The Great Hurricane: 1938

Traveling at the unheard of speed of 60 mph and with a span of 1,000 miles, the Great Hurricane of 1938 ravaged Long Island and coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island, killing 700 and literally wiping some communities off the map. As the storm occurred before the advent of hurricane tracking technology, its size was not anticipated, and unaccustomed to such a violent hurricane, some residents eagerly awaited its arrival as an entertainment. In sometimes overheated prose, Burns frequently compares the deadly storm to a cat enraged and ready to pounce as she chronicles everyday lives ripped apart by GH38's power. Burns's liberal use of detailed personal accounts gives the text a gripping intimacy, grace and nuance: of one woman Burns writes, "she told everybody to take off their shoes, in case they were going to have to swim. The sight of the girls' shoes set neatly in a row made Catherine want to weep." Burns at times piles on so many first-person tales that the scope of the storm's impact is somewhat muted. Still, from start to finish, this powerful story of nature's fury and human survival pulls the reader in and doesn't let go. Agent, Todd Shuster. (Aug.)