White Death: The Blizzard of '77, Millenium Edition [Paperback]

Erno Rossi (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0920926037 | ISBN-13: 978-0920926031 | Publication Date: October 12, 2007 | Edition: 30th Anniversary Editions

An oral and visual history of the only blizzard in American history declared a national disaster by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A chilling read on a quiet winter night." -- Barry Kent McKay, Toronto Star

"A unique and brilliant preservation of a national disaster." -- Buffalo News

"A wonderful book, definately a collector." -- Linda Pellegrino, Buffalo AM T.V.

"An amazing compendium of survival history." -- John Otto, WGR Radio, Buffalo N.Y.

"A unique and brilliant preservation of a national disaster." Buffalo News. "Her Magesty The Queen thanks Mr. Erno Rossi for his book White Death which she has much pleasure in accepting." Buckingham Palace. "An amazing compendium of survival history." John Otto, WGR Radio, Buffalo New York. "A wonderful book, definately a collector." Linda Pellegrino, Buffalo AM "For your natural disaster bookshelf." Natural Hazards Observer/ University of Colorado. "A chilling read on a quiet winter's night." Toronto Star. --Buffalo News/ Queen Elizabeth 11

A monster snowstorm struck Canada and the United States. This volume contains the experiences of many Canadian and American survivors. -- Natural Hazards Observer/University of Colorado/January 2003

For your disaster bookshelf. This book is a true compendium of survival histories by the people who were there. -- American Academy on Veterinary Disaster Medicine Newsletter/Summer/02

Her Majesty The Queen thanks Mr.Erno Rossi for his book "White Death" which she has much pleasure in accepting. --Buckingham Palace/August 1980

About the Author

Freelance writer and photographer, best selling author and former teacher of history, sociology and disaster survival.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Seventy Seven Publishing; 30th Anniversary Editions edition (October 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0920926037
• ISBN-13: 978-0920926031
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,213,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blizzard of The Millennium, January 29, 2001

By 

Gerry Rising (Buffalo N.Y.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Death: The Blizzard of '77, Millenium Edition (Paperback)

The Blizzard of '77

(This column was first published in the December 27,1999 Buffalo News.)

What was the major regional natural history event of the 20th century? No contest.

Lake Erie froze over by December 14, 1976, an early record. This normally puts an end to the lake effect snowstorms created by winds picking up moisture from the lake surface, converting it to snow and dumping it when those winds reach shore. But that winter something different happened.

It began to snow just after Christmas and a few inches accumulated almost every day through the next month. By late January snow depth in Buffalo was 30 to 35 inches and street plowing was already falling behind -- 33 of the city's 79 plows were in for repairs. More ominous, snow depth on the 10,000 square miles of Lake Erie surface was also almost three feet.

Although the National Weather Service had posted blizzard warnings, that fateful Friday, January 28, 1977 started out quite pleasant. There was little wind and it wasn't too cold for late January. But suddenly, just before noon, the infamous Blizzard of '77 hit.

The temperature quickly plummeted to near zero and the winds arrived with gusts peaking at over 70 miles per hour. This produced a wind chill that dropped almost off the chart to 60 below. Only about seven inches of new snow fell over the next several days, but western New York and nearby Canada were also inundated with those tons of snow blown in off Lake Erie.

As one consequence, visibility remained at zero for the first 25 hours of the storm. Drivers found themselves being buried and many, surrounded by the whiteout, were forced to stay in their cars. Some of those contributed to the 29 death toll, dying of carbon monoxide poisoning or exposure. (In another episode carbon monoxide from a snow blower started in an enclosed garage killed not only the operator but his daughter in a nearby bedroom.) Hearing of people marooned in their cars, police struggled over drifts to bang on car roofs. They were relieved to receive no answer because they had no way of digging anyone out.

Ordinary snow would not have been so bad. During this same period the east end of Lake Ontario received almost six feet, but theirs didn't pack the way it did in Buffalo. Here the wind was so strong that it broke up snow crystals and compressed them into drifts that were cement-like in quality. At the same time buildings acted like snow fences causing the drifts to accumulate in some places to 30 feet, enough to bury a house.

The problem became more than the usual too few plows; now it was plows that could not penetrate the drifts. Some broke down, were quickly buried and themselves contributed to the difficulty of opening roads. The state's National Guard and Department of Transportation, the Army Corps of Engineers, nearby towns and commercial firms had to bring in earth moving equipment to handle the huge accumulation.

Seven western New York counties were designated part of a major national disaster area and soldiers were dispatched from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to assist in the clean-up. It lasted well into February.

Although there was some looting and theft during the storm, it was mostly an episode that brought the community together. Stores and restaurants and hotels provided food and places to stay, often free. Agencies like the Salvation Army and the Red Cross as well as city and county departments worked continuously through the emergency to provide services. Individual people helped not only neighbors but strangers as well.

It was without a doubt our storm of the century.-- Gerry Rising

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Note: Most of the information on which this column was based was derived from the excellent book about the storm, Erno Rossi's WHITE DEATH: THE BLIZZARD OF '77 (Seventy Seven Publishing

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Canadian-American survival classic, November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: White Death: The Blizzard of '77, Millenium Edition (Paperback)

Media Release

Blizzards and Babies

The Toronto birthrate will surge in October and November of 1999 says Erno Rossi, author of the revised best seller, White Death-Blizzard of '77--Millennium Edition, a true and frightening oral history of the only blizzard declared a national disaster in Canada and the USA..

Rossi's Canadian-American survival classic, shows an 18% jump in the Niagara birthrate 9 months after that winter hurricane . That blizzard of the century and millennium also buried Buffalo, killed 30 people and stranded thousands of people in cars, trucks and in the homes of strangers.

But Buffalo showed only a 3% rise in the birth rate 9 months later compared to the 18% jump in Canadian Niagara. Rossi felt that he had discovered Canadian superiority in something other than health care, beer and hockey. But the 45% jump in the Buffalo abortion rate helped to explain the difference in birth rates.

Rossi predicts that both the birth and abortion rates will be higher in Toronto because of the record snowfall there in January/99. People stranded and bored because of snow can find themselves very busy at things other than shoveling.

Rossi self published the first edition of White Death 21 years ago when Toronto publishers rejected his manuscript, telling him to come back when he was famous. Rossi laughed all the way to the printers and since has sold tons of books as well as TV rights to Granada Television in England.

First edition White Death books have sold on the Internet as rare, old books for $50 U.S. But many grandparents want these first edition books to be passed down through the family.

The White Death-Millennium Edition has been updated from 50 photos to over 70.

The book now contains letters to Rossi from the Queen, Prime Minister Trudeau, Premiere Davis of Ontario and President Carter at the White House. Rossi's own experience and photos are now included. The Millennium Edition will end the argument as to what community and country got the most snow.

A former teacher of history, sociology and disaster survival, Rossi has a lot to teach people who want to save their lives in a disaster or get a successful book published.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Simplicity of the Horror, October 15, 2008

By 

Sue J. Honeybrook "Dallastoaus" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Death: The Blizzard of '77, Millenium Edition (Paperback)

I bought this book because I read that the Candian post hard-core band Alexisonfire had used one of the images from the book as the cover to their album CRISIS, (Dine Alone Records). I am glad that I did. Being an Aussie and not comprehending snow at all didn't help me understand the hardship of snow and cold. But, this book did. The simplicity with which it is displayed, through direct recounts from the victims gave a heartfelt purity to my read. The author then went on to provide a short break from each personal voyage by adding facts and short snippets about that time in Canada (and the U.S.). As we say here in Aus, 'Do yourself a favour' and grab this book. It's a world away from anything most of us would ever have experienced. As Alexisonfire said in their lyric...'we got a crisis on our hands'. They did that winter, and you should experience it too.