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Overview
August 29, 2005
Peering through the latticed brickwork of The New Orleans police headquarters parking garage, New York Times journalist Joseph B. Treaster is watching the devastating power of a hurricane up close. Packing winds of 118 miles per hour, Hurricane Katrina is attacking New Orleans, uprooting trees, tearing down power lines, and flattening homes. Inside headquarters, phones are ringing off the hook as more and more people, trapped by the rising floodwaters, call for help. But rescue workers cannot leave the safety of the building until the hurricane has passed. From this harrowing vantage point, Treaster is poised to report on what may prove to be the most infamous storm in American history.
But as with all hurricanes, the story of this storm began weeks before, off the coast of North Africa. Treaster details the evolution of the storm as it unfolds in the sky above the Caribbean Sea and is anxiously tracked by the National Weather Bureau in Florida before it strikes. This is a complete behind-the-scenes account of one of nature's most terrifying and fascinating disasters.
Synopsis
August 29, 2005
Peering through the latticed brickwork of The New Orleans police headquarters parking garage, New York Times journalist Joseph B. Treaster is watching the devastating power of a hurricane up close. Packing winds of 118 miles per hour, Hurricane Katrina is attacking New Orleans, uprooting trees, tearing down power lines, and flattening homes. Inside headquarters, phones are ringing off the hook as more and more people, trapped by the rising floodwaters, call for help. But rescue workers cannot leave the safety of the building until the hurricane has passed. From this harrowing vantage point, Treaster is poised to report on what may prove to be the most infamous storm in American history.
But as with all hurricanes, the story of this storm began weeks before, off the coast of North Africa. Treaster details the evolution of the storm as it unfolds in the sky above the Caribbean Sea and is anxiously tracked by the National Weather Bureau in Florida before it strikes. This is a complete behind-the-scenes account of one of nature's most terrifying and fascinating disasters.
Children's Literature
Treaster, a New York Times (NYT) journalist, has been exposed to hurricanes since he was a young boy of five growing up in Florida. He has a healthy respect for and also a fascination with the power, beauty, and destructive force of these incredible storms. His story opens with an account of one of the most recent hurricanes to cause severe damage in the gulf coast region—hurricane Katrina. He was asked to enter the beleaguered city to report on the storm for the newspaper. His account pulls no punches as he describes the work of local authorities, state and federal response, the delays caused by erroneous news coverage, and the lack of preparation in Louisiana as compared to states like Florida. Along with the storm drama, readers learn about the origin of the word hurricane, the way storms form, the system of rating a storm's severity, the functions of the National Hurricane Center, and how storms are named. Some like Katrina which have created severe damage and hardship are given names that are retired forever from the naming list. Throughout the book excerpts from NYT articles are highlighted and further enrich the text. Since Treaster is a journalist, his story is eminently readable and, even though the book is text-dense and the type font is small, I just kept tuning the pages. I was also hooked on learning more about these storms and intrigued by the pictures. Students undertaking research about hurricanes and Hurricane Katrina in particular will find Treaster's book an excellent starting point—he clearly gives the background, sets the stage, and describes what happened in New Orleans. In addition, his extensive listing for further reading is divided into nearly twodozen sub categories, and there is an extensive index to his book. He ends by telling readers "Hurricanes are fascinating. But above all they are dangerous. ..unless I'm reporting on a storm, you won't find me trying to reason with hurricane season." The last part of the book contains a series of short chapters which are more like appendices. There is detailed information about the source of the NYT quotes, a description of a hurricane-proof house, a recap of the twenty-seven major storms since 1900, and a detailed time line of events leading up to and through Katrina.
Editorials
From the Publisher
VOYATreaster's use of personal accounts keeps the reader's attention and ensures that the book will not just be read to fulfill school assignments.
School Library Journal
If you already own such well-researched and attractive titles as Patricia Lauber's Hurricanes(Scholastic, 1996) and/or Seymour Simon's Hurricanes(HarperCollins, 2003), you might think you could do without this. Think again.n
Kirkus Reviews
There are many books on the subject of hurricanes, but the personal experience enriches this one and makes it particularly appealing for middle-school readers.
VOYA -
Experts believe that hurricanes have become more frequent and more powerful. Thirteen hurricanes struck in 2005, breaking the 1969 record of twelve. Three of them (Katrina, Rita, and Wilma) were listed as category five hurricanes. Treaster, a New York Times reporter, covered Hurricane Katrina from ground zero. He sought shelter on the ninth floor of City Hall along with members of the emergency operations center. Treaster describes the wind and rain that hammered New Orleans and details several 911 calls describing house fires, building collapses, flooding, and drowning. Although his book largely focuses on Hurricane Katrina, Treaster also includes stories and facts about several other hurricanes including Andrew, Charley, Mitch, Rita, and the Great Hurricane of 1900 in Galveston, Texas. This book is a fast-paced, informative, and highly interesting read. Treaster combines facts, history, and first-person accounts of some of the most powerful hurricanes. The text moves quickly from one storm to the next, describing how hurricanes crush and damage cities. Treaster provides lots of factual information including the weather conditions that form hurricanes, tracking, calculating a storm's intensity, building a hurricane-proof house, and more. Pictures appear on almost every page as well as thermal images, satellite images, and weather maps. Text boxes filled with snippets from previous New York Times articles are included throughout the book. Treaster's use of personal accounts keeps the reader's attention and ensures that the book will not just be read to fulfill school assignments.Children's Literature -
Treaster, a New York Times (NYT) journalist, has been exposed to hurricanes since he was a young boy of five growing up in Florida. He has a healthy respect for and also a fascination with the power, beauty, and destructive force of these incredible storms. His story opens with an account of one of the most recent hurricanes to cause severe damage in the gulf coast region—hurricane Katrina. He was asked to enter the beleaguered city to report on the storm for the newspaper. His account pulls no punches as he describes the work of local authorities, state and federal response, the delays caused by erroneous news coverage, and the lack of preparation in Louisiana as compared to states like Florida. Along with the storm drama, readers learn about the origin of the word hurricane, the way storms form, the system of rating a storm's severity, the functions of the National Hurricane Center, and how storms are named. Some like Katrina which have created severe damage and hardship are given names that are retired forever from the naming list. Throughout the book excerpts from NYT articles are highlighted and further enrich the text. Since Treaster is a journalist, his story is eminently readable and, even though the book is text-dense and the type font is small, I just kept tuning the pages. I was also hooked on learning more about these storms and intrigued by the pictures. Students undertaking research about hurricanes and Hurricane Katrina in particular will find Treaster's book an excellent starting point—he clearly gives the background, sets the stage, and describes what happened in New Orleans. In addition, his extensive listing for further reading is divided into nearly twodozen sub categories, and there is an extensive index to his book. He ends by telling readers "Hurricanes are fascinating. But above all they are dangerous. ….unless I'm reporting on a storm, you won't find me trying to reason with hurricane season." The last part of the book contains a series of short chapters which are more like appendices. There is detailed information about the source of the NYT quotes, a description of a hurricane-proof house, a recap of the twenty-seven major storms since 1900, and a detailed time line of events leading up to and through Katrina.School Library Journal
Gr 4-8 - Using books and other resources listed in his source notes, personal experiences growing up in South Florida and as a reporter for the New York Times, and material garnered from the newspaper, Treaster has created a serious scientific and socioeconomic look at one of nature's deadliest forces. From the tragic Galveston storm of 1900 to Katrina and Rita in 2005, he investigates the weather factors necessary to spawn these meteorological monsters, how scientists define their possible paths and potential power, and the drastic effects and aftermaths when they impact coastal areas. His follow-up includes precautions for the future (building more hurricane-proof housing) and a time line for Katrina. Sidebars touch on such topics as global warming and the disaster of the use of the Superdome as a hurricane shelter. For visual stimulation there are a number of colorful maps and diagrams, and photos aplenty (mostly in color). While the focal point is Hurricane Katrina and the lessons to be learned from it, the book contains other valuable data on fierce storms and the social upheaval engendered by them. If you already own such well-researched and attractive titles as Patricia Lauber's Hurricanes(Scholastic, 1996) and/or Seymour Simon's Hurricanes(HarperCollins, 2003), you might think you could do without this. Think again.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
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