they want this incident covered.

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