"The stories told in this collection, though tragic for many, also illustrate the steadfast determination and courage of the people of western Canada in the face of misfortune and extreme distress. From the lesser-known weed outbreaks and tornadoes to the world-wide influenza outbreak in 1918 that devastated many Calgary families, these stories focus on the human side of these disasters." "With contributions from some of western Canada's most prominent scholars, the essays included here offer insight into the twentieth century's most dramatic disasters. From the great rockslide at Frank in 1903 and the agricultural droughts and blights of the succeeding decades to the flooding of the Red River Valley in Manitoba in 1997, this collection gives the reader a look at a century of peril, but also of promise."--BOOK JACKET.