A Furious Sky

The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes

By: Eric Jay Dolin

Narrated by: Bob Souer

With A Furious Sky, Eric Jay Dolin has created a vivid, sprawling account of our encounters with hurricanes, from the nameless storms that threatened Columbus' New World voyages to the destruction wrought in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria. Weaving a story of shipwrecks and devastated cities, of heroism and folly, Dolin introduces a rich cast of unlikely heroes and puts us in the middle of the most devastating storms of the past, none worse than the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed at least 6,000 people, the highest toll of any natural disaster in American history.

Dolin draws on a vast array of sources as he melds American history, as it is usually told, with the history of hurricanes, showing how these tempests frequently helped determine the nation's course. Hurricanes, it turns out, prevented Spain from expanding its holdings in North America beyond Florida in the late 1500s, and they also played a key role in shifting the tide of the American Revolution against the British in the final stages of the conflict. As he moves through the centuries, following the rise of the United States despite the chaos caused by hurricanes, Dolin traces the corresponding development of hurricane science, from important discoveries made by Benjamin Franklin to the breakthroughs spurred by the necessities of World War II and the Cold War.

©2020 Eric Jay Dolin (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Must read for coastal residents!

The Furious Sky provides a compelling look at the impact of hurricanes on North America. Every coastal resident and everyone looking to retire in warmer locations should be required to read it. The book is well written. engaging and the reader was perfect.

Fantastic

Listened to it 3 times. Dolin does an incredible job covering centuries worth of hurricane history in America.

Storm king

I’ve been around hurricanes all my life but only experienced glancing blows. This book opened my eyes to what direct hit, especially with flooding,is really like. Holy cow! I’m 78 but going out to buy a generator right now. Very well researched, written, read.

It was very though and thought provoking.

It was a look into the past of our weather of which will have a terrible outcome if we sit by and do nothing but also shows how truly powerless we really are to the rules of nature. something we all can learn and live by, should we repeat the past.

Not Technically

It was a fantastic story about hurricanes throughout history.
It’s more reflective of people’s life experiences than based on the science and meteorological aspects of the storms. For me one story of misery and heartache is enough. Every chapter was pretty much the same. Again not a bad read but if you are looking for the scientific aspect of hurricanes I would recommend looking elsewhere.