About this item
Tragedies and disasters have always been part of the fabric of American history. Some gave rise to reactions that profoundly influenced the nation. Others dominated public consciousness for a moment, then disappeared from collective memory. Organized chronologically, Disasters and Tragic Events examines these moments, covering both the familiar and the obscure and probing their immediate and long-term effects. Unlike other works that concentrate on a particular type of disaster, for example, weather- or medicine-related tragedies, this two-volume encyclopedia has no such limits. Its entries range from natural disasters, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, to civic disturbances, environmental disasters, epidemics and medical errors, transportation accidents, and more.
About the Author
Mitchell "Mere" Newton-Matza originally hails from Chicago. He received his BA in history from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, and an MA from DePaul University in Chicago. He earned his PhD from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he concentrated on the history of law and labor, with minor fields in Habsburg Austria and U.S. radical literature. His most recent book is "Intelligent and Honest Radicals: The Chicago Federation and the Politics of Progression," published in 2013. He also contributed two chapters for the railroads volume in the nine-volume set "The Industrial Revolution in America: Lives of the Workforce and Labor Organizations and Reform Movements." He has published in journals such as the Journal of Juvenile Law, Proceedings of the Association for Living Historical Farms and Agricultural Museums, and the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society and has authored over 40 encyclopedia and reference pieces. His previous work with ABC-CLIO includes serving as the editor and chief contributor for "Jazz Age: People and Perspectives," as editor/contributor of "Disasters and Tragic Events: An Encyclopedia of Catastrophes in American History," and writing two extended essays titled "Was Domestic Communism an Actual Threat to the U.S. in the Mid-20th Century? " and "Is the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century a New Gilded Age? " Mitchell's latest works are "The Espionage and Sedition Acts: World War I and the Image of Civil Liberties," and editor/contributor to "Historic Sites and Landmarks that Shaped America: From Acoma Pueblo to Ground Zero." Mitchell is also the author of the fiction book "The Transitioning." Besides presenting papers at numerous conferences, he has taught history at various colleges and universities in Illinois, Virginia and Colorado. Mitchell currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with his fiancée Josie. Besides a love of writing, Mitchell also loves the kitchen and whipping up culinary delights in between practicing guitar, listening to jazz and/or Hindu prayer music, and taking notes for future books to write.
