Customer Reviews

F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the 20th Century

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

F5 is the designation for the most destructive of tornadoes. Of course, there is plenty of description of destruction in this book. But, what sets this book apart from typical "weather junkie" books is the description of injury and emotional pain. You come to know three good families and some assorted, fascinating people, including a heck of a good county sheriff and a tornado expert who is almost weird, he is so enthusiasic about the storms. You see how some of these people are struck down. You see how the survivors suffer afterwards. F5s are not just destructive. They are horrible. In the book they seem to be almost alive and deliberately attacking the innocent. A hell of a good story of what some people went through thirty years ago.

I learned of Mark Levine's book, F5, some weeks ago, but before I had a chance to read it, my attention was captivated by a lead story in the media. A monstor tornado had just obliterated my boyhood home of Greensburg, Kansas. I had not lived there for most of my adult life, decades, but, I still had family and relations living there. Anyone growing up in Kansas has heard plenty of tornado tales, yet, I never saw one personally, and had only the vaguest idea of their causes. Mark Levine's book has changed that. F5 gives a comprehensive view of the causes and conditions that spawn them and makes the science come alive in the life of the man who came to be known as "Mr. Tornado."

Most compelling, however, is Levine's ability to get inside the lives of more than a dozen people of Limestone County, Alabama who experienced a super outbreak of tornadoes on April 3, 1974. I marveled at his understanding of these unfortunate people. He must have spent countless hours interviewing them, most probably over many repeated visits. The book opens with an account of a couple of teen-agers who drive into the teeth of this killer storm. The immediacy of the authors prose puts you in the car with them, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel.

In F5, we know what these few experienced, what they lost, and the agony they suffered. We also learn how their lives were permanently altered by those brief, horrifying, and blurry moments in 1974. This is a book that I'll probably read a second time.

I thought this book was a great read because it felt like I was actually witnessing first hand the events of April 3, 1974. Yes, the book does jump around a little bit. It starts off with some foreshadowing and then backtracks to pre-April 3, 1974. The author describes the history and people of Limestone County, Alabama. In addition, there are a few chapters that break up the story, describing the nature of tornadoes and some politcal events of 1974. Also, there are many characters in this book which make various appearances throughout. It may appear to be a bit confusing, but eventually I was able to keep track of who was whom. But the story does wrap up nicely with an epilogue that informs the readers of the present day victims of the "superoutbreak". But beware, this story mostly takes place in Limestone County, Alabama. So don't expect a detailed account of the 148 tornadoes that swepted across the country on April 3-4, 1974

Well written and explains the carnage of tornados in detail from the people who expierenced it. April 3, 1974 impacted alot of Americans and F5 describes well how the weather impacted a small town. The beginning does drag a bit at first, espically when reading the dramatic introduction, but that is because Levine wanted to make sure all of the characters were well explained. Once into part two the story takes off and the momentum continues until the end. A good read.

F5: DEVASTATION, SURVIVAL AND THE MOST VIOLENT TORNADO OUTBREAK OF THE 20TH CENTURY comes from an award-winning magazine writer and is a powerful survey of the 1974 tornado array - some 148 of them - which struck thirteen states in the Midwest and killed hundreds. F5 reads like fiction but packs in science details on the six that achieved F5 force status - the rarest, largest of tornadoes. By including case history vignettes of individuals affected during the storms, F5 pairs science with a personal touch lending it appeal into general interest lending library holdings, where it's sure to be popular.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I enjoyed this book, and its personal stories of the people involved. As other reviewers said this story does jump around too much. I also found stories about the politics of the time distracting. I would have also like to have seen maps of the area the tornadoes struck. The personal stories of the people involved were well written and I would have like to have heard more. I would recommend this book.

I had been hearing so much about the book and seeing it everywhere, so I thought why not --- and I'm so glad I did. It arrived last weekend and I finished it in 24 hours. What a pageturner...I generally don't have much of an attention span when it comes to books (especially non-fiction) but I just couldn't put this down. It really does read like the best fiction.

I'm sure they'll turn this into a movie!

Levine's book has passages that keep you transfixed, but jumps around like the tornadoes he's writing about, which makes it a somewhat confusing read. First you are in a car that's being tossed about then you are riding with a utility worker and by the time you find out what happened to the occupants of the car you don't know who's where exactly. Overall I recommend it but you need index cards to keep track of all the unfortunate victims of this disaster.

Let me get right to the point. The writer jumps around to the point of distraction between the victums of the tornado. He writes like a play-by-play sportscaster covering two games at once. Imagine a sportscaster saying "And Michael Jordan drives the lane, goes airborn and now lets see what is happening at the other game." It is an irritating technique and it is done poorly at that. It gets very tiring. Also his efforts to tie in the Nixon presidency and other current events of the time did not work for me. They seemed like filler material. Now on the positive I enjoyed the scientific background on tornados and his explaination of what makes a tornado tick. That was worth reading. The story is a good one, but the writer's effort is very average.

Judi C.--Oklahoma--Having a great interest in tornadoes, I knew many of the fact Mr. Levine wrote, but I still learned more. I liked the way the people were introduced into the book before you actually got into the tornado. I hope he writes more books like this since there are many stories to be told. The human interest of the people is what I want to know. It is a horrible thing to go through. This last April and May has had monster tornadoes. My heart and prays go out to all people who have experienced them. 2011