Book Description
On the night of September 21, 1938, news on the radio was full of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. There was no mention of severe weather approaching New England. By the time oceanfront residents noticed an ominous yellow color in the sky, it was too late. In a matter of hours, a massive hurricane of unprecedented force ripped its way from Long Island to Providence, obliterating coastal communities, destroying whole commercial fishing fleets from Montauk to Narragansett Bay, and killing seven hundred people. Early that morning, salt fishermen heading out on calm seas noticed a sudden drop in the barometer. Hurtling toward them at a record speed was a hurricane that would strike with catastrophic waves surging over fifty feet. Winds whipped up to 186 miles per hour, trashing boats and smashing homes from Long Island to Connecticut and Rhode Island. Most victims never knew what hit them. Like The Perfect Storm, Burns's spellbinding storytelling follows the storm's punishing path in a seamless and suspenseful narrative, preserving for posterity the legendary story of the Great Hurricane and the personal stories of those affected by its swath of destruction.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-01-09
A gift for my grandmother who lived through it, she was so thrilled to have the story told.
Powerful Storm, Powerful Story.......2006-07-26
Note: I listened to this as an unabridged audio download and my comments pertain to the audio edition.
The Great Hurricane of 1938 received relatively little notice in the news of the day, as it was overshadowed by the Czechoslovakian crisis then looming, and it is little remembered today. But it should be. For those who experienced it first-hand, it is still a traumatic memory and all the survivors know of people who weren't so lucky. Moreover it is important to recall how recently people had little or no early warning system that bad weather was coming--no satellite tracking or emergency broadcasts, no television or news media coverage to educate people as to the danger a hurricane presents.
The Hurricane of 1938 was a whopper of a storm, an anomaly that grew stronger rather than weaker as it rushed northward from the warm tropics, and a storm with a faster forward motion (over 60 MPH!) than any other storm ever recorded. The lack of knowledge about hurricanes and storm surges and the total lack of warning combined with the size and speed of the storm to create disaster when it struck Long Island and New England on the afternoon of September 21, 1938. Over 700 people lost their lives, and there was massive loss of homes and businesses spread over several states.
Cherie Burns tells the story of this little known storm in The Great Hurricane: 1938. She gives some background information on the growth of the storm, storm tracking of the day and the history of hurricanes striking as far north as Long Island and New England, but for the most part stays focused on a cast of characters in the various areas about to be struck. She begins with their actions in the 24 hours prior to the hurricane and then follows them through the next day as their lives are suddenly upended and threatened.
It makes for a riveting tale, and the bravery and stubbornness of the survivors is heartening, as the losses of those not so lucky are tragic. The material is strong enough to rise above some weak writing, as Burns becomes repetitious in her reminders that this was the tail end of the Depression and people were frugal, the rich were supposed to be unostentatious with their wealth, and that people had no mass media to warn and educate them about hurricanes. This became slightly wearying but the power of the story kept me going.
The audio edition was unabridged, and even so is relatively quick going at under 6 hours. The reader is effective and it made for a good listen, making me happy to be safe, warm and dry as I listened to the stories of people who, one fall day in 1938, weren't so lucky.
Not for the academic..........2006-07-14
Just to save the more academic people the pain... this book is made for a more casual reader, it is not written from a scientic perspective. The best account of the 1938 hurricane is still on the net: (google) "United States Hurricanes" Michael Grammatico is the only true scientific authority on hurricanes in the Northeast states.
A major disapointment.......2006-07-08
This book has a lot of potential but it just isn't very well written. It starts off well enough with background stories about main characters who we assume will be followed as the storm progresses. But things get bad quickly as the author adds new character after new character without following up on them. For the life of me I could not keep up with these characters because they dropped in and out of the story without warning. I found myself skipping ahead constantly because these stories were not interesting.
The theme of the book seems to be that without modern technology storms were more dangerous. We're all well aware that the lack of information technology contributed to many needless deaths during a number of early storms in the history of this country. Do we need to hear this point repeated over and over? What I wanted was more a more in depth explanation of the storms formation and how it grew stronger. What I got was superlative statements like about the storm sneaking up on unsuspecting people and pounding them with the 'wrath of God'. Statements like that are repeated throughout the story. After a while I wanted to have a scientific explanation of what the 'wrath of God' means.
And the book seems long for what it's trying to accomplish. This entire story could have been shortened to at least half. Probably should have been a story in Redbook or Reader's Digest.
Not recommended for those who want to gain an understanding of the true power of a hurricane. 2 stars and I'm being generous.
Poorly researched and badly in need of an editor........2006-06-28
What a disappointment! I'd looked forward to reading this book and now I'm sorry I wasted my money. It covers the same ground as Scotti's "Sudden Sea" but does so with far less ability.
It's repetitious and as another reviewer mentioned, reads like an eighth-grade report on a hurricane. Early on in my reading, I was blaming the editor. The repeated references to there being no satellite or radar tracking of storms in 1938 (does the author really think we need frequent reminders of this?) and rich folks playing down their wealth, the overusage of words like "portentous" and "anyhow" and the unfortunate metaphor of hurricane as "cat" could have been cleaned up (along with some typos) by a good editor. The author thanks her editor in the acknowlegments, so the mind boggles at what the manuscript must have looked like before the final edit.
But what pushed me over the edge were the frequent factual errors, the blame for which lies solely with the author, not the editor. Here are a few:
The author claims that in 1938, the start of the school year fell around October 1. That gave me pause, but I was willing to go with it until I found multiple references in the remainder of the book to children on their way to or from school on the day of the storm.
The author describes the newroom of the Providence Evening Bulletin (which she later refers to, incorrectly, as the "Providence Bulletin") during the storm and in the next sentence says "things weren't going any better for workers at the Providence Journal." Well, duh. The Providence Evening Bulletin and the Providence Journal were the evening and morning editions of the same paper, published on the same presses, from the same newsroom at the same address and by the same reporters.
The author describes someone as being able to look up the bay and see "the lights on the bridge from Barrington to Bristol." There is no such bridge. There is a very small bridge from Barrington to Warren, whose lights were not likely to be visible outside the harbor, and a much larger bridge, the Mt. Hope Bridge, visible up and down the bay, which connects Bristol to Aquidneck Island.
The author references the situation at City Hall in Providence and in the next sentence says "next door at the Hope Club". The Hope Club is not next door to City Hall, nor is it anywhere downtown. The Hope Club is on College Hill, on Benefit Street.
The author describes action taking place at the intersection of Orange St. and Fawcett St. in downtown Providence. There is no Fawcett St. in Providence. Did she mean Friendship Street? Who knows?
In recounting tree damage, the author says, "In Providence, Goddard Park..." Goddard Park is not in Providence, it's in North Kingstown, approximately 20 miles away.
There are more, but after factual error piled upon factual error, I lost the will to go on reading. All of these errors could have been easily fixed with the most cursory of fact-checking. But clearly, the author couldn't be bothered.
Average customer rating:
- One of the few lovely books about the Sound
- What a terrifc book!
- Wonder and Magic at the Margins
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Margins: A Naturalist Meets Long Island Sound
Mary Parker Buckles
Manufacturer: North Point Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Ecology
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ASIN: 0865475164 |
Book Description
With a deft touch and a naturalist's keen eye, Mary Parker Buckles introduces herself-and us-to wondrous adventures in the land, air, water, and intertidal zone that make up the Long Island Sound ecosystem. While the Sound has been threatened by pollution and development, it is far from dead, as some picture it, and has been virtually uncelebrated until now. She discovers the magic of shorebirds on stopover during their semiannual migration and comes to appreciate the temperament of owls, the intricacy of barnacles, the crustiness of horseshoe crabs, and the fragility of osprey chicks. Buckles explains what the ongoing battle over wetlands is all about and elucidates other complexities of a place she describes as "inherently sacred by virtue of being alive."
Customer Reviews:
One of the few lovely books about the Sound.......2004-11-04
Mary Buckles develops a great relationship with life on the Sound and shares it so gracefully with the reader. There are so few books available about the Sound, and hers is one of the best.
What a terrifc book!.......2003-06-09
I met Mary Parker Buckles 20 years ago and immediately fell for her. Articulate, witty and graced with the style of a native Southerner, she enthralled me. After reading her book on Long Island Sound, I just fell for her again. It's an articulate, witty and graceful look at all that grows along and in the sound.
Wonder and Magic at the Margins.......2000-04-10
This is a beautiful and enchanting book. Mary Parker Buckles initiates the reader into the teeming vitality, ceaseless creativity, and mesmerizing wonder that is Long Island Sound. The familiar, but oh so strange world of owls and ospreys, barnacles and crabs, bivalves and boats, are engagingly explored by Mary -- a true natural scientist, but with a poet's eye. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is superbly well written, and in her elegant, imaginative, playful, even rapturous style Mary helps the reader to discover the magic that lies hidden in plain sight throughout this natural habitat. Mary seems to pour her soul into the Sound, and what emerges is a lyrical voice that speaks of wonders too fair for words.
Average customer rating:
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Newsday's Guide to Long Island's Natural World (Falcon Guide)
Inc. Newsday
Manufacturer: Falcon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0762737484 |
Book Description
Part guidebook and part natural history, Newsday's Guide to Long Island's Natural World reveals in words and color photographs the diverse and fascinating environment of Long Island, New York. Based on the award-winning Newsday series.
Book Description
This lively and readable book traces the history of Long Island Sound and tells the stories of the scientists and citizens who have been working to restore and preserve it.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for those interested in L.I.S........2004-06-15
What a fantastic book. As a marine biology educator on Long Island Sound, I found this book to be an essential part of my course. I am requiring it as summer reading for my course. It is full of history and information. If you use the Sound at all, this book is a must read!
Wonderful Book.......2002-11-30
I came across this book while doing research for a segment that I was going to do for National Public Radio. Since I am only 15 I wasn't really around to witness the battle to save LIS, and I needed to know some history about the area from that time. This book helped the most out of all the materials that I read. It started by describing the time European sailors first laid their eyes on LIS to present day. He takes you on a journey through all of LIS history and presents every point of view when explaining the battle conservationists had to fight to get the government to cooperate. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in LIS. It is not a book that takes a lot of past knowledge to read, but very informative. Good work Mr. Andersen. A lot of work went into this book and it shows.
Book Description
Here it is! The first comprehensive guide to trails of the South Fork of Long Island. Mike Bottini not only helped to blaze these trails, for more than four years he has been describing them in his column in the Southampton Press. "South Fork Outdoors," which served as the basis for this book, won the award for best outdoors column from the New York Press Association in 2002. An accomplished naturalist, Mike offers a vivid picture of the local ecologies of the trails. From seashore to oak/pine woods, from salt water wetlands to freshwater ponds and kettleholes, Mike describes the unique natural history of the remarkably diverse South Fork environments. Even if you are only an armchair nature-lover, you'll find this book enormously informative.
Book Description
Forget the blizzard of 1978. New EnglandÂ's storm of the century was the hurricane of 1938. Sometimes called the “Long Island Express” because it rolled through there on the first day of autumn, the hurricane tore northward straight through the heart of New England, wreaking death and destruction with virtually no warning.
The storm registered peak sustained winds of 121 miles per hour, and one gust registered 186 at the Blue Hills Observatory outside Boston. Seawater killed plant life 20 miles inland, and ocean salt sprayed windows in Montpelier, Vermont. An estimated 275 million trees were uprooted or damaged. About 20,000 miles of power and telephone lines were knocked down. Along the shore, 7,000 cottages and 2,000 other houses were destroyed, and the human death toll was estimated at 680. More had died in previous U.S. storms, but given the concentration of population and development on Long Island and in New England, the hurricane of 1938 was the costliest natural disaster in American history to that time.
With this gripping narrative by Aram Goudsouzian, Commonwealth Editions inaugurates a new series, New England Remembers, dedicated to the great events and people that have shaped what we know and love as New England. Like The Hurricane of 1938 and The Big Dig (see facing page), each book in the series will be written by a historian or a writer intimately familiar with the subject. Each book will have a uniform design featuring about 15 archival images. Forthcoming titles include Sacco and Vanzetti, The Cocoanut Grove Fire, James Michael Curley, and Lizzie Borden.
Customer Reviews:
Heavy on stories, light on science.......2006-11-10
This is a very worthwhile book from the human standpoint. It contains a wide variety of stories from those who were actually there, but could have used more facts. I still wonder, for instance, what caused an Atlantic hurricane to suddenly turn and attain a forward speed of 60 mph.
Average customer rating:
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A natural history of Long Island
Sam Yeaton
Manufacturer: Nature Conservancy, Long Island Chapter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
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ASIN: B0006W27OO |
Customer Reviews:
A must for any Cape Codder or Islander.......2000-06-14
Dorothy Sterling describes the Outer Lands (The Cape, Long Island, Nantucket, etc.) very eloquently, using understandable, interesting language. She adds charming local folklore and local sights, as well as maps and drawings that contribute so much to the book. This book is great for leasure reading as well as a textbook for a marine biology class.
A must for any Cape Codder or Islander.......2000-06-14
Dorothy Sterling describes the Outer Lands (The Cape, Long Island, Nantucket, etc.) very eloquently, using understandable, interesting language. She adds charming local folklore and local sights, as well as maps and drawings that contribute so much to the book. This book is great for leasure reading as well as a textbook for a marine biology class.
Average customer rating:
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A Nature Journal: A Naturalist's Year on Long Island
Dennis Puleston
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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New York
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ASIN: 0393034291 |
Amazon.com
Salmon flies, those colorful yet seemingly impossible creations of fur and feathers on a deadly hook, are within the reach of any fly-tier prepared to study the secrets of several generations of fly-tying pioneers. Editor Michael Radencich goes a long way to present the most up-to-date information on this hallowed art form in the big, beautiful Tying the Classic Salmon Fly: A Modern Approach to Traditional Techniques. With large, crisp color photographs and detailed step-by-step tying instructions, this is a comprehensive guide that instructs while dazzling the eye. You may even want two copies--one for the tying desk and one for the coffee table.
Customer Reviews:
easy instruction.......2007-03-21
The last 2 chapters may come in handy over the years, but the first 3/4 of the book are excellent
Awsome.......2007-01-19
For a modern approach there is no one better than Radencich. To tie with such perfection; its great to see he is sharing his secrets.
a good place to start.......2005-09-19
If you are a fly tyer of any sort and want to try your hand at traditional featherwing flys this is an excellent place to start. With enough hisorical background and excellent menus this volume gives in great detail methods to perform the traditional tasks as well as how to build the flys themselves.
An Essential Reference Work.......2000-08-23
Distinguished by sharp colour photography and clean layout, this book is highly recommended as a reference work for anyone interested in tying and presenting the Classic Salmon fly. I enjoyed the chapter on hook making, (flashbacks to college metal work days), and having previously undertaken some picture framing, found the tips in the fly mounting chapter very useful.The colour photography of the Traherne collection and other patterns presented is excellent. The books contents will be of considerable use to beginner and expert alike.
Superb Photographs and a well done presentation.......2000-02-16
Radencich has produced a work of art in this book. The photographs are outstanding, and there are not enough superlatives to do them justice. The steps are so well done as to present a short course in photos alone. Very well done.
As other reviewers have noted, this book is not strong on its historical content or presentation of utilitarian (read: flies for fish...) patterns. It also goes into excruciating detail on wall mounts which while interesting, might have been better spent on other patterns. I found the section on hook making to be very interesting and unique in the literature of salmon flies. This book is hard to put down and sets a new standard of graphics for this genre. Well done, Michael.
Books:
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- The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine
- The Struggle for Tennessee: Tupelo to Stones River (Civil War)
- The Urban Whale: North Atlantic Right Whales at the Crossroads
- The Wild Girl
- The Worship Warrior: Ascending in Worship: Descending in War (Lifepoints (Paperback))
- This Place Is Lonely: The Australian Outback (Imagine Living Here)
- Through the Eye of the Shaman: The Nagual Returns
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The Hurricane Of 1938 (New England Remembers)
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938
A Wind to Shake the World: The Story of the 1938 Hurricane
Storm of the Century : The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
Hurricane in the Hamptons, 1938 (NY) (Images of America)
