Book Thoughts: "Roar of the Heavens" by Stefan Bechtel

"Roar of the Heavens" is an account of Hurricane Camille, the second strongest hurricane to ever strike the United States. She hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast on August 17, 1969, making landfall as a Cat 5 hurricane, packing winds of 200 mph.

The book itself is divided into two parts. The first deals with Camille's strike on the Gulf Coast, the second deals with her run in with Nelson County, VA, a couple of days later where she dumped what may have been a world record amount of rain on a tiny rural area, exacting a toll about equal to her damage on the Gulf.

I've always been interested in hurricanes and tropical meteorology, so it was the the first part of the book that interested me the most and led me to order it. I wasn't disappointed either. Bechtel does a great job of telling the story of Camille's landfall on the gulf. It's very descriptive and very emotional, without being overly dramatic or cheesy, as some disaster stories are. Many accounts of Camille revolve around the supposed "hurricane party" that took place in the Richelieu apartments. and Bechtel does treat it, but he tells the story of the whole area through the perspective of several gulf coast residents, which just adds layers and depth.

The second part tells of Camille raining out over Nelson County, VA on August 19. I was a little skeptical at first because my main interest was in the Gulf Coast strike, but I was pleasantly surprised. This has been called a "once in a thousand years" event, where perhaps 31 inches of rain was dumped on a small area of rural VA in less than 8 hours, killing upwards of 150 people. This part of the story was equally as compelling, although he used so many different people's stories and recollections, it was a bit difficult to keep straight at times.

I rated this book as three stars and not four for three reasons. First, there some fairly noticeable editing issues, with misspellings and words left out, though it didn't detract horribly from the story. Second, Bechtel goes out of his way to put the storm in historical context with the late 1960s, and he goes a little too far. This results in several rather windy passages (pun intended) about Woodstock, which is alright, but I wasn't reading a book about Woodstock. One mention would have accomplished what he was going for. Finally, the writing itself started to struggle toward the end of the second part, with certain words starting to pop up over and over again in descriptions. I got tired of reading about things being "bucolic." There was even an exact quote used two different times, explaining the same situation, just a few pages apart, and that stuck out like a sore thumb.

The end result is a good read though, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys casual reading about hurricanes and accounts of natural disasters. Not a masterpiece but a satisfying and enjoyable read.

Book Thoughts: "The Doomsday Key" by James Rollins

Okay, so I have to give this book a little bit of a knock. Unfortunately, despite the trademark action and break neck pace that finally makes it's appearance in the second half of the novel, the first two hundred or so pages were painfully slow, except for a motorcycle chase through Rome. It just seems like it took so long for James to get his pieces all into place, and the pacing over the first half of the book suffered.

Now I WILL say this: Once I got past that, I read the last half of the book or so in one sitting. It's also nice to see Painter back in action a bit.

The book is pretty standard for Rollins, and that's not a bad thing. He blends science, history, and action altogether in a way many authors couldn't dream of doing. I can't say too much without giving it away, but the plot of this novel revolves around the world food supply and population control, and it's very thought provoking.

It's not the best of the Sigma series, but stick with it. Get through the first couple hundred pages and the pieces finally move, and the twist at the end could hold interesting possibilities for future Sigma novels.

Book Thoughts: "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," by Thomas C. Foster

I don't fancy myself a beginning reader by any stretch, but hey, I haven't had a lit class in 14 years, and despite the fact that I read a lot, I often wonder, "Does that mean something?" or "Can it really mean that?"

Foster takes up those questions and more in this highly entertaining volume. it's not dry, it's very witty with a lot of humor, and he doesn't talk down to the reader at all. If he did, it would defeat the purpose of the book.

I would suggest this book to anyone, beginner or not, who would like a quick, easy to read, no nonsense guide to reading literature, or anything for that matter. Check it out.