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The Tornado
John Edward Weems
出版
Texas A&M University Press
, 1991
主題
History / United States / State & Local / General
Nature / Weather
Science / Earth Sciences / Geography
Science / Earth Sciences / Meteorology & Climatology
ISBN
0890964602
9780890964606
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=yFHH2g2F0CMC&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋
The Tornado
gives account of one of the world's most terrifying natural disasters. Twisters have left their wake of freakish consequences throughout the United States and the world, and
The Tornado
vividly describes some of the most bizarre from around the country--houseboats sailing through the air; cars flown to a landing half a cornfield away; an entire house lifted and demolished, leaving only a divan holding the uninjured family.
The most detailed description of a tornado and the violence it can bring comes from the author's focus on the tragedy of one American town in 1953. John Edward Weems was an eyewitness reporter of a funnel that hit Waco, Texas, on May 11 of that year. In gripping narrative, he portrays the events of that day: a man clinging to a guard rail while a mailbox, plate glass, bricks, and assorted debris whizzed past his head; automobiles rolling end on end down the street; buildings falling like blocks knocked down by an angry child; a movie theater crumbling on the terrified patrons. When the storm had passed, 114 people were dead and hundreds injured; property damage ran in the tens of millions of dollars.
Research in news reports, government weather documents, and books flesh out this account, which Pulitzer-prize winner Annie Dillard called "wonderfully exciting. It is full of people, and the thousands of details that make up their lives--and deaths. It is] a story of enormous power." John Banta, writing in the
Waco Tribune-Herald
, described it as "a gripping story of human drama and tragedy."
Kirkus Reviews
said, ". . . the events still chill face to face with a power that defies reason."
Royalties from the sale of
The Tornado
will benefit the book fund of the Waco-McLennan County Public Library.