Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers [Paperback]

Jim Reed (Photographer), Mike Theiss (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers offers a historic and unprecedented view inside a Category 5 hurricane—and of the devastating aftermath. Award-winning extreme-weather photographer Jim Reed and storm-chaser/videographer Mike Theiss document the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history at every stage, from the days in which the Gulf Coast prepared for the approaching hurricane and evacuation procedures began to the moments when the hurricane made it's monstrous landfall and wrecked havoc on the region.The compilation includes photographs of Louisiana, including New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Chilling "before and after" images demonstrate the power of this historic hurricane. Captions detailing personal stories and weather facts accompany the shocking images.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Reed: Jim Reed is emerging as one of the world's most accomplished extreme weather photographers for his striking images of America's changing climate. A 15-year veteran storm chaser, Jim has documented nearly every type of meteorological phenomena, including tornadoes, electrical storms and floods. He has been in the eye of nine major hurricanes. Jim’s career as a photographer has its roots in his childhood fascination with severe weather. In 1969, when Jim was eight years old, he and his mother unwittingly drove through the outer bands of Hurricane Camille while returning from a family vacation to Florida. By age 11, Jim was shooting home movies of nature’s wrath. Jim has received awards and recognition from the National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International, American PHOTO, MSNBC Readers' Choice Picture of the Year, the National Weather Service, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America West, National Press Photographers Association and National Association of Photoshop Professionals. He is featured in the Yearbook of Experts.

Mike Theiss: A native of the Florida Keys, has been interested in severe weather since age 6, when he would sit with his father on the porch and watch the effects of thunder and lightning in typical summer thunderstorms. His interest in extreme weather has grown into a passion. Call it fate, but his middle school's mascot was a tornado and his high school mascot was a hurricane. Mike set his sights on studying meteorology in college, but chose to pursue hands-on field work instead. In 2001, Mike combined his love of photography, video production, and film making and started Ultimate Chase Video Productions. Mike currently works as a stringer for the Weather Channel. Each spring, Mike travels to Tornado Alley in search of  supercells, tornadoes, lightning, and hail storms with Cyclone Tours. In the summer months, he is on the lookout for waterspouts and stands at the ready to hop on a plane for the Caribbean when hurricanes threaten.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Farcountry Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560373776
• ISBN-13: 978-1560373773
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating photo essay of Katrina, December 19, 2005

By 

T. Vasquez (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers (Paperback)

This is a 96-page book with 100% glossy, full-color interiors showing Hurricane Katrina, the storm that hit Florida and New Orleans in August 2005. Maybe I'm a bit jaded but I expected the pages to be strewn with Newsweek-style images, following the well-travelled route of human-interest pictorial essays.

Instead, what I found was a well-documented book that spans the entire spectrum of Katrina. Yes, there is the human interest angle. We see residents boarding up houses in Gulfport. People getting rescued (one, an elderly woman lifted by rescuers while clutching a cigarette). Mississippians trying to deal with the damage and ruin.

However there is also good content to feed the left brain. Shots aboard the Gulfstream IV Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Pictures of storm clouds and a true tempest, with residents battling to walk into the wind (real wind, not Weather Channel live report wind). The deluge of the storm surge into a Gulfport hotel, with excellent before & after shots. Large spreads make use of NOAA's damage reconnaissance photos to dissect what happened in Gulfport. This is great, because I argue with the maxim that a book should evoke emotion; I feel that a great work should not only graze at this level (few of us need any reminder that Katrina was tragic) but should also give pause and tantalize the intellect. This, the book does quite well.

The main downside is that only eight pages were devoted to the story outside of Mississippi, largely gathered from newspaper stock images. But perhaps what we're actually getting is some balanced coverage. The New Orleans saga will likely be told for centuries, but what happened in Mississippi, which got the full brunt of the storm surge, is already forgotten by the mainstream media. I also think there should have been a sizable fraction of content showing researchers, analysts, and professionals dealing with the storm and its aftermath, in informative National Geographic fashion. But then again, I'm probably envisioning a utopian book about Katrina; after all, this is Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers.

The style and format reminds me a lot of the Aerofax, Great Airliners, and Warbird Tech series books that aviation enthusiasts rave about. The color balance and black levels are excellent, but inking and halftoning is just a notch below what I'd consider adequate for a coffee-table book, probably comparable to a color magazine. All but the most discerning people will not notice the difference. The printing was more than good enough for me to pick out detail in any photo I was interested in.

Since there probably won't be a storm like this again, and few photo essays have emerged that ascend beyond pandering to emotion, Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers gets a definite thumbs-up from me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Pictures and stories in this book, January 9, 2007

By 

M. Sparks (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my mom who lives in southern Mississippi. This book really told the story of surviving Hurricaine Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The photographers really took great pictures and brought the area to life for those of us fortunant to not have lived thru such a horrific event.

Most of the other books offered were of New Orleans and did not have much information on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

I would highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hurricane Katrina is a must read., September 17, 2009

By 

Chris J. Kruzner "gamecockcamper" (sc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers (Paperback)

Wow. Jim Reed tells a good story with his photography and writing about what it was like to be on a front row hotel to the ocean when a violent hurricane, like Katrina, hits. It is amazing how he made it through the storm. The photography tells as much, if not more, about the power of Katrina. Great job Mr. Reed!!