Order this book from Amazon.com The Johnstown Flood David McCullough New York, New York: Touchstone Books, 1968 | An unforgettable account of the disastrous dam failure that drowned Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889. Written while the last survivors of the flood were still alive, McCullough's narrative weaves the stories of the town, the wealthy men who owned the dam, and the forces of nature into a seamless whole.