Overview

"In this gripping narrative history, Al Roker from NBC's Today and the Weather Channel vividly examines the deadliest natural disaster in American history--a haunting and inspiring tale of tragedy, heroism, and resilience that is full of lessons for today's new age of extreme weather. On the afternoon of September 8, 1900, two-hundred-mile-per-hour winds and fifteen-foot waves slammed into Galveston, the booming port city on Texas's Gulf Coast. By dawn the next day, the city that hours earlier had stood as a symbol of America's growth and expansion was now gone. Shattered, grief-stricken survivors emerged to witness a level of destruction never before seen: Eight thousand corpses littered the streets and were buried under the massive wreckage. Rushing water had lifted buildings from their foundations, smashing them into pieces, while wind gusts had upended steel girders and trestles, driving them through house walls and into sidewalks. No race or class was spared its wrath. In less than twenty-four hours, a single storm had destroyed a major American metropolis--and awakened a nation to the terrifying power of nature. Blending an unforgettable cast of characters, accessible weather science, and deep historical research into a sweeping and dramatic narrative, The Storm of the Century brings this legendary hurricane and its aftermath into fresh focus. No other natural disaster has ever matched the havoc caused by the awesome mix of winds, rain, and flooding that devastated Galveston and shocked a young, optimistic nation on the cusp of modernity. Exploring the impact of the tragedy on a rising country's confidence--the trauma of the loss and the determination of the response--Al Roker illuminates the United States's character at the dawn of the ""American Century,"" while also underlining the fact that no matter how mighty they may become, all nations must respect the ferocious potential of our natural environment."

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9781504625500

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Reviews

"[A] vivid and absorbing account...spellbinding and informative. -- ""Booklist"" A fascinating, multifaceted story. -- ""USA Today"" Focusing on the human experience of the storm...Roker follows survivors before, during, and after the hurricane in order to elucidate what people on Galveston Island encountered as the storm raged through the city...Compelling work. -- ""Library Journal"" Gripping reading and a well-crafted cautionary tale...[Roker] brings important new energy, details, and meteorological insights to this retelling. -- ""Dallas Morning News"" Narrator Byron Wagner's unrelenting tone is unnerving as he opens Al Roker's account...Wagner's voice relaxes as Roker then goes back to the days leading up to the hurricane, capturing the everyday rhythms of Galveston life...When the storm hits, Wagner gut-wrenchingly describes the experiences of being in a house that is collapsing and not knowing whether loved ones are still alive. Listeners will be fascinated, even as they shudder at the grim reality. -- ""AudioFile"" Personalize[s] the event...[and] uncovers more of the rescue and recovery effort...Roker's new book is a fine effort. -- ""San Antonio Express-News"" Reads like a blockbuster movie script. -- ""Associated Press"" Vivid details abound in Roker's telling of the hurricane and its aftermath...[which] reads like a novel...Engrossing. -- ""Chicago Tribune"""

Focusing on the human experience of the storm...Roker follows survivors before, during, and after the hurricane in order to elucidate what people on Galveston Island encountered as the storm raged through the city...Compelling work. -- Library Journal Narrator Byron Wagner's unrelenting tone is unnerving as he opens Al Roker's account...Wagner's voice relaxes as Roker then goes back to the days leading up to the hurricane, capturing the everyday rhythms of Galveston life...When the storm hits, Wagner gut-wrenchingly describes the experiences of being in a house that is collapsing and not knowing whether loved ones are still alive. Listeners will be fascinated, even as they shudder at the grim reality. -- AudioFile [A] vivid and absorbing account...spellbinding and informative. -- Booklist Reads like a blockbuster movie script. -- Associated Press Personalize[s] the event...[and] uncovers more of the rescue and recovery effort...Roker's new book is a fine effort. -- San Antonio Express-News Gripping reading and a well-crafted cautionary tale...[Roker] brings important new energy, details, and meteorological insights to this retelling. -- Dallas Morning News Vivid details abound in Roker's telling of the hurricane and its aftermath...[which] reads like a novel...Engrossing. -- Chicago Tribune A fascinating, multifaceted story. -- USA Today

Author Information

Al Roker is known to more than thirty million TV viewers and has won thirteen Emmy Awards, ten for his work on NBC's Today. He also hosts Wake Up with Al, a weekday morning program on the Weather Channel. A New York Times bestselling author, Roker lives in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News and 20/20 correspondent Deborah Roberts, and has two daughters and a son. William Hogeland has published in numerous print and online periodicals, including the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, and Slate. He lives and writes in Brooklyn, New York. Byron Wagner is an audiobook narrator and voiceover artist based in Los Angeles. He began his career in entertainment at age eight, performing as a magician and ventriloquist for children's parties, then graduated to theater, radio, TV, and film. After living in the UK for several years, his continuing love of acting and reading have happily led him back to the other side of the studio glass, doing voice acting and narrating, directing, and producing audiobooks.

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