Review
In the tradition of
Isaac s Storm and
The Johnstown Flood, Mary A. Shafer s
Devastation on the Delaware is a meticulously researched, compellingly written account of a major meteorological catastrophe.Â
The stories of innocent people swept away in raging flood waters some of them taken by surprise in the middle of the night or carried off while would-be rescuers extended helping hands will haunt me. The prose is crisp, the photos mesmerizing. Anyone who watches Storm Stories on The Weather Channel will find this an electrifying read. --David Laskin, author of The Children s Blizzard and Braving the Elements
Half a century before the record-setting hurricane season of 2005 brought Katrina, Rita and Wilma to the United States, Connie and Diane hit the East Coast. "Devastation on the Delaware: Stores and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955" is the story of Hurricanes Connie and Diane and the record-setting flood they triggered on the Delaware River. The tale of destruction is told in more than 400 pages of narrative nonfiction with maps, diagrams and some 100 historical photographs. Author Mary A. Shafer deftly sets the stage for the coming disaster, almost making the reader feel the hot, dusty air of early August. While farmers dreamed of crops salvaged from a dry growing season by Connie's rains, Diane quickly twisted those hopes into nightmares. Shafer writes about real people as they rushed to climb faster than the Delaware's rising waters during three terrifying days and night of August 18-20, 1955. Shafer does not forget weather fans in her narrative, and provides storm data, meteorology (orographic enhancement, the Fujiwara effect, and the Bermuda years), and weather history. Particularly intriguing are the author's descriptions of the state of meteorological operations in the mid-1950s and the inclusion of actual U.S. Weather Bureau (which is now National Weather Service) bulletins issued as Connie and Diane approached and made landfall. Shafer's descriptions of scientific concepts are general but clear, and all are scientifically sound. There are a couple of items that might confuse the reader. Rainfall maps on pages 12 and 13 show the rainfall total for both storms, a fact that is not immediately apparent. The rainfall total maps for the individual hurricanes on pages 34 and 79 claim to give rainfall totals in milliliters. For meteorological purposes, rainfall is almost never measured using volumetric units, although for hydrological, flood hazard mitigation and rainfall chemistry studies, these units are fairly common. Shafer's source is a series of original hand-drawn maps that were hard to read because of age. The conversion factor to inches is correct for millimeters, and if the mapped values are treated as such the reader can get the correct figures. Shafer's writing is vivid, and like many authors of creative nonfiction, she chose to write about past events in the present tense. From her first sentence "Friday dawns red, if you can see the sun at all" Shafer places nearly every historical event in a present-day context. There are a few awkward exceptions to this rule when Shafer employes the past tense for events that occurred before the 1955 flood. The flow of time during the three days and three nights covered in Shafer's book would have been clearer and easier to read if she had restricted her writing to the present tense. For this reviewer to recommend a regional weather history book, it must pass three tests: Is the book a valuable source of information for future researchers? Can the weather hobbyist enjoy the work without getting bogged down in local geography and scientific terminology? Is the meteorology, no matter how sparse or general, standing on a sound scientific foundation? For "Devastation on the Delaware," the answer to all three questions is yes. (NOTE: This review was written about the first edition of the book.) --Steve Horstmeyer, Weatherwise Magazine
In the tradition of Isaac's Storm and The Johnstown Flood, Mary A. Shafer's Devastation on the Delaware is a meticulously researched, compellingly written account of a major meteorological catastrophe. The stories of innocent people swept away in raging flood waters some of them taken by surprise in the middle of the night or carried off while would-be rescuers extended helping hands will haunt me. The prose is crisp, the photos mesmerizing. Anyone who watches Storm Stories on The Weather Channel will find this an electrifying read. --David Laskin, author of The Children s Blizzard and Braving the Elements
From the Publisher
Devastation on the Delaware is our flagship title. We feel it's a strong first book to serve as the foundation of our publishing house, Word Forge Books. This title sets the tone of our publishing philosophy: It's all about giving back.
Winston Churchill, a man whose life made a tremendous impact on his homeland and the rest of the world, said, "You make a living by what you get, and a life by what you give."
At Word Forge Books, we try to find meaningful ways to give something back to the world from which we make our living. Part of that means producing quality reading material worth spending time with. While our books may not always be light or breezy, they still manage to be uplifting, whether through a positive new take on old problems, fresh ideas for constructive living, or a welcome light shining on previously misunderstood or little known facts.
Our mission is to provide a platform for some of today's most forward-thinking, constructive voices in ideas and literature. We seek out authors and artists whose sincere wish is to help make a better world for us all. Many of our products carry a literal give-back, meaning that a portion of the sale of each item is donated to a related charity or independent project.
Fifty cents from the sale of each copy of Devastation on the Delaware is donated to the Delaware RiverKeeper Network, the official voice of advocacy for this majestic, wild and scenic waterway.
