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Killer 'Cane takes place in the Florida Everglades, which was still a newly settled frontier in the 1920s. On the night of September 16, 1928, a category 4 hurricane swung up from Puerto Rico and collided, quite unexpectedly, with Palm Beach, killing over 2,500 people in Florida alone, making it the second deadliest storm in U.S. history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Killer 'Cane Review
From a modern perspective, the farming communities near Lake Okeechobee in the 1920s were primed for a major disaster. Drawn by the lure of the rich black soil, farmers braved frequent droughts, floods, blistering heat in the summer, frost in the winter, and swarms of mosquitoes year round in hopes of making a fortune selling vegetables.For Henry Martin, one of Mykle's primary subjects, taking chances was the only life he knew. "Henry Martin, like most pioneers, was a born gambler. He loved the chance to double it all. As a farmer, each day he made the ultimate wager--he bet against Mother Nature." (Mykle 57)In September 1928, this dangerous bet went terribly wrong, as a major hurricane laid a perfect strike on central Florida. In Killer `Cane, Robert Mykle vividly describes the horrors of the storm from the perspective of these unfortunate farmers. By interviewing over forty 1928 Hurricane survivors, Mykle allows the story to be by the people that experienced the worst of the storm. Since the interviews were emphasized, the book does omit some historical details that could have supplemented and clarified the firsthand survival stories. As a whole, Killer `Cane thrives as an oral history, complete with the raw narratives, emotions, and opinions from those who most directly experienced one of the least documented major disasters in American history.

As with any disaster of this magnitude, a wide variety of meteorological, political, and social factors converged to augment the damage and death toll. Instead of revealing the causes systematically, Mykle cleverly uses the opening chapters to illustrate the early history of the Lake Okeechobee region by introducing the residents as they settled.Mykle's description of the early settlement offers the reader perspective for how so many people came to occupy this seemingly inhospitable land.Before settlers moved in, the lake had no set boundaries, with the level fluctuating into surrounding sawgrass swamps between the summer wet season and winter dry season. The successful opening of the Panama Canal in 1904 precipitated canal building in Florida, as governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward collected funding for canals starting from Miami and Fort Lauderdale (Mykle 17-18). Mykle documents a few brave farmers that settled in the 1910s, but flood-drought cycles and even strong wind tides off Lake Okeechobee kept most settlers away until after WWI, as a muck dike constructed from 1923-1925 finally brought large areas of consistently arable land (Mykle 68-69).

Despite numerous weather-related issues in the decade prior to the hurricane, the population around Lake Okeechobee grew rapidly. Mykle does not quantify this growth, but he does clearly annotate improvements in transportation and services in the region. According to another account of the storm, Black Cloud by Eliot Kleinberg, about 8,000 people (including black farmhands) lived in the towns around the lake by 1928 (Kleinberg 15). Why did so many people move to low, swampy land during this time?In general, only people, "with nothing to lose would risk their savings, their health, and even their lives in a strange, isolated, dangerous land." (Mykle 61)While the reasons for arriving varied, it was always the rich, black soil that kept the farmers from leaving. One important fact not emphasized by Mykle is that the fertile muck was only present within about one mile of Lake Okeechobee, which placed the majority of Florida's population either right along the lake or on higher ground in West Palm Beach, with a large expanse of swamp wilderness in between. (Kleinberg 11)After the storm, this geographical barrier contributed to significant delays in arriving aid, or even recognition by government that a major disaster had occurred. Killer `Cane mentions but downplays the social stratification at this time, as major disconnects existed between the millionaires in West Palm Beach, the white farmers, and the poverty-stricken black migrant farm workers.

Any social inequities took a back seat to prosperity in the Roaring Twenties. With the dike finished in 1925, the second half of the 1920s was set up to be a prosperous time for central Florida, if only the weather would cooperate.Instead, the weather pattern shifted to wet and stormy.The first blow was the 1926 Miami Hurricane, which missed Lake Okeechobee to the south, but flooded Moore Haven by piling water over the dike on the west side of the lake.The storm should have been a dire warning for others living in low land, but by the end of the year the attitude was that, "the 1926 hurricane season was relegated to the past.The dike was repaired, and farmers planted with renewed vigor." (Mykle 91) Mykle's assessment of the 1926 hurricane is too brief, as he only notes that funding was rejected for a new, larger dike, and that Moore Haven was relocated. (Mykle 87-92)The 1926 storm did rattle the Everglades, but not nearly to the extent that it should have. The farmers' only recourse was to lobby the Everglades Drainage District engineer to lower the lake lever by opening the spillways out of the lake. However, the engineer also faced lobbying from those downstream of the lake.Mykle avoided discussion of the political implications, but Kleinberg notes that the state remained unconcerned with flooding and retorted that the districts goal was to reclaim swampland, not control floods. (Kleinberg, 31)This conflict was exacerbated by heavy summer rains in 1927 and 1928, raising Lake Okeechobee to record levels by September 1928. The stories in Killer` Cane suggest that the residents were aware of the danger of the high lake level, but were optimists and considered the 1926 hurricane to be an aberration. (Mykle 118)Hurricanes were simply not discussed and life continued as usual.

It is possible that the risk of a severe flood was more on the minds of Lake Okeechobee residents than Mykle implies. The political debate detailed in Black Cloud may have seemed distant to the average farmer, but most likely the local discourse included concern about the possibility of a catastrophic dam failure. Perhaps the omission occurs because the interview subjects were only children or young adults at the time, and did not participate in adult conversations. It is also easier for one to recall a life-defining survival story decades later than to remember the lesser details that happened beforehand. The subjects could have been unwilling to lay blame on their parents for not recognizing the hazards of their location, instead preferring to correlate the risk of living along the lake with the overall defiant attitude of the Prohibition Era.Mykle chose to not use direct quotes from the interviews or comment on the detail of the interviews. The advantage of this approach is that the reader gets to enjoy the survival stories without interruption from a skeptical narrator. However, a historian may be left wondering whether Killer Cane's accuracy was confirmed from different accounts of the same event or if Mykle blended the accounts to remove any inconsistencies.

Although Mykle's approach leaves some of the details in question, Killer `Cane thrives in describing the hurricane forecasts and preparation from the residents' perspective, as the frequent point of view changes create a tone of growing concern and confusion as the conflicting reports spread through the rumor mill. Despite the inadequate warnings, most residents did know that a hurricane was coming and had time to make preparations and take shelter. However, the forecasts significantly underestimated the intensity of the storm and did not express certainty of a hit until after the storm's impacts were already being felt in Florida. Most residents took shelter in their wood homes or in some of the more sturdy buildings in town. The storm's cyclonic winds first piled the lake's water toward South Bay, where a poorly designed "V" shape in the dike further helped to funnel the surge into the town. As the storm passed, the surge of lake water moved northward, easily overtaking the dike and swallowing Belle Glade and eventually Pahokee. Mykle describes with great emotion and detail how the panicked residents climbed to the upper levels of their shelters until the water lifted the buildings off their foundations and slammed them against each other. Chaos then ensued in the pitch black night, as survivors clung onto trees or debris while thousands drowned. By morning, the residents' hopes and dreams are left in ruins, with several thousand bodies scattered across the flooded landscape.

The aftermath was even more horrific than the storm itself.Dr. William J. Buck's treatment of victims and leadership in the cleanup is an inspiring story, but for the most part, the cleanup was slow and painful. With all connections to the outside world severed, it took days for outside help to arrive and weeks to collect and bury the bodies. (Mykle 188)Mykle also documents unequal treatment of blacks during this time, as black males were forced by whites to labor through the most arduous and gruesome aspects of the cleanup.It is unfortunate that Mykle did not interview any surviving blacks from the cleanup, since the perspective of the most underprivileged black victims is noticeably absent from Killer `Cane.The final death toll was also controversial.Mykle suggests that the official US tally of 1,836 was intentionally low to minimize outside criticism and salvage the tourism industry.By adding the figures at each individual cemetery and estimating those lost and burned, Mykle suggests up to 3,000 Florida residents may have died. (Mykle, 212-213)The actual total is impossible to determine, but it is likely around 2,500 due to additional missing or burnt bodies and exaggeration at some of the mass graves. Mykle should have also been suspicious of the reported 1,600 dead at Port Mayeca, which Kleinberg argues is physically impossible. (Kleinberg 214)

The historical maps show that the Lake Okeechobee hurricane followed almost a perfect straight line, northwest from the Leeward Islands through Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and finally through West Palm Beach and directly over Lake Okeechobee. However, the forecasts from the Weather Bureau first predicted the storm to miss Florida to the south, then later predicted it to recurve to the east, with the official forecasts of a hurricane landfall only coming less than 24 hours before it actually occurred. Mykle suggests that politics played a role in the bad forecasts, with the Weather Bureau and local media afraid of creating panic or tourism damage by raising alarm. (Mykle 131)A more detailed analysis of the Weather Bureau's mistakes is beyond the scope of Killer `Cane, but Mykle does rightfully cast blame on the ambiguous and inaccurate forecasts.Ideally, the residents should have been advised to prepare many days in advance, as it was known from 1926 that September hurricanes do not always recurve. Still, the forecasts would have needed to be accurate beyond the technology of the era to prevent significant loss of life.Preventative measures such as improved building codes and a strong dike were still years away, so only a widespread evacuation could have moved people out of harm's way.The migrant black farmhands were doomed either way, as they were the last to receive warning of the hurricane and they would not have possessed the means to evacuate even if they had advance notice.

As a whole, Killer `Cane is an exceptional oral history, but lacks additional primary sources and commentary to present a complete picture of the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.Mykle only adds a few details from outside sources and never specifies how much modification was done to the raw interviews. The lack of added commentary by the author is likely intentional, as Mykle preferred to let the survivors tell the story.For additional historical context and more details from Puerto Rico and West Palm Beach, Black Cloud is a great compliment to Killer `Cane. Eliot Kleinberg includes exact facts, figures, and quotations from primary sources to provide perspective to Killer `Cane's raw testimonies. For these reasons, Killer `Cane is similar to a weather television documentary like Storm Stories. In both cases, drama and storytelling are emphasized over historical details and analysis, but the finished product is still both entertaining and worthwhile for the average weather enthusiast.

A Lesson to Learn
I heard a story about this powerful hurricane through my grandmother who was living in the Palm Beach area during this storm. It wasn't until I read Killer Cane, did I really get the feel of what humanity was going through. This book is a real eye opener and reminds you to respect the power of weather, and what damage it can do. At the same time, in the bleakest of moments, brings us closer together as humans.

Very good account
I heard tales of this 'cane while growing up, but until picking up this book had never read a thorough account of the hurricane and it's impact. The author provides a solid and riveting story, from multiple perspectives.

Wonderful Book
I found this book to be very interesting and informative. A must for any Floria or Gulf Coast resident, property
owner or home buyer. You will never look at Flroida the same, as you drive around, after reading this book.
You'll have a much better perspective of what to do if/when a hurricane is headed your way after reading
the recounts of these historical experiences of the survivors.

For the Love of Muck
A natural disaster looms on the horizon but government and financial leaders play down the danger because of the possible loss of tourist and investor dollars. The public is than caught completely off-guard when the disaster strikes and the carnage is far worse than anyone could have predicted. If this scenario sounds familiar it's because Hollywood has served up this basic formula for years in films ranging from "Earthquake" to "Jaws." Robert Mykle has given us the very same plot in this book but in this case the story is horribly real.

In the early twentieth century there was a land boom in Florida as the wealthy discovered the warm climate and farmers discovered the extremely rich soil around the Everglades. World War I caused a great demand for vegetables and the rich "muck" of the Everglades could produce two or three excellent crops a year with green beans being the prime crop. With vegetable prices at an all time high the farmers of the area spent a great deal of time and effort trying to push Lake Okeechobee back in order to uncover more crop land. It never seemed to occur to them that one day the lake just might push back.

In 1928 when the category four "Killer 'Cane" hit the area the lake did indeed push back and by the time the storm had passed most of South Florida was under two to three feet of water. Of course two or three feet of water isn't going to kill many people but the eighteen foot storm surge created on the lake was more than capable of taking many thousands of lives. As recently as 2001 human bones were still being plowed up in fields where they were buried by the storm in the muck they had so lusted after. Unlike the disaster movie villains Hollywood has produced however the Florida authorities didn't learn their lesson and managed to undercount the dead by at least a thousand people so as not to scare away the tourists.

Robert Mykle has written a very credible account of this tragic event and his method is one that makes the hurricane seem very real. Much of the book is taken in introducing the reader to the people and places that are about to be blasted by this killer storm. The author goes back many years in tracing some of these families and their migration to the Everglades and he does manage to make the reader feel as if theyactually know some of these people. His method succeeds in making all of the death, suffering and destruction hit home with the reader but he takes his method to extremes sometimes and goes back a bit too far, making the story drag a just a tad at times. He also makes several historical statements that are simply not true and although they don't deal directly with the storm these kinds of errors certainly hurt the author's credibility. Just to quickly mention three of these errors; Andrew Jackson was not born west of the Appalachian Mountains, General Meade was never removed as commander of the Army of the Potomac by Abe Lincoln and there were no Axis Powers in World War I. It's picky I know but someone writing a history book just shouldn't make these kinds of errors.

Overall though this was a very good and readable book. The author does an excellent job of relating pertinent meteorological data such a way that it made it clear and understandable and in a book like this one that is a very important task. His verbal descriptions of the devastation are also very good and his blow by blow description of the storm as it pounded its victims was extraordinarily good. Mykle in fact had done such a good job of introducing some families that I found myself hanging on every word to see who survived and who didn't.

In short, there are some flat spots in this book but it contains a story that needs to be told and told with heart. Robert Mykle has accomplished this task admirably. ... Read more

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David runs through the pain. (RL 3.2) ... Read more

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While in Charleston, South Carolina, to help their grandfather's friend, Mrs. Ashleigh, repair her house, which has been damaged in a hurricane, the Boxcar Children become embroiled in a mystery involving someone hunting for pirate's treasure on Mrs. Ashleigh's property. Simultaneous. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The Hurricane Mystery (Box Children Mysteries)
This book is about four children and a dog who help an elderly woman fix her house which was partly destroyed during a hurricane. While helping her fix her house, they discovery pirate's gold in a gate on the front yard of the house.

The children are brother and sisters. They are Benny Alden who is six years old, Violet Alden who is 10 years old, Jessie Alden who is 12 years old and Henry Aldenwho is fourteen years old.The dog's name is Watch Alden. He is a terrier. The elderly woman's name is Mrs. Ashleigh.

The children were know as the boxcar children. They were called this because after their parents died, they didn't realize that their grandfather James was looking for them, and they lived in a box car until their grandfather found them. The grandfather took the children back to live with him and brought the boxcar with him so the children would feel comfortable.

While fixing the house, the children hear tales that the island that the house was on contained pirate's buried treasure. The house was located on Sullivan Island which is off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.

The gate to Mrs. Ashleigh's fence was known as the Pirate's Gate. It was called that because her great great great great grandfather who's name was Mr. Fitzhugh was supposed to have been a pirate.During the hurricane, the gate landed in a neighbors yard. When the children looked for the gate, they saw that the neighbor who's name is Jackie James was trying to put the gate in her car. The children quickly told her that the gate belonged to Mrs. Ashleigh and they had the gate brought back to Mrs. Ashleigh's yard.

Because the gate had been broken, Mrs. Ashley arranged for a gate repairman named Mr. Farrier to fix the gate. During the time that this was being done, the children found some papers in Mrs. Ashleigh's home which contained a treasure map. They took the map outside the house to try to follow it and find the treasure. While Benny was holding the map, someone came and stole the map. The theif was wearing a grey jacket.

While the children were looking at more papers in Mrs. Ashleigh's home, they found information about the gate. It turned out that Mr. Fitzhugh ordered the maker of the gate to make it hollow. The children thought that gold was inside the gate.

When Mr. Farrier brought back the gate, the children told him what they thought. Instead of attaching the gate to the fence, he brought it back into Mrs. Ashleigh's house. The children now decided to set a trap to catch the thief who stole the treasure map. They put the gate against the fence and went into Mrs. Ashleigh's house. In the meantime, a hurricane began and Mrs. Ashleigh closed all the windows and doors. The children could not see outside. After the storm passed, they told their grandfather about their plan. When they looked outside, the gate was missing. As they looked around, they saw that someone was taking it. Watch ran and grabbed the person's leg. It turned out to be Mike Carsen. He was the same person in the grey jacket. The other person helping him was Jackie James. They were trying to steal the gate so they could sell it.

Mrs. Ashleigh decided to donate the gate to a museum on the island. The gate was displayed at the museum information about how it was found and how the children solved the mystery.

Mysterious things and action.
As you can tell by the title, this is a mystery book.

The setting of the story is in an island called Sullivans Island, and all occurs in a neighborhood.
Sullivan's Island is small and plain. The neighborhood is full of old houses. In the oldest one of these houses is where the mystery occurs.

The main characters in the story are Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. They are the box Car Children. Other characters are Mrs. and Mr. Asheligh, Jackie, Mike and Mr. Farrier.
Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are brothers and they love to solve mysteries. Mrs. Asheling is a nice woman who has a not so nice son called Mr. Asheling. Jackie and Mike seem nice and good, but at the end of the story they are totally the opposite. Mr. Farrier is an expert on things like iron and also about a buried treasure.

At the beggining of the story Mrs. Asheling tells the Box Car Children, about a special gate: The pirate's gate.
Sice that moment on the children wanted to find the treasure.

The problem begins when, in the middle of the treasure hunt, they fall in a mystery. The mysterywas that someone was trying to steal the pirate's gate.

The resolution to the problem happened when the Box Car Children made a trap and trapped the thieves. Then they noticed the gate was the treasure because it was made of pure gold.
At the end of the story, to make sure the gate was safe, they donnated it to a museum.
I recommend this book to everyone because it is an exciting story, full of mysterious things and action.
It is an excellent book. Buy it now and read it! I hope you do it.You won't be sorry.
ALEX

Mystery and Hurricane
I enjoyed this book.It is a mystery during the hurricane season in South Carolina.The mystery is about the Alden children looking for a pirate treasure but someone else is looking for it too!Who do you think will get it?I think you will like this book because it is a mystery to solve and you learn about hurricanes.

The Pirate's Gate Secret
The Boxcar Children went to Charleston to help Mrs Ashleigh clean up her house after a recent hurricane had messed it up.But someone had been trying to steal one of Mrs Ashleigh's valuables, the Pirate's Gate.Why?Read this book to find out. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

STORM WARNING! A surprisingly good book!
THE HURRICANES: ONE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM'S HOMECOMING AFTER KATRINA is a heartwarming narration of achieving a dream after adversity.
Once again, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED provided an excerpt of this book in a 2008 issue. Numerous times SI has piqued my interest with selected sections from a book, and later on after reading it, I am glad I purchased or checked it out.
This is a story of a high school football team's achievement on the field of play after nearly the whole team faced tremendous adversity following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in the bayou country. Jere Longman reviews so many areas surronding the team, community, coaches, parents, etc.,in that he presents a wonderful epic and narrative story. Not only does the community choose to advance from the destruction, but two high schools merge to represent the devasted area in sports. It is important for Mr. Longman to intertwine the recovery of emotional, physical and cultural areas in building the success of communities and a football team. It is interesting to read how the success of the region is ramrodded by the football team. Very pleasurable narration is provided to tell the story of the area's rebuilding. Presentation of the characters and culture of the region is done very well. At times the author bogs down the work with specifics of government beauracray and statutes. However, when he centers on football, it should be relished by the reader.
As a football official and former coach for over thirty years, I was shocked by the use of profane language by Coach Crutchfield whether on the field of play, in a locker roomor or simply trying to motivate his team. In the state of Kansas where I work sports, this type of abuse and use of vulgarities to his team, would have no use in this state. In a way, Mr. Longman presents Coach Crutchfield as a, "Mentor or hero", to the team, school, and community. I had little if any respect for Crutchfield's treatment of individuals. A total lack of "class" by a coach.
In conclusion, I was surprised how good this book was to read. Though I would recommend more interesting narrative books on football, i.e. TWELVE MIGHTY MITES OR THE SWEET SEASON, this still is a good work.

A true story, but one that misses the sad point
I'll start out by saying that this is a good story.This book focuses on football, and the story of a team and teams coming together to rebuild their lives. It's a "rags-to-riches" tale that will surely one-day make a good movie, but it ignores the real tragedy that I was thinking about the entire time.What it doesn't focus on is the real tragedy of why rural Louisiana is dirt poor and uneducated.A year after Katrina, officials are proud to announce that the new sod is on the field, yet there is no school cafeteria.The scoreboard works, but there are not enough books to go around at school.More examples abound like this abound, but it is clear to me why communities like this will continue to decline as they focus more on their fleeting football success than on graduating educated kids from their high schools.A few of these kids will end up in college, and maybe one every few years will play pro ball, but 200 others will be poorly served by their lack of a decent education.

A Great Read, Great story.
A well written, vibrant story about life after Katrina in a unique community.The story, based in a rural community surrounded by the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico, accurately describes real personalities who make the community special in many ways.

If you are a fan of athletics, community life and the struggles of rebuilding life, then you will enjoy this book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

True story of Louisana
Jere Longman has written an excellent book chronicling one parish's reaction to Hurricane Katrina, focusing on the high school football team but weaving in incredibly useful information about the people and history of Plaquemines Parish and all of Southeast Louisiana. It's a story of the importance of football in the fabric of a community in southern Louisiana.

Having played high school football in Louisiana myself "back in the day", I recognized so much in the story of coach Cyril Crutchfield and the Plaquemines Parish residents. The loud, profane and physical football coach. The sheriff's deputies who were former players themselves and still long to ride the bus with the team to away games. The players whose entire lives revolve around the sport. The anachronism of the wealth of resources and the grinding poverty of that part of the world. It really hit home.

The book is well-written and balanced - as an example, Longman strives to present the Belle Chasse side of the Plaquemines Parish feud, rather than simply showing the South Plaquemines/Port Sulphur side. And by tracking Randall Mackey, Jamal Recasner and the Bastrop Rams, he shows the intertwining of relationships in that part of the world.

As this review is written, Coach Crutchfield, Ridge Turner, Lyle Fitte and the rest of the Hurricanes are on their way to another state championship. One Times-Picayune reporter recently noted that they only way the Hurricanes don't win state is if they give up the sport of football between now and December. I recommend you read this book, and follow the Hurricanes through the rest of their season.
... Read more

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A super sized storm blasts in from sea. The hurricane has landed. Find our how these giant storms build and what happens when they reach shore. ... Read more

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Details the course of Hurricane Andrew, which hit the southeastern United States in 1992, and describes the recovery efforts that followed the storm. ... Read more

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Introduces early readers to hurricanes by revealing how these powerful storms form, describing what happens during a hurricane, and explaining how they are studied. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good science reader for children
I purchased this for my almost-5 year old who is fascinated by tornadoes. Of course the book is a bit advanced for her, but she enjoys scientific readers such as this and Magic School Bus. I'd definitely recommend this book if you have a tornado-fascinated child around the ages of 5-10.

action-packed, riveting
My daughter started with the Tornado book in this series (Wild Weather), which she really liked, and so we got this one on Hurricanes. It's even better. The opening chapters about the hurricane pilot had her riveted, and this is the first chapter book she has gotten through completely in one sitting. My only beef was that the scientists are men in both books, but then I found the Flood and Lightning books, which both feature women scientists. We plan to get Blizzards next, since we live in blizzard country.

My son loved this book
My four year old has had me read Hurricanes to him again and again . Ms. Hopping presents scientific facts in such an engaging format that he really enjoys the story.I recommend this and her other Wild Weather stories.

This book is a winner for kids
Hurricanes, by Lorraine Hopping, Is the third book I have bought for my grandchildren in the Wild Weather series. They have looked forward to each new title and reread the ones they now have. The book helped them tounderstand what was going to happen with hurricane Floyd. ... Read more

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by authors of Mutiny on the BountyLittle, Brown & Company1936; twenty-sixth printing257 pages ... Read more

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The first monoplane intercepter to enter service with the RAF. As a ground attack aircraft, and under the designation Sea Hurricane it also served at sea. Over 100 photos, 46 detail drawings, 3 pages of scale dwgs, 13 full-color paintings. 50 pages. ... Read more

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It's good, but could be better.
I have always enjoyed the " In action." series, and the Hurricane in action is not an exception. However, the real strength of this book is the photo's. There are a great many photo's of an unusual nature and showing the Hurricane in many different marks and situations.
Where the book is weakest is in the information. It is not bad, but it feels like the pictures are carrying the book. The info is very 2 dimensional. Especially when compared to other books in the series where the info and pictures compliment each other.
If you want to pick up a In action book this one might not be the best. If you are after info on the Hurricane specificly then you will find elements of this book useful. ... Read more

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A careful analysis of the workings of the criminal justice system and the role of racism in the infamous Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Case. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Balanced, Detailed Account
This book is the most in-depth examination at the Carter case.Dr. Wice had unprecedented access to original court transcripts and interviewed everyone involved in the courtroom proceedings, including prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys and judges.

A case as divisive as this naturally produces two distinct, mutually-exclusive groups.One side believes that Carter was an entirely innocent man and framed by a racist regime; the other believes that Carter was an unrepentant thug and murderer who was only released because celebrities got involved.

The facts, however, lie somewhere in the middle.Dr. Wice goes the extra distance to carve away the hyperbole and assumptions and examine the court case itself.Readers and reviewers who have already made up their mind about the case will be disappointed that it does not merely feed their expectations.Both sides have displayed a lack of empathy and intellectual honesty over the last thirty years.

The book's larger purpose is to explore the fundamental problems of our adversarial justice system.Because the prosecution and defense are trying to win the case, rather than arrive at the truth, there is a great potential for justice to be sacrificed.

At the book's conclusion, Dr. Wice states that it is impossible to state with complete certainty whether Carter committed these murders.Again, our judicial system is not based on uncovering objective truth, but only in determining whether a person is guilty or not guilty according to the rules of the game.It is Dr. Wice's conclusion that, not only were the rules of the game violated by both sides, but that the game itself is the problem.

Review has detail but little depth
Well, what a disappointment. 95% of this book is a re-telling of the Lafayette Bar murder case. 5% is a surprisingly superficial discussion of the shortcomings of the American judicial system. On the plus side, this is the most detailed, blow-by-blow account of both of the trials and the numerous appeals, the changes in testimony, the key witnesses, the red herrings, and the legal issues raised. But the writing is not good enough to rise above tedium.

To be fair, it would be a challenge to explain the changing testimony, the way the lies and the charges of bribery and corruption keep revolving back on themselves, like a hall of mirrors. Were the police intimidating the defense witnesses, or were Hurricane Carter and his friends intimidating the prosecution witnesses? Was Al Bello's crucial testimony bought by the police with promises of reward money, or was his recantation bought by Carter's friends with promises of a secret bribe?

I'd like to explain what troubles me about this book -- but how to do it without getting bogged down with nit-picks?

Try this quote on for size: "But within the Paterson community, the police, prosecutors and judicial system were united in their commitment to keeping Carter in prison for the rest of his life. To them, he was an abrasive, violent person who might one day catalyze the rage of the city's black community and who thus needed to be silenced -- he was to them an embarrassment and a villain rather than a hero." (204) Wice writes this, and apparently believes it, while at the same time acknowledging that prosecutors believed they had the guilty men (204) and while admitting he doesn't know whether Carter committed the murders or not! (202)

You'd think there would be extensive documentation and close reasoning to support the notion that (a) Carter was an activist and (b) the police were persecuting him because of it. But of course there isn't. While the tone of the book is skeptical of prosecution motives or eyewitness testimony, it accepts without question Rubin Carter's version of events, many of which were recently repeated in an error-filled movie.

The book repeats that young Rubin Carter was assaulted by a pedophile and was sent to juvenile detention for defending himself. The book repeats that Carter was on the verge of being paroled from juvenile detention when a vengeful guard (whom Carter had beaten savagely for a pedophiliac advance on a young inmate) framed him, thus ruining his chances for release. Wice believes Carter's story of how, as a young army recruit, he got into a no-holds-barred fight with his sergeant -- and was not punished. He repeats that a rash remark printed in the Saturday Evening Post led to police harassment and Carter's eventual frame-up for murder.

Well, if you'll believe that, you'll believe..... that when Carter was getting out of prison after serving time for mugging three people, he received offers from boxing managers from all over the world with "promises of rich contracts, up-front money and attractive jobs." And the reason that Carter rejected all those offers in favor of an amateur manager who was a New Jersey prison guard was because.... "he knew (the guard) fairly well." (33)

If, while doing the research for this book, Professor Wice had read the original Saturday Evening Post article, instead of relying on Carter's version in the 16th Round, he would have read a different version of the knifing incident that sent Carter to juvenile detention, and a different version of his escape. Like his alibi for the night of the murders, Carter's story of his juvenile escapades has also changed over time.

The book does list points that are favourable to the prosecution case. It mentions that Carter's alibi fell apart, for example, and even mentions the letter Carter wrote from prison, laying out the false alibi story, but it's clear where the author's sympathies are. I don't understand why, when Carter supporter Carolyn Kelley says Carter beat her savagely, Wice calls this an "alleged" assault, but when Carter says he was beaten by his own father (who is no longer around to defend himself) there is no "alleged" about it.

Here's a hilarious example of the book's bias:

"(After his transfer to Rahway Prison, Carter) was uninterested in participating... (a)lthough Carter had a few minor scrapes with the guards and other inmates, he primarily studied the law and wrote his autobiography. He was cited a dozen times for disciplinary infractions, but most were early in his stay, BEFORE THE STAFF AND OTHER MEN HAD ACCLIMATED THEMSELVES TO CARTER'S RIGID REGIMEN.(my emphasis)(74)

Um, Professor Wice, was the prison system supposed to adapt itself to the star inmate or was the star inmate -- oh, never mind.

Wice says of the prosecution: "they were rarely able to substantiate their conclusions with direct evidence." (67)

The same could be said of Carter's claim that he was a black activist or that he was framed. There is no evidence.And while the case against Carter for triple murder is mostly circumstantial, there is a case to be made -- with direct evidence -- that Carter has not always been truthful about himself. Unfortunately, this book didn't look deeply enough. ... Read more

Product Description
The Hawker Hurricane was the Raf's first monoplane fighter, and it dragged the air force into a position where it could defend Britain in its 'hour of need'. Prior to the Battle of Britain, a number of squadrons equipped with the fighter had seen action firstly in the 'Phoney War', and then during the disastrous campaign in France. Pilots like 'Cobber' Kain had achieved impressive scores in the face of overwhelming LUftwaffe forces, and although the RAF lost no less than 386 Hurricanes during the Blitzkried, it gave many pilots valuable experience. Hawker fighters outnumbered Spitfires during the Battle of Britain by three to one, and downed far mor aircraft. Overseas, a handful of pilots put up stiff resistance against Germany's Italian ally in Libya and Egypt, and also over Malta. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

EASY TO READ, CONTAINING ALL THE BEST OF INITIAL HURRICANES
As i am interested in the Battle of Britain, initial Hurricanes and their pilots were a target to my research. This book, as others from this series, have many pilot notes, profiles of different squadrons, pictures and a good information about main facts about Hurricanes in 1939-1940.

It is a very good book for Hurricane fans.

Refreshing about Allied dead and wound soldiers
What I love about this book is that the author tells how many Hurricane aces were killed or wounded and gives the names of most if not all those wounded/dead aces. Its about time that people start hearding about Allied dead and wounded military personnel.It is downright boring when you are always reading about the German losses particularly among German aces and never about the Allied dead especially fighter aces.

Hurricanes Try to Stop German Avalanche!
As I say in my Amazon's Profile: "I am a science fiction fan and a history buff (especially WW II, Napoleon, Civil War, Ancient Rome), I read omnivorously on these subjects."

Osprey's different collections are a great resource for History "aficionados". In a very compact book series with excellent presentation, first quality paper and nice reproductions gives the reader a succinct and complete view of the subject.
"Aircraft of the Aces" is a very specialized series, reviewing in each volume a special brand and model of aircrafts in a limited war-time period.

The present one is focused on Hurricanes during 1939 thru 1940, encompassing the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain and a brief description of Malta & North Africa (these last scenarios will be revisited in detail in other volumes of the collection).

Mr. Tony Holmes as author and editor and the art and technical team (Mr. Keith Fretwell, Mike Chapell, Mark Syrling and Iain Wyllie) has provided excellent profiles of specific airplanes, showing personal marks from the pilots, badges from the squadrons, different paintings styles, rank insignias and any relevant detail.

The photographic material is outstanding there are many less known airplanes photos (even some crashed or disabled) and portraits of British aces (actually Commonwealth as there are many Canadians, Australians & New Zealanders among them) as "Cobber" Kain, "Fanny" Orton and "Ginger" Lacey.

Mr. Holmes collects lots of personal anecdotes from pilots and some times is able to reproduce first person reports from confronting pilots, giving the reader a very dynamic perception of that specific "dog-fight".

This book is a good short volume that will be appreciated by neophytes, general public and very specially enjoyed by airplane modeling fans as it gives valuables details of different Hawker Hurricane variants.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Hurricane Aces, another great from this series
Tony Holmes' "Hurricane, a Fighter Legend" started my interest in second worldwar aviation again, and this book is a nice companion to the former, focussing on the merits of the plane and its pilots in those very crucial days and giving an exellent account of it.
For Hurricane colour photographs you have to have the 'fighter legend' book, but the colour sideviews in 'Hurricane Aces' are very good, and more than make up for the lack of colour photographs. Very good in my opinion is the last part of the book, where all planes depicted in the sideviews get their own small piece of history, including their eventual fate in most cases.

A comprehensive account of the early aces who flew a legend.
This excellent account covers the pilots who were some of the first RAF aces during WW2, whilst also giving a superb history of the early part of this legendary fighter's operational combat career. I've always had a softspot for the Hawker Hurricane and the extraordinary young men who flew andfought in it. The Spitfire has received an unfair share of the credit forthe victory that was the Battle of Britain, despite the fact thattwo-thirds of the RAF fighter squadrons were composed of Hurricanes.'Spitfire snobbery' was displayed by downed German aircrew, who refused toaccept that they could have been bested by anything less than a Spifire.The careers of pilots such as Kain, Brothers and Frantisek illustrate howthis magnificent machine was the equal to anything the Luftwaffe flew. Thisis an informative and fascinating account of the part played by brave youngmen, and the legend that was their steed, during the darkest days of WW2. ... Read more

Product Description
A powerful love story and an epic adventure, From Hurricane Katrina to the Middle East: A True Love Story is author Jo Ann Godfrey's tale of how she finds her soul mate under the most surprising and dramatic conditions of her life. When Godfrey begins falling for Gary, he has already accepted a job in Saudi Arabia and she stays behind in New Orleans. But when Katrina hits, the hurricane sets off a series of events that will change both their lives forever. From Hurricane Katrina to the Middle East: A True Love Story is the inspiring tale of how one woman never gives up hope, stays positive, and uses the lessons of her past to catapult her into the future beyond her wildest dreams. A profound romance, Godfrey's memoir is sure to touch hearts and win her many devoted readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Inspirational story
I flew with Jo Ann in the Delta New Orleans days, and lived thru the aftermath of Katrina. Her story offers hope and courage to all cancer survivors, and most importantly reminds us to never give up on finding a true soul mate.......

Inspirational read!
I usually don't sit still long enough for reading, but finished this book in 2 nights after being unable to put it down.Living in the New Orleans area, I could relate to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.And being a relatively new bride, I enjoyed stories of a new love.But most of all, I was inspired by life lessons that the author gained along the way, and her ability to share them in such a beautiful and practical way. It's a book any gal is bound to enjoy!

Sharon from Texas
WOW! Love the book. Read it in one day on my kindle. Would recommend it to all of my friends and have especially for my friends who are still looking for that happy ending with love.From Hurricane Katrina to the Middle East - A True Love Story: With Life Lessons Learned

Could relate to this book!
Loved the book the read was easy and the contents compelling.Especially nice since I worked with the author.Think everyone will enjoy it as much as I did. The book arrived Saturday from Amazon and could not put it down.

Couldn't put it down!
From Hurricane Katrina to the Middle East - A True Love Story: With Life Lessons LearnedAn inspirational journey that takes you through love, loss and above all, perseverance.Her descriptive writing allows one the opportunity of an in depth look into her travel through life as well as different countries.A learning experience for all to enjoy!

I loved the inspirational quotes at the end of each chapter as well as the list of them at the end of the book.Easy access to great quotes and even advice on how to use them.

Clearly a straight from the heart story. ... Read more

Product Description
Longing to feel closer to his favorite grandfather, Oliver skips school on a sparkling September afternoon and hides out on a tired schooner. When he wakes up on the ways of his grandfather's boatyard and realizes he's been transported back to 1938, he must decide what to do before the dangerous hurricane he'd been studying in school hits. While the main character is a 12 year old boy, Oliver's story, and the story of a powerful weather event that still reverberates along the east coast, is more than appropriate for an adult audience. Written by a 2004 Olympian in sailing, this charming story includes 8 original illustrations, a glossary of nautical terms and a short history of the Great Hurricane of 1938 that devastated the eastern seaboard. The revised edition includes more photographs, maps, a History of Coastal Schooners and is accompanied by a new Teacher's Guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Fun read!
To cynical adult readers, it might seem like every bump on the head in a middle grade or young adult novel results in time travel and world-leaping. Yet anyone who truly understands the genre can tell you this is as valid a literary device as sniffing madeleines in a Parisian cafe. (And certainly more believable than faxing oneself back in time!)

Carol Cronin's YA novel, Oliver's Surprise, begins with the traditional bump on the noggin. And yes, Oliver gets whirled back in time--in this case to the Great Hurricane of 1938.But Oliver's Surprise is anything but a typical time-travel story.

For one thing, Oliver doesn't run into a lot of historical figures. He runs into his own grandparents.He even ends up being a guest in their house, and though they don't have any idea who he is, he quickly figures out who they are.This makes life a little tricky for him.

Also, unlike many time-travel novels, Oliver doesn't end up in the right place at the right time. He's in the wrong place at the wrong time. A horrible hurricane is coming, and not only is it going to devastate the little Rhode Island town of Dutch Harbor, it's going to kill a lot of people: the men he's working with at the docks; maybe even Finn, the boy who's befriended him. Should he tell them? Would they believe him if he did?

Last but not least, the main character in most time-travel stories ends up "saving" history in some way: teaching King Arthur, inspiring Shakespeare, making sure the hero's parents meet and get married. But Oliver's Surprise is more about the past coming alive, how death and loss experienced in the moment are so much more acute than what the history books describe. Yes, Oliver does end up having an effect on history, but it's a lot subtler and more personal than what readers are used to.

The writing in Oliver's Surprise is tight and evocative, and Carol Cronin--former member of the U.S. Sailing Team and winner of two races at the Athens Olympics--is able to completely immerse us in the world of skiffs, schooners, goosenecks and derricks. And Laurie Cronin's beautiful illustrations give the book a warm, nostalgic feel.

My only complaint about Oliver's Surprise? It felt much too short. I wanted more of Oliver, more of his world, more about the hurricane. But since Ms. Cronin has already written a sequel, I guess I won't have to wait very long.

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Wonderful afternoon on the couch!
To repeat other reviewers: this book is not just for kids--but I am certain kids will love it (and I plan to give it to the kids on my list for the holidays. I sank right into the story, and was so caught up in Oliver's dilemma that I began to worry that perhaps he wouldn't make it back home. I am not a sailing buff, but loved all the details about sailing, and happily gobbled every bit of information about the Hurricane.

Wonderful Tale of Nautical Adventure
Oliver's Surprise is a delightful read for kids and adults alike. Twelve-year-old Oliver, who lives on Dutch Island, slips away from school and boards the historical schooner, Surprise. There, he reminisces about the deceased grandfather he loved, who once owned a boatyard. When Oliver slips and hits his head during a fall in the boat's cabin, he drifts into the world of the past and meets his grandfather, who is also named Oliver; his grandmother, Nellie; the Surprise's Cap'n Eli; and a boy named Finn. Oliver learns what life was like during the days prior to the Great Hurricane of 1938; he also comes to know his grandfather as a young man and discovers why the Surprise was the only boat to survive the storm.

This story reminded me of both the Wizard of Oz and Back to the Future. I especially liked Oliver's relationships with his mother, who shares his love of boats and seems to be the anchor in his life, and his grandfather, for whom he has almost an adult admiration and affection. The book is especially appropriate for the classroom, as it contains terrific extras at the end of the story: a map of Jamestown, RI, a brief and informative piece entitled "About the Hurricane," and a glossary of nautical terms.

Oliver's Surprise
Enjoyed it as i grew up there.Disappointed it did not contain anything on the hurricane.I was 8 at the time.Bruce LoringHave a nice
painting of Dutch Island light my Dad did (Paule Loring)

An adventure for all ages
My daughter and I just finished Oliver's Surprise, and we loved it.It was a perfect level for my 9 1/2 year old, and she had no problem following it.She loved the idea of going back in time, and of traveling incognito among relatives 80 years in the past.Some of the accidental slips Oliver made (such as using the not-yet coined term "no-brainer") had her laughing out loud.It was a good family read, and the first book in a long time we've read together.As we read various sections, we turned to the map in back to orient ourselves, and that made us feel like we were in Jamestown.We were fascinated by the history and Oliver's dilemma in knowing about the approaching storm but hesitating to change history.This would make a good read for families during the holidays, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in boats, history, or just a good adventure.

... Read more

Product Description

Hurricanes created unique challenges for the colonists in the British Greater Caribbean during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These storms were entirely new to European settlers and quickly became the most feared part of their physical environment, destroying staple crops and provisions, leveling plantations and towns, disrupting shipping and trade, and resulting in major economic losses for planters and widespread privation for slaves.

In this study, Matthew Mulcahy examines how colonists made sense of hurricanes, how they recovered from them, and the role of the storms in shaping the development of the region's colonial settlements. Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624--1783 provides a useful new perspective on several topics including colonial science, the plantation economy, slavery, and public and private charity. By integrating the West Indies into the larger story of British Atlantic colonization, Mulcahy's work contributes to early American history, Atlantic history, environmental history, and the growing field of disaster studies.

Product Description
In 1982 when he was traveling in India, Peter Vacher stumbled on the remains of a British plane - a Hurricane Mark 1, a veteran of the Battle of Britain. It was in a dreadful state. Could he restore it? Would it fly again?

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for the home or professional chef
A classic work. The book details how to cook for large groups for personal or professional engagements. It features a wide variety of traditional and unique American and international cuisine recipes all with an focus on healthy meals. Great for those looking to get into the catering business. ... Read more