This Is Chance!

The Shaking of an All-American City, a Voice That Held It Together

By: Jon Mooallem

Narrated by: Ray Porter

The thrilling, cinematic story of a community shattered by disaster - and the extraordinary woman who helped pull it back together

A powerful, heart-wrenching book, as much art as it is journalism." (The Wall Street Journal)

"A beautifully wrought and profoundly joyful story of compassion and perseverance." (BuzzFeed Best Books of the Year)

In the spring of 1964, Anchorage, Alaska, was a modern-day frontier town yearning to be a metropolis - the largest, proudest city in a state that was still brand-new. But just before sundown on Good Friday, the community was jolted by the most powerful earthquake in American history, a catastrophic 9.2 on the Richter Scale. For four and a half minutes, the ground lurched and rolled. Streets cracked open and swallowed buildings whole. And once the shaking stopped, night fell and Anchorage went dark. The city was in disarray and sealed off from the outside world.

Slowly, people switched on their transistor radios and heard a familiar woman’s voice explaining what had just happened and what to do next. Genie Chance was a part-time radio reporter and working mother who would play an unlikely role in the wake of the disaster, helping to put her fractured community back together. Her tireless broadcasts over the next three days would transform her into a legendary figure in Alaska and bring her fame worldwide - but only briefly. That Easter weekend in Anchorage, Genie and a cast of endearingly eccentric characters - from a mountaineering psychologist to the local community theater group staging Our Town - were thrown into a jumbled world they could not recognize. Together, they would make a home in it again.

Drawing on thousands of pages of unpublished documents, interviews with survivors, and original broadcast recordings, This Is Chance! is the hopeful, gorgeously told story of a single catastrophic weekend and proof of our collective strength in a turbulent world.

There are moments when reality instantly changes - when the life we assume is stable gets upended by pure chance. This Is Chance! is an electrifying and lavishly empathetic portrayal of one community rising above the randomness, a real-life fable of human connection withstanding chaos.

©2020 Jon Mooallem (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Jon Mooallem is one of the most intelligent, compassionate, and curious authors writing today. I would go on any adventure that his mind embarks upon, knowing that I was being led by the ablest of guides." (Elizabeth Gilbert)

"This Is Chance is the riveting story of a town on the brink of its own existence, broken and held together by an unbelievable natural disaster. With grace and command, Jon Mooallem illuminates the near-divine existential interchange between wonder and horror, fate and self-determination. I teared up reading it, getting to know Genie Chance, a perfectly named hero - grateful to brush up against the extraordinary and unforgotten." (Jia Tolentino, best-selling author of Trick Mirror)

"Jon Mooallem is one of the most delightful nonfiction writers working today. This Is Chance! is funny, poignant, and surprising: It takes an all-too-familiar story of a woman whose work is fundamental but long forgotten and turns it on its head. With his signature wit, depth, and gift for storytelling, Mooallem brings to life a strong, fascinating character who played a crucial role in the aftermath of a disaster - and whose story shows not just how deeply women’s voices matter but how often they have been silenced by history." (Rebecca Skloot, best-selling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks)

Both informative & moving

I liked everything about this book. The parallels drawn between the lives and events of the earthquake and the style in which it is written and spoken

Great narrative on a historic event

The story is really well written and Ray Porter’s narration keeps you listening.

Highly recommended!

Biography? Elegy?

This is a consistently entertaining read, especially meaningful in the era of COVID-19. While the perspective on Chance’s life is predominantly that of her own and her family, the picture of her strengths and flaws comes through. It’s also a clear view into the omnipresent imperialism of the post war middle class which in Anchorage as in so many other places, built the American West.

A Fascinating Study.

An amazing look at the most powerful earthquake to hit North America and how Alaskans rose to the occasion.

What happens to a community when disaster strikes?

An inside look at the people who survived the Great Alaska Quake. Researched in detail, yet the story moves along, drawing the reader into the personalities and the roles they filled in the first days and weeks after their scrappy, remote home town is hit by the the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
I was interested because I’m a survivor of Hurricane Irma, that decimated most of the homes and businesses on our tiny island in the Caribbean. It turns out there are similar qualities among ALL communities that survive a serious disaster. You really ought to read this interesting look at how humans survive, and what gives life, ultimately, it’s meaning.

Fascinating account... solid story telling

This was a very good book, interesting details, solid story and good narration.
I knew very little about this earthquake and this book almost made me feel like I was there... the description of the JCPenny, the families listening to the broadcasts and the way they came together in crisis.
Well worth the read. Finished it in 2 days and interesting all the way through.

Terrific insights into communities and human nature in crisis

This is a fascinating story of ordinary people rising to the occasion when a natural disaster hits them. I loved following the story of Jeannie Chance, the scrappy reporter finding opportunities in Alaska but still roadblocks as a woman in the 1960s. The narration of this book is good but seemed too slow to me, so I sped it up a bit.

Excellent read of true life disaster

This book is the true story of a real life earthquake in Alaska in the 1960's. It brings you in to the story quickly and keeps you interested as you learn about the people. As things start to return to normal after the earthquake, the book loses some of its energy. It is extremely well researched and I recommend.

Human Nature

I got this book from my son at Christmas, He and his family now live in Anchorage and last summer I sat through a few of the historical videos at the National park center. He thought I would enjoy this account of the earthquake. And he was right. I loved how well the story is told. There is the moment by moment account but the author also steps back and tells you some of the history of the persons you are reading about. Then there are moments where the author takes you into the future and gives you the rest of the story. Part of the narrative reflects on Anchorage's telling of Our Town and you can feel some of the correlation to the authors narration.
I picked up and listened to the audible version of the story and it was a great treat. The narrator does a wonderful job of bringing this engaging book to life.

amazing story

I was born and raised in Anchorage and moved to the states a few years ago and when I recently heard the podcast it brought me to tears. It made me homesick for my town and for Alaskans who are some of the kindest, most giving people you will ever meet. I bought the audiobook immediately, eager to hear more about this amazing story. I had never heard of Genie Chance and I wanted to know more about her awe inspiring life. The book itself does not compare to the action packed, well composed podcast imo. It is disjointed from beginning to end, introducing us to random characters who have no place in our story and it just doesn't make sense. it's as though the author is just trying to include a list of names of everyone in Anchorage at the time. Then as soon as these people are introduced he tells how they die. It doesn't relate at all to the story and reads like a long obituary. Then Genie herself dies mid book before the story ends on the third day of the earthquake. that transition could have worked well if it had been better executed but it doesn't work at all here. The whole end of the book had me thinking "who cares"? It's a bit disappointing because Genies story is certainly one worth telling; she is an unsung hero of her time who suffered the effects of sexism and was vastly underrated. I REALLY hope we see her story on the big screen because it certainly deserves the Hollywood treatment. This book did not have me in tears but it did manage to capture the unique, deeply caring, cooperative spirit of Alaskans