Customer Reviews

Wave of Destruction: The Stories of Four Families and History's Deadliest Tsunami

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There are not many books that can bring me to tears, but this one did it. The lives of the people in the book are as amazing as they are sad. It reminded me just how strong some people can be. And just how evil others can be. In the middle of the worst natural disater in history people were actually praying on those who had just lost everything. I spent some time in Thailand years ago, but I only went to the tourist places. After reading this book I know I am going back. I have a totally different outlook on the country and the people now. I think sometimes when we go to foreign countries and do the whole tourist thing we miss out on the beauty. This book has shown me what is beautiful about Thailand--it's people. I think this book will open a lot of eyes.

When I bought this book I expected to learn about what it was like to live through the world's worst natural disaster. The book did just that, but it was also so much more. I learned about four Thai families who have led very different lives than those of us in the United States. The book starts off by telling how these four families came to this fishing village. Most of them came out of desperation. Each of them had lost a family member from starvation or through other horrible circumstances. They had no money, no where to live, and would work for less than a dollar a day. For most of them, it took years to get on their feet. They slaved in tin mines, stole lobster out of Burmese traps like pirates, and took jobs with abusive bosses. You watch as they slowly piece together their lives, find love and hope. Then the tsunami hits. I had pictures in my head of what that day was like, but the picture the author paints through the people in the book is nothing like I imagined. It is fifty times worse. Dang, one of the women in the book, spent days looking for the body of her daughter. Then, when she was at her lowest, a company wanting to buy a hotel on her land, threatened to take her life if she returned. Wimon, another person in the book, lost eight members in his family. While he was looking for them, he realized that no help was coming to his village (it was all at the tourist spots) and put his grief on hold in order to get help to his neighbors. Then the book goes on to discribe the aftermath. This is where I was truly shocked. There were actually people who came to the area to rob money off corpses, to steal donations. Even the village leader robbed his people of the bare necessities. By this time, I had fallen in love with most of the people in the book and I wanted them to heal--but around every corner they met with another challange. Things as simple as finding water to keep their children alive. The book doesn't end on a real happy note, but I didn't expect it to. It was a terrific read and really opened my eyes to just how many lives where forever changed in such a short period of time. I'm going to bring this book to my book club next week. I recommend it to anyone who has a heart.

This book is a must read for all. The book not only sheds light on the worlds deadliest tsunami, but takes you through the hardships of what life was like before the wave struck--perhaps even more interesting than the tsunami itself. It is a jaw dropping tale of tragedy yet strength. I couldnt put the book down, and when I finished I was left in a shocked state of ah. The author tells the story with passion, keeping the reader locked in until the very end. This tragic true story reminds us all just how much the human spirit can endure...

This was a great book. Author kept me interested in all the stories and the book was really heart wrenching when this disaster was seen through the survivors eyes.

This book is a must read for anyone remotely interested in the Asian people and their culture. I was truly humbled by the strength and dignity shown by the families featured in this account of the terrible tragedy. Their resolve should be used as a benchmark in our own everyday lives, it makes our own crisis', and the way we handle them, seem pretty silly and trivial by comparison.

Quite by chance, I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman that employees a Thia aupair just days after finishing this wonderful book. It went out in the mail to him a few days later. I'm sure he will gain some valuable insight upon reading it, and will have a new and better understanding of the person sharing in his own families' culture after reading this wonderful book.

I highly recommend Wave of Destruction. Ready or not, it places you in the midst of the horror.

At least twice, while reading these stories, I flipped to the front of the book looking for the word "novel," or a disclaimer stating that the characters had been compiled in order to tell the story of the many who had suffered. No such words exist. The accounts are real and each person's experiences are more than any human should have to bear. The stories of the waves themselves made me savor every breath. Many of the survivors's minds were shattered making me want to reach out and pull them to safety, something that is impossible, even today.

After the physical horror had slowed, greed and corruption allowed people with varying degrees of power to profit from (and, arguably, even enjoy) the tragedy of others. How can they look in a mirror? How can they sleep at night? In contrast, the survivors choose to exhibit a level of grace for which there are no words.