Known to seafarers as 'The Devil's Jaw, ' Point Honda has lured ships to its jagged rocks on the coast of California for centuries, but its worst calamity occurred on 8 September, 1923, the night nine U.S. Navy destroyers ran into Honda's fog-wrapped reefs. Admiral turned author Charles Lockwood (Sink 'Em All, Hellcats of the Sea) brilliantly recreates events as they happened, including the heroic efforts to rescue the men and ships. In his view, the cause of the tragedy lay in the interpretation of the differences that exist between the classic concepts of naval regulations and the stark realism of the unwritten code of destroyer doctrine to follow the leader.
Written in SCREENPLAY FORMAT, and intended as a documentary, HONDA POINT DISASTER is the true story of the United States Navy's greatest peacetime disaster, September 8, 1923. Rivaled only by the loss of life that occurred when two, United States Navy nuclear attack submarines, the Thresher and the Scorpion, went down in the Atlantic Ocean many years later, the Honda Point Disaster resulted in the deaths of twenty-three sailors and the destruction of seven, Clemson Class Destroyers in less than ten minutes. With over six-hundred men in the water, it was individual acts of heroism, accompanied by disciplined teamwork that took place on each of the seven stricken Destroyers that tragic night which undoubtedly prevented an even greater loss of life. Once again, in the best tradition of the United States Navy, these men of Destroyer Squadron Eleven fulfilled their duty and did what was expected of them, in peacetime, as in war. They put service above self and it is to them that this documentary is dedicated.
Moving from China's Opium Wars of the mid-19th century to the California gold rush and the taming of the Wild West, this epic historical fantasy follows the quest for an ancient Chinese dragon lost in a strange new world. A neglected orphan, an angry monk, and a devious Englishman come together in a clash of wills and cultures that could change the future for the better-or for much, much worse.
Navy sailor Emmett Haines is having second thoughts. His job on the destroyer Delphy is easy enough and his side hustle fleecing civilians with his much-practiced card skills brings good money to himself and his shipmates. But there has to be more to life than this. Then while on liberty in San Francisco he meets the free-spirited, enigmatic Ruby -- a woman who seems to understand his game, and who opens up a new world of possibilities. The only catch now is that his ship is due to return to San Diego in the morning, and he's under suspicion after someone steals a wallet from a close friend of his captain -- an act that will have fateful, even fatal, consequences. Inspired by the true story of a major U.S. Navy disaster off the coast of California a century ago -- in which seven ships and nearly two dozen sailors were lost in a single night -- Dead Reckoning imagines a mix of real and fictional officers, civilians, and low-ranking enlisted sailors from their adventures in Prohibition-era San Francisco up through the tragedy and its aftermath. The book brings to vivid life a little-known chapter of history in a tale that is both exhilarating and heartbreaking.
Known to seafarers as 'The Devil's Jaw,' Point Honda has lured ships to its jagged rocks off the coast of California for centuries, but its worst calamity occurred on 8 September 1923, the night nine U.S. Navy destroyers ran into Honda's fog-wrapped reefs. *Includes annotations and original photographs from the Honda Disaster.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.
Includes numerous maps and illustrations. This monograph provides first-hand accounts of Destroyer Squadron 18 during this critical battle upon which so much of the success of our campaign in Europe would depend. Their experience at Omaha Beach can be looked upon as typical of most U.S. warships engaged at Normandy. On the other hand, from the author’s research it appears evident that this destroyer squadron, with their British counterparts, may have had a more pivotal influence on the breakout from the beachhead and the success of the subsequent campaign than was heretofore realized. Its contributions certainly provide a basis for discussion among veterans and research by historians, as well as a solid, professional account of naval action in support of the Normandy landings.
On November 13, 1985, catastrophic mudflows swept down the slopes of the erupting Nevado del Ruiz volcano, destroying structures in their paths. Various estimates of deaths ranged as high as 24,000 residents. Though the nature and extent of risk posed by the mudflows to local communities were well documented before the event and extensive efforts had been made to communicate this information to those at risk, the affected communities were caught largely unaware. This volume analyzes the disaster's many aspects: the extent, constitution, and behavior of the mudflows; the nature of damage to structures; the status of the area's disaster warning system; and the extent of the area's disaster preparedness, emergency response actions, and disaster relief effortsâ€"both at the time of the disaster and in the first few months following the event.
