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Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 | 
 enlarge | Author: Willie Drye
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 1655276
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 326
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 6 x 0.9
ASIN: B000C4T3KC
Publication Date: July 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New, great condition
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Book Description
On Labor Day, 1935, at the height of the Great Depression, the fiercest hurricane in the history of the United States tore through the Florida Keys. In the heart of its fury lay a group of down-and-out World War I veterans who had been sent to the Keys on a federally sponsored work project. Living in hastily built shacks just yards from the Atlantic Ocean, the men were completely unprepared for the 200-mile-per-hour winds and massive waves that would assail them on the night of September 2, 1935. In Storm of the Century, journalist Willie Drye creates a vivid account of the storm's rampage. DryeÂs bracing narrative, featuring previously undisclosed documents from the official government investigation, delivers the first comprehensive explanation of how the economic crisis of the Depression, the need for political expediency, and the violent storm led to the loss of life of innocent workers and great political turmoil. Told from the alternating viewpoints of storm survivors, government officials, and locals, Storm of the Century is a haunting tale of the devastating power of nature and politics. Praise for Storm of the Century: “Engrossing....Vividly captures the hurricane's monstrous energy.” —Kirkus Reviews “A stirring tale of nature's power and an exposé of government ineptitude....Compelling reading.” —BookPage
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Fact filled and mesmerizing account - worthwhile read November 14, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was not even aware of the Hurricane of 1935 until I saw a recent special on television. I wanted to learn more, and this book filled the bill. Willie Drye laid the groundwork by telling about the residents of the Keys and what life was like then before the storm. He explained how isolated they became with one only road in and out and how the planned-for railroad would improve things immensely. The stories of the veterans who lived in the area to work on those railroads were well told. I found the book riveting and hard to put down until toward the end. Once the book turned to discussing the "blame game" and how the various agencies tried to save face in light of the deaths of so many veterans, it bogged down for me and lost a lot of its verve. Nevertheless, I would recommend STORM OF THE CENTURY as a fact-filled and interesting account of what was a horrific experience for people so ill prepared to survive it.
Great Book May 17, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Starts off a little slow and gets a little boring in the middle, but all-in-all Willie Drye does a great job telling the story of the hurricane and the political nightmare surrounding it. The parallels to this disaster and it's lack of leadership to Katrina and the bumbling leaders involved in it (Nagin/Blanco) are uncanny.
 The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 . . . hmmmm, sounds familiar November 29, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Reading this book just a few months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast, and the subsequent political fallout that ensued there, is fascinating. Because in the 1935 hurricane that barreled through the Florida Keys with winds up to 200 mph (it's the most powerful hurricane to strike the US) we also have a set of "victims," accusations of governmental neglect, and finger-pointing and fudged reports that came with official investigations.
The 1935 hurricane (storms weren't named back then; this one occurred on Labor Day so is often referred to as the Labor Day hurricane) begins years before it actually formed off the Bahamas, and many miles to the north. The story really commences in Washington, DC, in 1932, when thousands of WW I veterans marched on the capital demanding the bonus money they were promised for fighting in the Great War. They set up camps in Washington, and, mainly because the Depression was affecting much of the population, were not very popular. When FDR became president, he decided to ship the vets off to Florida to help construct the road that was stretching from Florida's mainland across the Keys to Key West. Since 1912 the Florida East Coast Railroad ran tracks to Key West, but no road ran the full distance. (Interestingly, the storm killed the railroad for good along the Keys; the road and most other things were built or rebuilt.)
By early 1935, these veterans began arriving in the Keys and were lodged in work camps. Thus the "victims" were in place. Drye tells what life was like in the camps (much discontent, drunkeness, and violence), and how the men felt they were merely shuttled out of sight and forgotten.
The storm formed off the Bahamas late in August and was first predicted to hit Havana, Cuba. Hurricane tracking techniques were still pretty primitive in 1935, with most of the information coming in from ships at sea. The weather bureau, however, located the storm about 200 miles too far south, and its predictions for the Keys minimized the dangers at first. The first finger-pointing of blame after the tragedy was directed at the weather bureau.
Then the storm hit. It was compact and ferocious, destroying everything in its path. Drye relates first-hand experiences by those caught in it. Some survived, many did not (hundreds died). Many of the survivors - and victims - were the veterans who had not been taken off the Keys as they should have been. Here's where the governmental neglect charges come in. Apparently a train had been readied and was even on its way to take the men out, but delays in ordering it prevented it from getting to the camps in time. In fact, the train itself was blown off the tracks by the tremendous winds and the storm surge.
The first official report on the disaster said no one was to blame, it was just "an act of God." This outraged many people and additional hearings were held, but the results were the same. Drye includes some of the testimony taken during the hearings, and it's not surprising to see the half-truths, outright lies, and protect-my-own-rear-end declarations pile up.
Drye tells this story dramatically, informatively, and well. He refuses to cross over into melodrama where the temptation to do so is great (the first-hand accounts). He includes a few collateral and secondary events (the ordeal of the passenger ship "Dixie" on its way to NYC from Texas that got caught right in the middle of the hurricane, and some things about Ernest Hemingway who was at home in Key West at the time) that add to the interest of the book. And one can't help but draw comparisons to the Katrina disaster of 2005. An excellent book. Highly recommended.
Very thorough account June 13, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was an excellent story, meticulously researched by the author and presented as if he were actually there to witness it all. Awesome, suspenseful hurricane tale.
Great Story September 1, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is the first book I have ever read on a natural disaster. It was a great story. It was rich in history and science, but not too overdone. I'm from the coast that does not have hurricanes and the description of the storm blew my socks off. Great props to the author even if you could tell what his political motivations were.
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