The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster: the Great Gulf Hurricane

Brief Description: In this gripping narrative history, the beloved NBC weather personality vividly brings to life the Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest natural disaster in American history. On the afternoon of September 8, 1900, 200-mile-per-hour winds and fifteen-foot waves slammed into Galveston, the prosperous and growing port city on Texas s Gulf Coast. By dawn the next day, when the storm had passed, the city that existed just hours before was gone. Shattered, grief-stricken survivors emerged to witness a level of destruction never before seen: 8,000 corpses littered the streets and were buried under the massive wreckage. Rushing water had lifted buildings from their foundations, smashing them into pieces, while intensive winds had upended girders and trestles, driving them through house walls and into sidewalks. In less than twenty-four hours, one storm destroyed a major American metropolis and awakened a nation to the terrifying power of nature. The Storm of the Century brings this legendary disaster and its aftermath into brilliant focus. No other natural disaster has ever matched the havoc caused by the awesome mix of winds, rains, and flooding that devastated this bustling metropolis and shocked a young, optimistic nation on the cusp of modernity. Exploring the impact of the disaster on a rising nation s confidence the pain and trauma of the loss and the determination of the response Al Roker illuminates both the energy and the limitations of the American Century, and of nature itself."Review Quotes: Compelling. ... Uplifting. --Kirkus"Review Quotes: [A] compelling work. ... 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. --Library Journal"Review Quotes: ONE OF "USA TODAY" S 25 HOT BOOKS FOR SUMMER --USA Today"Review Quotes: Roker revisits the worst natural diaster of any kind, ever to hit the United States. ... He sets the stage for the drama with a comprehensive, but accessible history of Galveston at the time. --Publishers Weekly"Review Quotes: [A] vivid and absorbing account of the infamous Great Galveston Hurricane. ... Spellbinding and informative. --Booklist" Review Citations:

Library Journal Prepub Alert 03/15/2015 pg. 83 (EAN 9780062364654, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2015 (EAN 9780062364654, Hardcover)

Library Journal 06/01/2015 pg. 116 (EAN 9780062364654, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 06/15/2015 (EAN 9780062364654, Hardcover)

Booklist 07/01/2015 pg. 20 (EAN 9780062364654, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Roker, Al 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. Contributor Bio:  Hogeland, William 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.