"Disaster!" - A Book Signing at Bernardsville Library

Come to Bernardsville Public Library on Saturday, February 28 at 2:00 pm to meet Alan A. Siegel, author of Disaster! Stories of Destruction and Death in 19th Century New Jersey. Mr. Siegel's book brings readers face-to-face with twenty-eight of the deadliest natural and human-caused calamities to strike New Jersey between 1821 and 1906, ranging from horrific transportation accidents to uncontrolled fires of a kind rarely seen today. Mr. Siegel will speak about writing his book and the accounts of these fires, steamboat explosions, shipwrecks, train wrecks, and storms which are told in the words of the people who experienced the events firsthand, lending a sense of immediacy to each story. 

Disasters bring out the worst as well as the best in people. Mr. Siegel focuses on the bravest individuals, including harbor pilot Thomas Freeborn who drowned while attempting to save fifty passengers and crew of a ship foundering on the Jersey Shore, and Warwicke Greene, a fourteen-year-old schoolboy who rescued the injured “like the hero of an epic poem” after a train wreck in the Hackensack Meadows. These and many other stories of forgotten acts of courage in the face of danger will make Disaster! an unforgettable read.

Alan A. Siegel, a lawyer who practices in Chatham, New Jersey, has published numerous books, including Smile: A Picture History of Olympic Park, 1887-1965; Beneath the Starry Flag: New Jersey’s Civil War Experience (both Rutgers University Press); Images of America: Irvington; Images of America: Warren Township; and Somerset County in Vintage Postcards. He has served as president of the Warren and Irvington historical societies.

Books will be available at the event for purchase and signing. There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

February 28th is also the 15th anniversary of the library's move into the building on Anderson Hill Road. We'll be celebrating with cake and punch for all from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please drop by to join us!