Sign-In
Cart
Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks: The Legacy of America's Epic Structural Failure
Hardcover
Technology & EngineeringGeneral SociologyRegional: Midwest
Publisher Price: $29.99
ISBN13: 9781612497150
Publisher: Purdue Univ Pr
Published: Sep 28 2021
Pages: 460
Weight: 1.70
Height: 1.10 Width: 7.70 Depth: 9.20
Language: English
In 1981 the sudden collapse of two skywalks in Kansas City's Hyatt hotel killed 114 people and injured another 200. There never was a public trial, nor a full airing of everything that went wrong. Richard A. Serrano shared a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the disaster at the time; now he returns to the tragedy to learn all that went wrong, how it could have been avoided, and what lasting effects persist today--for engineering and the legal system, but most importantly those who suffered. Drawing on legal depositions, evidentiary material, and recollections from 240 survivors, first responders, and construction officials, Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks is the story of this monumental catastrophe and what it teaches us today.
The Friday evening Tea Dance was all the rage that summer of 1981. Each week the lobby filled with throngs of revelers, some celebrating atop the skywalks themselves. On July 17, without warning, the steel support systems buckled and the concrete and glass skywalks crashed onto the crowded lobby. The devastation reverberated far beyond the ruins. Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics suffered from deep depression, cycled through divorce, hit the bottle, and in some instances committed suicide. The hotel had been built using a new fast-track method with key construction decisions often made on the fly, including changing the skywalk design from six heavy hanger rods to twelve thinner poles. Within a year the skywalks were splintering inside. Even then the collapse could have been averted, but special inspection panels to check the hanging walkways were never opened.
Though wholly avoidable, the Hyatt disaster did bring significant changes--some good and some problematic. Tougher industry guidelines were enforced for US construction projects. Police officers, firefighters, and health care workers are now treated for PTSD and other psychological trauma after working a tragic event. But the rush to settle all the Hyatt lawsuits helped usher in a controversial new era of nondisclosure agreements.
Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks explores America's worst structural engineering disaster. Though the world has moved on, survivors and witnesses still vividly recall that night. This is their story.
Also in
General Sociology
Unfuck Your Brain: Using Science to Get Over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers
Harper, Faith
Paperback
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything about the Worldvolume 1
Marshall, Tim
Paperback
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
Perry, Imani
Hardcover
Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now
Yang, Jeff
Yu, Phil
Wang, Philip
Hardcover
The Sex Lives of African Women: Self-Discovery, Freedom, and Healing
Sekyiamah, Nana Darkoa
Hardcover
UDL Now!: A Teacher's Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning in Today's Classrooms
Novak, Katie
Paperback
The Power of Scenery: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Origin of National Parks
Drabelle, Dennis
Hardcover
The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing and Using Magic Mushrooms
Mandrake, K.
Paperback
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know
Oster, Emily
Paperback
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
Brown, Brené
Paperback
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Higginbotham, Adam
Paperback
Atlas of the Invisible: Maps and Graphics That Will Change How You See the World
Cheshire, James
Uberti, Oliver
Hardcover
The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us about America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny
Howe, Neil
Strauss, William
Paperback
The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition: Features a New Foreword and Brand-New Tools
Brown, Brené
Hardcover
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
Blain, Keisha N.
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paperback
Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything
Weill, Kelly
Hardcover
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
Davis, Angela Y.
Paperback
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Levitt, Steven D.
Dubner, Stephen J.
Paperback
Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice
Hill, Marc Lamont
Brewster, Todd
Hardcover
Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work That Matters, and Make Smarter Choices about Giving Back
Macaskill, William
Paperback
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Herman, Edward S.
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
Zuboff, Shoshana
Paperback
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
Haidt, Jonathan
Lukianoff, Greg
Paperback
Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live)
Rodsky, Eve
Paperback
There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster--Who Profits and Who Pays the Price
Singer, Jessie
Hardcover
Social (In)Justice: Why Many Popular Answers to Important Questions of Race, Gender, and Identity Are Wrong--And How to Know What's Right:
Pluckrose, Helen
Lindsay, James
Hardcover
Let's Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World
Friedman, Danielle
Hardcover
Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends on It
Maxmin, Chloe
Woodward, Canyon
Hardcover
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
O'Neil, Cathy
Paperback
Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood
Oppenheimer, Mark
Hardcover
How to Win the Bachelor: The Secret to Finding Love and Fame on America's Favorite Reality Show
Kultgen, Chad
Pace, Lizzy
Hardcover
Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America
Rankin, Lauren
Hardcover
Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murder and Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka
Lockhart, Chris
Chama, Daniel Mulilo
Hardcover
Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know: And Many Others You Will Find Interesting
Bailey, Ronald
Tupy, Marian L.
Paperback
Uncanceled: Finding Meaning and Peace in a Culture of Accusations, Shame, and Condemnation
Robertson, Phil
Hardcover
Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation
Higgins, Michelle
Uwan, Ekemini
Edmondson, Christina
Hardcover
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
Woodard, Colin
Paperback
One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime That Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein
Webb, Whitney Alyse
Paperback
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty
Banerjee, Abhijit V.
Duflo, Esther
Paperback
10th Anniversary Edition The Life You Can Save: How To Do Your Part To End World Poverty
Singer, Peter
Paperback
Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything--Even Things That Seem Impossible Today
McGonigal, Jane
Hardcover
Between the Mountain and the Sky: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, Healing, and Hope
Doyne, Maggie
Hardcover
Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts
Powers, Kirsten
Hardcover
Crises of the Republic: Lying in Politics; Civil Disobedience; On Violence; Thoughts on Politics and Revolution
Arendt, Hannah
Paperback
New Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The Complete Guide to Abortion Legality, Access, and Practical Support
Marty, Robin
Paperback
Virology: Essays for the Living, the Dead, and the Small Things in Between
Osmundson, Joseph
Paperback
Decolonizing Wealth, Second Edition: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance
Villanueva, Edgar
Paperback
Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions
Rose, Todd
Hardcover
The Vortex: A True Story of History's Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation
Miklian, Jason
Carney, Scott
Hardcover
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having--Or Being Denied--An Abortion
Foster, Diana Greene
Paperback
Turn Your Life Into Art: Lessons in Psychomagic from the San Francisco Underground
Magister, Caveat
Paperback
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything about the Worldvolume 1
Marshall, Tim
Hardcover
Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly
Poumpouras, Evy
Hardcover
System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot
Reich, Rob
Sahami, Mehran
Weinstein, Jeremy M.
Hardcover
Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life
Stephens-Davidowitz, Seth
Hardcover
The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure
Mounk, Yascha
Hardcover