In “Hot Time in the Old Town,” Edward Kohn tells the largely forgotten story of the August 1896 heat wave that hit much of the eastern United States and caused the death of 1,500 New Yorkers. The book focuses on the role of then-NYC Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt in providing some relief to those suffering from the heat, and a disastrous Madison Square Garden speech given by Democratic Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.
The author suggests that the crisis helped lay the groundwork for some economic and social reforms that were later enacted into law.
It’s a bit of a slow read, and some of the connections to Roosevelt and his “polices” are a bit tenuous.
Read the Wall Street Journal review and the New York Times review.