xxstefaniereadsxx's review
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I lived through a tornado outbreak in 2011. It was a wild day and night, and there was so much damage all over the area. That was nothing compared to the damage that the tornado outbreak of 1974 produced. This book was devastating to read. People went through so much in such a large swath of land. So many were injured and killed, and so much was destroyed.
elvenavari's review
2.0
I don't know if it's because I read another book about this event earlier this year that got an emotional reaction from me or what...but this book just really missed the mark. I didn't like Levine's writing style, it was just too disjointed for me. I never connected to any of the people featured in the story.
trouskers's review
5.0
It took me awhile to get into this book because being a weather fanatic I was more interested in the actual storm than the people. By the end of the book I was wrapped up in the peoples lives. I am studying to be a meteorologist and this book hit home why it is so important to continue to do research and warn people. It is hard to imagine the pain and suffering these people went through losing their homes, loved ones, and lives. It also is amazing what people can live through.
frankenthot's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
read like a horror novel at times. prose, structure, research--i can't find a single shortcoming.
sydneyreads's review
4.0
This is a well-researched and powerful yet heartbreaking account of a series of tornadoes that devastated Limestone, Alabama. I appreciated how the author combined survivor testimonies and scientific background information to provide a wholistic view of the situation. I felt like the beginning was a little drawn out, but the stories within the book were fascinating. I finished this novel feeling both inspired by the resilience of those affected by the storms and saddened by the horrific ordeals and losses suffered by many during the storms.
tearainread's review
3.0
A historical look at the Super Outbreak of tornadoes that hit the south/mid-west on April 3, 1974 as seen through the eyes of those living in Limestone County, Alabama.
The story is choppy, with many different people profiled from just prior to the thunderstorms through to the recovery and clean up phases of the storm. It is really hard in the beginning 25% of this book to keep everyone straight in the reader's head. There is a great story here, but too much excess on politics, the end of Vietnam, and national news (such as the oil crisis) suffocates the tornadoes story. The long science lecture on how thunderstorms and tornadoes are made I could have done without; it slowed down the story considerably. Likewise, the chapter on the different disasters happening that same year was a snooze.
I did enjoy the side journey of Mr. Fujuita, the scientist whose life-long work gave us untold information about tornadoes - this side journey eventually crossed into the story of April 3, 1974, making the two stories cohesive. The story is at times gory, with descriptions of injuries; if you are sensitive to those things, please take heed. There are descriptions of children dying and recovery of dead children.
I'm still glad I read this book, as it gave me an understanding to how natural disasters were handled before the 1990s introduction of disaster prevention and response and the birth of the Emergency Management career field.
The story is choppy, with many different people profiled from just prior to the thunderstorms through to the recovery and clean up phases of the storm. It is really hard in the beginning 25% of this book to keep everyone straight in the reader's head. There is a great story here, but too much excess on politics, the end of Vietnam, and national news (such as the oil crisis) suffocates the tornadoes story. The long science lecture on how thunderstorms and tornadoes are made I could have done without; it slowed down the story considerably. Likewise, the chapter on the different disasters happening that same year was a snooze.
I did enjoy the side journey of Mr. Fujuita, the scientist whose life-long work gave us untold information about tornadoes - this side journey eventually crossed into the story of April 3, 1974, making the two stories cohesive. The story is at times gory, with descriptions of injuries; if you are sensitive to those things, please take heed. There are descriptions of children dying and recovery of dead children.
I'm still glad I read this book, as it gave me an understanding to how natural disasters were handled before the 1990s introduction of disaster prevention and response and the birth of the Emergency Management career field.
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