Before the Flood: Destruction, Community, and Survival in the Drowned Towns of the Quabbin – Elisabeth Rosenberg

We selected this book at our outdoor gathering at Karen’s and Michael’s house, November 5, 2022. The weather was in the low 70’s – balmy! Other contenders were “On The Grid” and “The Shepherd’s Life.” Karen served a pumpkin buttermilk cake. Appetizers included salad, flake pastry with asparagus, cheese/grapes, and deviled eggs. Here is the book synopsis from Goodreads.com:

Meticulously researched, Before the Flood, is the first narrative book on the incredible history of the Swift River Valley and the origins Quabbin Reservoir. Rosenberg dive into the socioeconomic and psychological aspects of the Swift River Valley’s destruction in order to supply drinking water for the growing populations of Boston and wider Massachusetts.

It is as much a human story as the story of water and landscape, and Before the Flood movingly reveals both the stories and the science of the key players and the four flooded towns that were washed forever away.