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mondovertigo's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Vomit and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Hurricane Sandy formed October 22, 2012 in the Caribbean. Sandy hit Kingston, Jamaica, causing about $100 million dollars in damage and leaving people without electricity. One person died. After Jamaica, Sandy strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane. Haiti was flooded terribly, causing 54 deaths, a lot of homelessness, and food shortages. Two people also died from this storm in the Dominican Republic, Canada, the Bahamas, and one person in Puerto Rico from the flooding. Cuba was especially hard hit, resulting in $2 billion dollars in damage, extensive flooding, and killing eleven people.
In the United States, residents were warned to evacuate certain areas, stock up on supplies, and attempt to weatherproof homes. Schools and businesses closed in preparation for the onslaught, and utility companies attempted to come up with ways to keep the grid online. A lot of flights were canceled. In total, twenty four states were directly impacted from Hurricane Sandy. The most heavily devastated were New York and New Jersey. I think most of us have seen the iconic images of the rollercoaster from Seaside Heights in the shallows of the ocean, which is what I remember most about the coverage of this storm. New York was flooded, with water pouring into subway entrances like waterfalls. A lot of buildings and landscaping were damaged from the onslaught as well. Over 100 people died in the United States.
All told, the storm caused over $68 billion dollars in damage. 233 people in total died. This was the deadliest and most destructive storm of the 2012 Hurricane Season. The book (which I found in large print!) was really interesting. It had a lot of information in it about how hurricane's are tracked and mapped. I had no idea that people really flew into these storms still... I guess I thought there was a new and improved way. That is a terrifying job that I would not like to have. In the book, it mentions several people on cruise ships during this storm, and I cannot imagine how horrifying that was. (Some of them were on their first ever cruise and surviving that would make me very firm in never doing it again, especially not during that time of year.) I really enjoyed this book and the personal stories in it.
In the United States, residents were warned to evacuate certain areas, stock up on supplies, and attempt to weatherproof homes. Schools and businesses closed in preparation for the onslaught, and utility companies attempted to come up with ways to keep the grid online. A lot of flights were canceled. In total, twenty four states were directly impacted from Hurricane Sandy. The most heavily devastated were New York and New Jersey. I think most of us have seen the iconic images of the rollercoaster from Seaside Heights in the shallows of the ocean, which is what I remember most about the coverage of this storm. New York was flooded, with water pouring into subway entrances like waterfalls. A lot of buildings and landscaping were damaged from the onslaught as well. Over 100 people died in the United States.
All told, the storm caused over $68 billion dollars in damage. 233 people in total died. This was the deadliest and most destructive storm of the 2012 Hurricane Season. The book (which I found in large print!) was really interesting. It had a lot of information in it about how hurricane's are tracked and mapped. I had no idea that people really flew into these storms still... I guess I thought there was a new and improved way. That is a terrifying job that I would not like to have. In the book, it mentions several people on cruise ships during this storm, and I cannot imagine how horrifying that was. (Some of them were on their first ever cruise and surviving that would make me very firm in never doing it again, especially not during that time of year.) I really enjoyed this book and the personal stories in it.
megandevlan's review against another edition
5.0
By far the best book on Hurricane Sandy I've read. Miles does a great job crafting a story around some key characters to keep the book moving as the storm travels across the Atlantic and takes aim at the East Coast. Overall, the book was informative and compelling; I can't recommend this enough for anyone even remotely interested in the storm.
smithakp's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty thorough and gripping account of what made Sandy so unprecedented. I picked this up after spotting it at the library, and I’m glad I did - I never got “the hype” about Sandy and this book changed that.
However, I knocked off a star for the consistently condescending depiction of Claudene Christian. She was depicted as flighty and irresponsible (but with a heart of gold and friends who liked her) compared to everyone else, and it really bothered me throughout.
However, I knocked off a star for the consistently condescending depiction of Claudene Christian. She was depicted as flighty and irresponsible (but with a heart of gold and friends who liked her) compared to everyone else, and it really bothered me throughout.
meeramira's review against another edition
5.0
First type of book like this that I have read and I really enjoyed it. It was very interesting and even with all of the technical stuff, the author managed to still make the book suspenseful. The true stories of people during the storm were also heartbreaking. Overall, a really good book.
paigelindsay89's review against another edition
3.0
I was drawn to this book because I experienced Sandy from the suburbs of northern New Jersey. I remember the storm vividly. I remember the news coverage and the aftermath. I grew up spending my summers at the shore where Sandy pretty much destroyed everything that was familiar to me.
I didn't realize this book would be so scientific. Some of it I really loved and some of it was boring. I have a new found respect for meteorologists. I found it fascinating to see what happens 'behind the scenes'. I never knew about people like the Hurricane Hunters and I am beyond fascinated by what they do.
This book did a really good job of weaving together the different people involved in forecasting the storm and what was actually happening as they lead up to it. Miles also included a decent amount of history of hurricanes and weathers and some of this I found a bit boring and skimmed over.
Miles also did a great job of including some stories of parties affected by the storm and the fateful last journey of the ship the Bounty that attempted to ride out the storm.
This is not a book that details the devastation left behind by Sandy. This is a book that details the forecasting and most importantly the historical significance of this storm. At the time Sandy was taking place, in the days leading up to it and after it, I never once realized how extraordinarily different this storm was as opposed to others. This book really does well to point out no meteorologist had every experience this before and how new this pattern of weather was.
This is a dorky, scientific, non-fiction book - and if that sometimes interests you then I recommend it.
A line at the end of the book talks about how the devestation left behind felt like a war zone. Post Sandy I went to Staten Island and helped clean-up and I can honestly say that weeks after the storm it felt like a war zone. I helped an elderly couple clean their basement - which had water up to the roof of it. But as we worked and spent time in the neighborhood, military vehicles drove down streets, soldiers walked the neighborhood, helicopters flew so low to the buildings you could almost feel them. I hope that we have learned from this storm and I think after reading this book it is clear meteorologists learned from this storm as well.
I didn't realize this book would be so scientific. Some of it I really loved and some of it was boring. I have a new found respect for meteorologists. I found it fascinating to see what happens 'behind the scenes'. I never knew about people like the Hurricane Hunters and I am beyond fascinated by what they do.
This book did a really good job of weaving together the different people involved in forecasting the storm and what was actually happening as they lead up to it. Miles also included a decent amount of history of hurricanes and weathers and some of this I found a bit boring and skimmed over.
Miles also did a great job of including some stories of parties affected by the storm and the fateful last journey of the ship the Bounty that attempted to ride out the storm.
This is not a book that details the devastation left behind by Sandy. This is a book that details the forecasting and most importantly the historical significance of this storm. At the time Sandy was taking place, in the days leading up to it and after it, I never once realized how extraordinarily different this storm was as opposed to others. This book really does well to point out no meteorologist had every experience this before and how new this pattern of weather was.
This is a dorky, scientific, non-fiction book - and if that sometimes interests you then I recommend it.
A line at the end of the book talks about how the devestation left behind felt like a war zone. Post Sandy I went to Staten Island and helped clean-up and I can honestly say that weeks after the storm it felt like a war zone. I helped an elderly couple clean their basement - which had water up to the roof of it. But as we worked and spent time in the neighborhood, military vehicles drove down streets, soldiers walked the neighborhood, helicopters flew so low to the buildings you could almost feel them. I hope that we have learned from this storm and I think after reading this book it is clear meteorologists learned from this storm as well.
jnkay01's review against another edition
4.0
I've written before about how hurricane forecasters have discovered that they don't always communicate the dangers of tropical systems to the public. Miles' "Superstorm" details those communications mishaps during the forecast cycle from Superstorm Sandy's genesis in 2012 through its devastating landfall in New Jersey. Read my AP review here: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1b2efe32e6734449b292e43500ea2ae3/superstorm-crafts-narrative-sandys-wrath#
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