Dark Wind: A True Account of Hurricane Gloria's Assault on Fire Island (Stonewall Inn Edition) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This unusual account of a storm offers a strange amalgam of the sublime and the silly, the significant and the trivial. In his first book, journalist/dramatist Jiler gives a virtually blow-by-blow account of events that transpired on September 25-26, 1985, when Hurricane Gloria, the worst in half a century, hit the narrow, elongated tract of land off Long Island's southern coast known as Fire Island. The author provides a splendid capsule history of Fire Island, including its development into a summer home for New York City's affluent homosexuals. His profiles of the 10 people, straight and gay, who refused to flee from Gloria to the mainland are also interesting, and he vividly depicts the storm's terrifying, capricious power. Less appealing is the author's tendency to anthropomorphize animals and birds, frequently to laughable extent. Nonetheless, anyone interested in Fire Island will enjoy his lively narrative. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This is an engaging story that reads like a novel, though it is nonfiction. On September 25, 1985, Hurricane Gloria hit landfall on Fire Island, a summer resort off the shore of Long Island, N.Y. While much of the East Coast was evacuated, several island residents, for various reasons, decided to stick it out. Journalist Jiler recounts what happened, but his book is more about the cultural history of Fire Island and its gay population than about its natural history (although the publisher has the book labeled as such). While he mentions the island's birds, trees, and deer, there are some inaccuracies (the Coriolis effect is not an old wives' tale; many birds do have keen hearing). Occasional coarse terms and descriptions are needlessly included but are not overly distracting. Acceptable for a social science collection, a gay collection, a Fire Island collection, but not for a natural history collection. Photos not seen. For another account of a hurricane's destructive impact, see William Price Fox's Luna tic Wind , LJ 9/1/92.--Ed.
- Nancy Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312109628
• ISBN-13: 978-0312109622
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #763,463 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A riveting account that puts you in the center of the storm, March 24, 1999

By A Customer

John Jiler's Dark Wind transports you to Fire Island, an infamous island known for its wild gay lifestyle, and keeps you riveted in place as Hurricane Gloria surges toward it. Jiler's use of language is creative, colorful and nimble, and his "New Journalism" technique of creating a novel-like vehicle is well-chosen. The characters are vivid and we care about what happens to them. Suspense is maintained and then justified as the hurricane hits the defenseless island. The reader may be surprised to find that Fire Islanders are not all gay; in fact, an entire section of the island is home to straight, but equally colorful characters. If you like to be transported by a book, one that will keep you turning the pages long after you should have gone to bed, you'll love Dark Wind.