Customer Reviews

Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to admit that I'm not much of a history book reader. I disliked history in high school and don't know much about it. I usually read spy stories and mysteries. I found the book in a bookstore one day and thought the cover was very cool. I flipped through the pages and liked the flow of the writing. With all the news about hurricanes I thought I would give it a try. I was not disappointed.

The book is about a hurricane that hit during the American Revolution in 1775. The author described it hitting the shores of North Carolina and Virginia. It killed hundreds of people there. The author then follows the hurricane hitting the capitals of Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston and talks about the damage it caused. Actually it didn't hit New York but the author talks about another hurricane out in the ocean almost at the same time. Almost like a perfect storm. Very cool and dramatic.

The author tells a lot of stories about the American Revolution that I didn't know much about. He told them in an interesting way that I could understand. George Washington became the general of the army, Paul Revere went on his famous ride and a general brought guns all the way from New York to Boston to use against the British army.

The big ending that the author nicely built up to was the storm hitting Newfoundland and killing 4,000 fishermen. I didn't know anyone fished for cod there back then but the author made me feel as if I was there. No one I am telling the book about has ever heard of this hurricane even though it was the second deadliest after the Galveston one.

I learned a lot about the hurricane and history by reading this book. I really enjoyed it and think it would be a good book for anyone who is not really a history buff but likes a really good story. I am going to buy a copy for my family members who do like history for Christmas.

I found this book enjoyable, because it was a refreshing break from heavier historic reading. It is a quick read for advanced readers, but still well enough written with a good amount of history and a good reflection of the people of the Revolutionary era to be worthwhile. I enjoyed it, though it is probably written more towards younger readers, teen-age level. A nice over view of the colonial areas and the people at the the beginning of the Revolution more than the hurricane itself. Though it is non-fiction, it paces more like a novel, making it informative and pleasant.

I never realized that there'd been a devastating hurricane during the critical period leading up to our War for Independence from Great Britain, but there was. And Professor Tony Williams describes it with the smooth readability of a novelist in HURRICANE OF INDEPENDENCE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DEADLY STORM AT THE DECIDING MOMENT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

Williams sprinkles all sorts of little nuggets of information through his description of this storm and the damage it caused. Being a confirmed landlubber, I never suspected that sailors fashioned buttons for their coats out of hardened cheese, for example, or that New Bern, Norfolk and other port towns had such distinct personalities.

I'd either forgotten, or never knew, that Roman Catholics operated under some significant disabilities in some colonies at this time. In Maryland, for example, they couldn't vote, hold office, practice law, bear arms, serve in the militia, send their children to Catholic schools or even worship publically. Describing someone as a "papist" could prompt a challenge to a duel.

Williams includes endnotes, a bibliography and a very useful index in this attractively bound book. I carried it around for a couple of weeks while reading it and it held up just fine.

I like this book and gave it five stars. It's well written, well-researched and beautifully put together.

If you're interested in hurricanes, weather, colonial history, naval lore, the American Revolution or significant port cities of this period, you'll enjoy this book.

Someone else has commented that this reads as if it were written for a high school audience, and I think that is probably accurate. Once I got used to it, it was okay, although I would have appreciated a less episodic narrative style. Each chapter, for example, was self-contained, and I never felt as though I couldn't wait to get to the next one. I sadly didn't enjoy reading the narrative, but it was clear and essentially okay.

Okay, that is, until the discussion of the disaster that was a discussion about the Newfoundland hurricane. There I understand there is little information to go from about this hurricane, but the continual use of imagination as information is really frustrating. The conditional verbiage -- "might have happened" or "may have felt" -- is incredibly frustrating. What the author should have done is rely less on his imagination and more on accounts of other disasters in Newfoundland and on the Grand Banks (he mentions in passing the tsunami of 1929, but there are other hurricane accounts in the 230 years since the 1775 hurricane). So when he says these people might have died in this way, he should tell us that someone DID die in this way, and thus give us something concrete to rely on. What he has here is essentially a fictionalized account based on real events, rather than a history book where he takes scant data and provides a useful reconstruction. I am left with little guiding as to what information might be there. I know this is a tough requirement for a book, but I just bought this instead of some other hurricane book, and I feel I got very very little from it. His account on the east coast of the US is "inspired by" the hurricane, but is really not much about the hurricane but more about other events of the year, and his account of the Newfoundland disaster is largely possibilities rather than research. I think this could have been a superb book (I think there is a superb book in this), but I don't want to recommend this book to anyone who has read the far superior The Perfect Storm (which was written with comparisons from other people's accounts, even though he had a lack of evidence as to what happened to the Andrea Gail itself) or Maura Hanrahan's Tsunami: The Newfoundland Tidal Wave Disaster.

My one complaint that could have been easily dealt with in this book is there are no maps. This is essential, as a reconstruction of the hurricane path would be really helpful. Those of us not familiar with east coast colonial geography should not have to go to Wikipedia to find out where "New Bern" is, as it is not the modern capitol of North Carolina, and thus not a location I ever memorized. And the author insists (it is an arguable point) that there were two hurricanes, the one that hit the Atlantic states and the one that hit Newfoundland. I would have appreciated maps indicating the routes of the two hurricanes, the points at which they were noted, etc. Giving the reader latitude and longitude (as he does on at least one occasion) really isn't helpful without a map to attach the points to. Or maybe it is just my problem, and everyone else has a good sense of their latitude and longitude to tell them exactly where they are on the globe. I have seen hurricane books (and I have read a lot of them) with poor maps, but never one without any maps. I hope when he writes another book he thinks to include maps with it.

I have a long shelf with hurricane accounts on it. This is not worth rereading, and I am taking it to the library as a donation tomorrow. I hope someone else will get more out of it than I did.

Hurricane of Independence, the Untold Story

Imagine a hurricane the size of Katrina, Carla, or Cecilia multiplied by two! Author Tony Williams' new book tells of the fierce hurricane of September 2, 1775. Almost a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed a fierce storm blew in devastating the New England coast. During this time a hurricane was not only considered a natural disaster, but it was felt to be a punishment from a wrathful God.

This book contains a cast of characters that are well known and many that are lesser known. Still, they all help set the stage for what led the American colonists to act in a precise and decisive manner to join together against the British rule. Frustration was added by the addition of new taxes being levied on tea and the outrage of a struggling American economy trying to regroup over the loss of many lives, and the solid settlements that were the backbone of New England. Most prominent citizens had the wealth that they had spent years building lost in a day's time. A possible slave revolt egged on by the British authorities took arms and gunpowder away from secure colonial sites and gave them to slaves who were for the first time given some authority.

All these many things came together and act as a catalyst to make the American colonists move to work together, to gather and secure arms, and to render aid to many that had lost so much. So this added influence from new British taxation put the American colonists into a mode to move beyond their differences. They became unified to act in a desperate way. This is why you see the added importance of the "Boston Tea Party" and other forms of rebellion among the Americans.

Tony Williams taught history a good many years. It shows in his concern for telling the details in a careful and considerate manner. Some chapters I read several times as they are most enjoyable. As I have written a few books on history, I can appreciate how careful you must be to present the details better to be well considered in the proper manner. These are things that we did not learn in school. We should have, but somehow these important details were omitted! This took away from our learning about the "actual" history. Read Hurricane of Independence by Tony Williams. You will learn what you should have learned in school. This book is interesting and informative. Each page shows the detail of American history in a new light: the calm after the terrible storm.

Thank you, Joe Blevins, author of After the Republic, and a few others.

In September 1775, just a few months after the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill, an Atlantic hurricane made landfall in New Bern, North Carolina and proceeded to pummel Norfolk, Williamsburg, Annapolis, Philadelphia, Newport, New York and Boston. Williams posits that a second storm barreled through Newfoundland, crippled the cod fishing industry and devastated the community. It is an open question if this was indeed a second storm or the tail end of the first.

In the 18th century, natural disasters were viewed by the scions of the Enlightenment movement as natural (and scientific) phenomena. The more pious viewed natural disasters as divine signs from the heavens. Most people were somewhere in between. If the "Hurricane of Independence" (as it was aptly called) was indeed religious symbolism, its message was not clear. It struck both sides in Virginia, drenched Philadelphia just as the Continental Congress was convening, and pinned confronting armies amassed in Boston. In Newfoundland, the storm indiscriminately claimed thousands of lives, deposited cadavers far inland or swept them out to sea.

At the time, Americans viewed themselves as God's chosen people, protected by God in their fight against British tyranny (which was on the side of the devil). Was the storm to punish the rebels for their insolence against British monarchy? Was it meant to remind Americans to be virtuous? Perhaps God was truly on the American side as the storm prevented the British from attacking Dorchester Heights and Lord Cornwallis was unable to escape from Yorktown.

Williams extends the storm analogy to the political events brewing at that time. Through this window, he explores the colonists' worldviews. While the narrative does cover the roles played by those famous such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton, it also covers the views of average people such as sailors, escaped slaves, farmers, and fishermen. What stands out is the charming narrative and fluid prose. In the aftermath of Katrina and Ike, it does catch the contemporary American imagination.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting relationship between storms and "being punished."

When Hurricane Katrina raced towards New Orleans, satellite technology was able to measure its strength and wind speeds. Days before the storm hit land, we were glued to the television, bracing for impact. In 1775, however, while the country was experiencing another storm of a political and philosophical nature, there was no warning that a deadly storm was about to descend on the colonies.

Are you asking "what deadly storm?" I saw this title and asked the same question. I don't recall mention of such an event in my history classes. When I learned about the American Revolution we discussed the Boston Tea Party, the Founding Fathers, and the heroism of patriots from the colonies fighting for our nation's independence. But I certainly didn't learn about a hurricane--the 8th deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history--landing on our shores on September 2, 1775. Mr. Williams provides a refreshing new perspective on a monumental moment in our history.

Williams follows the trajectory of the "Hurricane of Independence"--followed quickly by a second more deadly storm--from its landing at New Bern, North Carolina, to Norfolk, Williamsburg, Annapolis, Philadelphia, Newport, New York City, and Boston. He maps the devastation of the second storm--"Codfisherman's Hurricane"--as it kills thousands in Newfoundland, and wreaks havoc on the British cod industry.

Williams' well-researched and engaging account of the extraordinary events surrounding the birth of our country, his ability to bring to life the lives of men and women -- ordinary and extraordinary --make Hurricane of Indepence a quick read, and a thoughtful exploration of our country's struggle for freedom and liberty.

I had the pleasure of meeting this former history and literature teacher in a coffee shop just minutes from Colonial Williamsburg. What struck me most was Williams' unabashed patriotrism. Williams is unapologetic in his celebration of America and the principles of liberty and self-government.

Hurricane of Independence is not meant to be a scholarly work for a narrow audience. Williams may have left the classroom, but he has not stopped being a teacher. He is dedicated to educating citizens through accessible, real-life stories about the country he loves.

I would recommend this book for young and old, history buffs and those who are just curious, and anyone who likes a well-written, great story.

I heard of this book on a RADIO interview with author Tony williams. The book is mildly entertaining but is more on the high school level, and not excellent at that. While some moments of history are indeed fascinating, readers should know that it is more a brief..and limited ...overview of life in the colonies around 1775 than any analysis of how a hurricane (or two) affected the course of the American Revolution.

I would not purchase another work by same auther, if only because I found the writing simplistic and at times childish. Still, it is an easy quick read for a teenager.

Tony Williams's "Hurricane of Independence" provides a new and very readable approach to the early years of the American Revolution, viewed through a lens that, to this reviewer's knowledge, has never been done before. Williams takes a fresh look at the precipitating events of the revolution, focusing particularly on 1775. The freshness of his approach derives not only from the fine readability of his prose. It also comes from the new and insightful material that he leverages and the analytical framework he employs.

In a nutshell, Williams examines 1775, especially the summer months of that year, when the American colonies were steadily moving toward a violent break with Great Britain. Others have examined this period, of course, but Williams does so by pacing his narrative according to a clearly significant but not well recorded or appreciated meteorological event: a hurricane - or actually two - that battered the colonies and Canada during this charged time. Williams uses the hurricane as a metaphor for the tumult that was sweeping the colonies, but the hurricane also serves other functions. For one, it allows Williams to explore some of the religious underpinnings of the American colonists and revolutionaries, which is important to understand most anything about 18th century America, if one is to understand it fully. Beyond that, the hurricane also allows Williams to make full use of the primary materials he has canvassed to provide a man-in-the-street human dimension to revolutionary-era America. To be sure, Williams is interested in the roles played in 1775 by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin, among others, but, in significant ways, it is his glimpse into the minds and travails of average Americans that helps Williams's book stand out in a fairly impressive crowd.

This book deserves a wide readership. Plainly, anyone who is interested in a new approach to the early revolutionary period will find much to like. Those interested in a people's view of history will also not be disappointed. With Hurricanes Katrina and Ike fresh on the minds of Americans, "Hurricane of Independence" should also appeal to those who wish to see how Americans have historically coped with natural disaster - such readers will find significant differences in the 18th and 21st century approaches. Finally, this book is simply a good tale told in an imminently readable fashion. Anyone looking to pass a pleasant weekend in an easy chair will find "Hurricane of Independence" worth their while.

While the title seems promising, the book fails to deliver. It begins with an interesting discussion of a hurricane that struck the southeast coast of the colonies at the early stages of the revolution. However, thereafter the story dissolves into seemingly unrelated short stories about the beginnings of the war without any connection or logic. Disjointed, slow, and very repetitious, this might have made a nice magazine article, but fails as a full length manuscript.