Includes bibliographical references and index.

The 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Mississippi : "for God's sake, send us some nurses and doctors" / Deanne Stephens Nuwer -- The 1900 Galveston hurricane : "unspeakable calamity" / Barbra Mann Wall -- The San Francisco earthquake and fire, 1906 : "a lifetime of experience" / Barbra Mann Wall and Marie E. Kelly -- The Monongah mine disaster, December 1907 : a "roar like a thousand Niagras" / John C. Kirchgessner -- Nurses' response across geographic boundaries in the Halifax disaster, December 6, 1917 : border crossings / Deborah A. Sampson -- The Boston Instructive District Nurses Association and the 1918 influenza epidemic : "intelligent cooperation" / Arlene W. Keeling -- The 1921 Tulsa race riot and the "angels of mercy" / Barbra Mann Wall -- The New London, Texas, school explosion, 1937 : "unparalleled disaster" / Barbra Mann Wall -- The 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire : out of the ashes / Patricia A. Connor Ballard -- The great Alaska earthquake of 1964 : lessons in leadership / Barbra Mann Wall -- Gendered notions of expertise and bravery : New York City 2001 / Julie A. Fairman and Jonathan Gilbride -- A tale of two shelters : a Katrina story, 2005 / Teresa M. O'Neill and Patricia M. Prechter -- Striving for the "new normal" : the aftermath of international disasters / Audrey Snyder, Fusun Terzioglu, and Arlene W. Keeling.