Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite Audiobook By John Neal Phillips cover art

Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite

Father Bill, Texas City, and a Disaster Foretold

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite

By: John Neal Phillips
Narrated by: Kirk Winkler
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

On April 16, 1947, the French vessel SS Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, exploded in the port of Texas City, just north of Galveston, Texas. Nearly 600 people died instantly, and property damage reached catastrophic proportions. The Texas City disaster remains, to date, the worst industrial accident in US history. Among those killed was William Roach, a Roman Catholic priest known affectionately as Father Bill.

Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite, by historian John Neal Phillips, tells the remarkable story of Father Bill’s life and premature death against the backdrop of the rapid growth—and near destruction—of an American industrial city.

Phillips pieces together previously unknown details of Father Bill’s story to present a well-rounded portrait of the man who is today revered as a hero. Born in Philadelphia, Roach attended seminary in Arkansas before he went on to serve as parish priest for St. Mary of the Miraculous Medal in Texas City. Father Bill was an outspoken advocate for poor and working-class citizens, fair wages, and workplace safety.

One evening, as Phillips vividly recounts, Roach sat on the church steps, looking out at the strange orange-yellow light created by hydrocarbon gas flares emerging from nearby oil refineries. “I feel like I’m sitting on a keg of dynamite,” he told parishioners who were passing by. His premonition proved prophetic. When a fire erupted onboard the Grandcamp, Father Bill hurried to the docks to lend assistance. It was then that the ship detonated.

The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2022 John Neal Phillips (P)2023 Redwood Audiobooks
Americas Religious State & Local United States

Listeners also enjoyed...

Strangers in Their Own Land Audiobook By Arlie Russell Hochschild cover art
Strangers in Their Own Land By: Arlie Russell Hochschild
The Best of Enemies Audiobook By Osha Gray Davidson cover art
The Best of Enemies By: Osha Gray Davidson
Methland Audiobook By Nick Reding cover art
Methland By: Nick Reding
How Iceland Changed the World Audiobook By Egill Bjarnason cover art
How Iceland Changed the World By: Egill Bjarnason
Honey and Venom Audiobook By Andrew Coté cover art
Honey and Venom By: Andrew Coté
Squirrel Hill Audiobook By Mark Oppenheimer cover art
Squirrel Hill By: Mark Oppenheimer
Billy Graham Audiobook By Greg Laurie, Marshall Terrill cover art
Billy Graham By: Greg Laurie, and others
Rebel Cinderella Audiobook By Adam Hochschild cover art
Rebel Cinderella By: Adam Hochschild
This Is Chance! Audiobook By Jon Mooallem cover art
This Is Chance! By: Jon Mooallem
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear Audiobook By Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling cover art
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear By: Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling
On Her Own Ground Audiobook By A'Lelia Bundles cover art
On Her Own Ground By: A'Lelia Bundles
Katrina Audiobook By Gary Rivlin cover art
Katrina By: Gary Rivlin
Black Titan Audiobook By Carol Jenkins cover art
Black Titan By: Carol Jenkins
A Few Red Drops Audiobook By Claire Hartfield cover art
A Few Red Drops By: Claire Hartfield
Boom, Bust, Exodus Audiobook By Chad Broughton cover art
Boom, Bust, Exodus By: Chad Broughton
Spying on the South Audiobook By Tony Horwitz cover art
Spying on the South By: Tony Horwitz
The Apocalypse Factory Audiobook By Steve Olson cover art
The Apocalypse Factory By: Steve Olson
The Eagles of Heart Mountain Audiobook By Bradford Pearson cover art
The Eagles of Heart Mountain By: Bradford Pearson
Warday Audiobook By Whitley Strieber, James Kunetka cover art
Warday By: Whitley Strieber, and others
American-Made Audiobook By Nick Taylor cover art
American-Made By: Nick Taylor
No reviews yet