The Tornado (Volume 83) (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University) - Softcover

Weems, John Edward

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0890964602 ISBN 13: 9780890964606

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press, 2017

Synopsis

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.
 

About this title

About the Author:

JOHN EDWARD WEEMS has eleven books to his name, including Weekend in September, the highly acclaimed account of the 1900 Galveston hurricane. He was named a Fellow of the Texas Institute of Letters and received that organization's prestigious Barbara McCombs/Lon Tinkle Award.

Review:

"The Tornado was wonderful. . . . 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."--Annie Dillard (Annie Dillard)

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0890964602
• ISBN 13: 9780890964606
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200