Celebrated NBC weatherman and author Roker follows his highly praised The Storm of the Century (2015) with an equally riveting account of the Johnstown Flood ... Roker turns in another informative, solidly written weather-related page-turner sure to please his fans.
Al Roker, co-host and weather anchor of NBC’s Today, vividly re-creates the tragedy of the Johnstown Flood ... By supplying plenty of detail, Roker brings the reader so deeply into the moment (it took about 10 seconds for most of Johnstown to be utterly destroyed) that you can almost hear the water’s roar and feel the thundering crashes ... Roker makes it clear that this disaster was created by humans.
Al Roker, meteorologist on NBC’s Today show and author of The Storm of the Century (2015), vividly details the history and personal dramas of the Johnstown Flood in his simply written new work, Ruthless Tide. He also delves deeply into the Gilded Age world of wealth and privilege and the forces that created the disaster. In fact, as the subtitle suggests, that Gilded Age, and the immense wealth for which it stood, was one of the primary forces ... Roker clearly holds the wealthy, irresponsible members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club responsible for the disaster. Ruthless Tide is an exciting, accessible read.
...we can all agree that a disaster book that opens with the description of an adorable little girl has plenty of dread in store for readers ... Roker did his research as far as uncovering who these people were. He tells us their stories, good and bad. Parts of Ruthless Tide read like a thriller and will have you turning the pages with a pounding heart. Other sections will send you into a rage against the ultra-rich.
Roker is especially adept at focusing on key individuals—residents, politicians, movers and shakers, rescue workers—and letting their stories represent the myriads of others ... An exciting, tragic story seasoned with sensitive social analysis and criticism.
Roker, with a weatherman’s eye, describes the formation of the unprecedented rainstorms that led to the flooding and the 'monster unchained' that was the flood itself.
