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Lädt ... F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the 20th Centuryvon Mark Levine
Biggest Disappointments (331) Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. read this in one day; couple of good chapters on science of tornadoes and meteorology; mostly a human interest tale F5 is a really good non-fiction book that reads like the best type of fiction -- action, adventure, thriller, family drama. It's the true-life accounts of what many people lived through in April 1974, when the US suffered the deadliest outbreaks of tornadoes on record. I read this book in a day, mostly because I didn't want to stop reading once I had started. Mark Levine has truly done his research, but he's written the story of these tornadoes in a way that never seems overbearing or gets so bogged down in pure science that you want to stop reading. A great book and highly recommended. Mark Levine’s F5 should be compelling, but it’s simply not. The subject matter is gold: Levine recounts the horrific 1974 outbreak of tornadoes across the USA’s southeastern and Ohio Valley states, in which nearly 150 twisters killed hundreds and did appalling amounts of damage. He focuses on Limestone Country, Alabama, one of the worst-hit areas, tracking several families who were at the epicenter of the disaster. Levine squanders his well-chosen story in two ways. First, he fails to establish most of the characters he follows. It’s telling that the first page of the book provides a guide to who’s who. Unfortunately, it’s needed almost throughout the book, as Levine doesn’t do enough differentiation for even an avid reader to keep track. Second, Levine punctuates the book with periodic ruminations on the state of the nation in 1974, trying to use this weather disaster as a kind of metaphor for the sorry state of the late Nixon years. This ham-fisted symbolism is totally unnecessary; it’s not as if a catastrophe in which so many people died needs its impact bulked up with a lot of added ‘significance’. I love weather books, but not this one. Not recommended. keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
It was April 3, 1974. Crime was soaring. Unemployment and inflation were out of control. A costly war had just come to its demoralizing end, and an unpopular President was on his way out of office. Then, over a sixteen-hour period, nature stepped forward with its own display of mayhem: an unprecedented outbreak of 148 tornadoes, covering thirteen states in the heart of the country, from Michigan to Mississippi. Hundreds of people were killed, thousands of homes demolished, and a billion dollars in losses sustained. Sixty-four of the tornadoes would be classified as severely violent; six belonged to the most rare, most deadly category: F5, or "incredible tornadoes." Like the best nonfiction, F5 is a brilliantly crafted page-turner that reads with the immediacy of a novel, telling a harrowing story of natural disaster against the backdrop of the turbulent 1970s. Acclaimed journalist Mark Levine follows the heart-wrenching fate of a rich cast of intertwined characters -- ordinary Americans whose lives are transformed in a terrifying instant. A pair of teenage lovers are caught while driving on a dark country road; a Vietnam veteran is trapped at home with a newborn baby; a sheriff finds himself in the line of fire twice in rapid succession; a black preacher with a past of dire hardship struggles to protect his family. Other figures enter the story from the broader cultural scene, including Hank Aaron, on his way to challenging baseball's home run record amid racist death threats; Patty Hearst, whose image as kidnapping victim is undergoing a radical shift; Richard Nixon and George Wallace, both intent on using the storms to their political advantage; and a memorably eccentric scientist, known as Mr. Tornado, who regards the "Superoutbreak" as the apotheosis of his scholarly life. Gripping and revelatory, F5 braids the story of the shattering outbreak with images of social upheaval and individual heroism in a stunning, unforgettable read. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)551.5530976198Natural sciences and mathematics Earth sciences & geology Geology, Hydrology Meteorology Meteorology; Climate StormsKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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