Black Cloud: The Deadly Hurricane of 1928 Book

Black Cloud is the compelling story of the deadly hurricane of 1928 in Florida. The author, Eliot Kleinberg , moves seamlessly between a richly detailed factual account, a social overview of the time and place, and the personal stories of individuals who were affected by the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history. I listened to the audio version, read by Lee Ann Howlett. She did a wonderful job.

This storm had no name (it was before storms had names), and the narrative describes a Florida much different from the one we know today. Weather forecasting and communication, as we know it, using satellites, computers, and other technology did not exist. I'm not a weather expert, but I think the descriptions of the weather events were excellent.

I learned a lot about those years, the storm, and the aftermath. Many good people rallied and sent food, supplies and medical aid to Puerto Rico, hit by the storm before Florida was hit. No one thought the storm would hit Florida. But it did, and there were horrible results.

I also learned that the Red Cross used an earlier storm in 1924 to formulate an action plan in case another severe storm ever came through. No one thought it would. I had never heard of this storm and its aftermath before I listened to this book. The author never loses sight of the very real and heartbreaking story of those that lost everything. This is a story that needed telling.

Lee Ann Howlett narrates this book flawlessly, in a no-nonsense crystal clear way. I can tell when a narrator understands what they are reading and when they don't. Lee Ann Howlett clearly understands the material she is narrating. Very easy to follow along even though the material is dense with facts, descriptions, and analysis of the many things that went wrong and those that were done correctly. She's the perfect narrator for this book.

I highly recommend this tale of nature, human perserverance and courage It is a spellbinding story and one I will always remember.