Twenty true accounts of major disasters in Texas history are retold in this well-researched, engagingly written collection. In this part of the country tornadoes are a frequent threat. Residents have also experienced fires, floods, drought, blizzards, shipwrecks, and other devastating events, including a yellow fever epidemic in 1867, which earned that year the grim moniker "The Year of Death." This collection also includes personal reflection by the author, who was involved with the relocation of evacuees during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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"Texans always pitch in and help each other after a tragedy..."
--Mike Cox
From the Back Cover
It’s only human to be fascinated by disasters—and uplifted by reports of survival in the face of overwhelming circumstances. Mike Cox takes you back to Texas’s most catastrophic events, vividly re-creating the moments that changed the Lone Star State forever. The nineteen true stories in Texas Disasters are a chilling reminder to expect the unexpected and to respect the powerful, often deadly forces of nature.
Experience the drama of:
A Spanish fleet stranded off the coast of South Padre Island in 1554
The 1867 Yellow Fever epidemic, so widespread some towns never recovered
The Galveston hurricane of 1900, the nation’s worst until Katrina in 2005
A1912 railroad boiler disaster, the worst in U.S. history
The SS Marine Sulphur Queen’s mysterious disappearance in 1963
A Spanish fleet stranded off the coast of South Padre Island in 1554
The 1867 Yellow Fever epidemic, so widespread some towns never recovered
The Galveston hurricane of 1900, the nation’s worst until Katrina in 2005
A1912 railroad boiler disaster, the worst in U.S. history
The SS Marine Sulphur Queen’s mysterious disappearance in 1963
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fresh Perspective on Texas History,
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This review is from: Texas Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival (Disasters Series) (Paperback)
One approach to history, the traditional approach, is the biography or linking the biographical sketches of the significant actors of a time to chronicle the time. Another approach, and the approach used by author Mike Cox in Texas Disasters:True Stories of Tragedy and Survival, is to develop a theme through telling the stories of the events over time.
In taking the second approach, Author Cox writes of disasters in Texas-both natural and man-made. He describes in detail 20 disasters beginning with the first recorded, the 1554 sinking of three gold and silver bearing Spanish ships off South Padre Island, through the deadly and destructive Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005 hurricane season, and then lists in appendix sixty-nine others (tops in terms of loss of human life killing fourteen or more) that have occurred, or at least that have left some discoverable documented trail. As Cox notes, "disaster often becomes a catalyst for positive change." For instance, the 1900 Galveston hurricane, in man's promise to himself to never let it happen again, gave birth to the commissioner model of municipal government, in order to more efficiently meet the local needs of anticipating and responding to a natural emergency. The 1921 San Antonio flood gave rise to a flood control system that in the 1968 era of Hemisfairs and Urban Renewal provided a structure upon which the Riverwalk and the economic engine for the most popular international tourist destination in the state arose. The 1937 New London school natural gas leak explosion resulted in tighter regulation of architects and engineers and the addition of mercapitan to odorless natural gas to give it a chance for detection by humans before explosions occurred. The 1947 Texas City fertilizer plant explosion gave rise to federal regulations for the handling of hazardous materials. The 1953 Waco tornado prompted the use of World War II radar as a tool for local weather stations to predict and therefore to be able to alert the public of killer storms in enough advance to get out of harm's way. The 1979 Wichita Falls tornado inspired the development of storm-safe rooms in houses. And the 1985 Delta Airlines crash at DFW Airport heightened the need for more study of wind-shear and the resulting of better windshear detection systems and pilot training to avoid or to handle downdrafts in critical stages of flight for better safety of the air traveling public. As Cox writes, "[w]hile some measure of good came out of several of Texas's worst tragedies, other disasters caused heartbreak and havoc in the short term ...." While their effects may not have lingered on the community as a whole, their effects on individuals changed lives forever. For an interesting read, one that the reader can do in 15-minute increments, this book is worth the price of admission.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Texas Disasters,
By
This review is from: Texas Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival (Disasters Series) (Paperback)
They say reporters write the first draft of history. Mike Cox, a seasoned journalist and public safety spokesperson, offers a lively and intensely human second draft on some of the worst disasters to strike Texas since Spanish colonization.
This book is an excellent read for those who prefer to learn about history through the poignant stories of people lived it, instead of through wordy, academic analysis. Cox's descriptions put you at the scene, often through the recollections of witnesses and survivors. The featured stories bring to life twenty famous Texas disasters. In many cases, their lessons led to new inventions and protocols that help keep us safer today. The appendix, meanwhile, offers an exhaustive reference list of tornados, hurricanes, steamboat explosions and other calamities to strike the Lone Star State. Hailing from Lamar County, I had to skip ahead and read about the 1916 Paris fire!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real Life Trumps Fiction,
By
This review is from: Texas Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival (Disasters Series) (Paperback)
Captivating! After spending nearly 10 years in Texas emergency management, I mistakenly thought I had heard all the stories. Mike Cox has brought to light dramatic, real-life events that should hold the attention of anyone who knows that truth is more fascinating than fiction.
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