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You read that title correctly, there was a massive flood of molasses in Boston in 1919. It's kind of hard to wrap your head around the idea of it - 2.3 million gallons of molasses creating a 25 feet high and 160 feet wide black tidal wave, travelling at 35 miles per hour, engulfing everything on its way across the Boston waterfront. It's a complicated disaster that was fueled by the overall political climate during the World War I era and a company's choice of profits over safety. As you can imagine, the damage caused by this molasses tidal wave was heartbreaking, and it led to a massive class action suit, the longest and most expensive civil suit in Massachusetts history to date.

Sounds really intriguing, right? Unfortunately, it felt like there was a slight bait and switch with the title. I think what the author really wanted to talk about was labor relations and anarchists in the US during the WWI era, but a title about a giant molasses flood probably draws more readers. Don't get me wrong, there were a number of chapters about the molasses flood, including the missteps leading up to the disaster and the dramatic escape and rescue efforts of those unlucky enough to be at the Boston waterfront that day. However, there was equally as much space devoted to politics, the anarchist movement, and US economic conditions before, during, and after WWI as the author tries to tie all of these underlying factors to the molasses tank's collapse and the tank owner's subsequent defense in the class action suit.

Although the book didn't turn out to be entirely what I was expecting, I was never bored and I actually learned a lot. And the chapters covering the molasses flood in Part II were riveting. If any of this sounds interesting to you, it's a pretty quick and unique read.