In this gripping narrative history, Al Roker from NBC’s Today and the Weather Channel vividly examines the deadliest natural disaster in American history—a haunting and inspiring tale of tragedy, heroism, and resilience that is full of lessons for today’s new age of extreme weather.
On the afternoon of September 8, 1900, two-hundred-mile-per-hour winds and fifteen-foot waves slammed into Galveston, the booming port city on Texas’s Gulf Coast. By dawn the next day, the city that hours earlier had stood as a symbol of America’s growth and expansion was now gone. Shattered, grief-stricken survivors emerged to witness a level of destruction never before seen: Eight thousand corpses littered the streets and were buried under the massive wreckage. Rushing water had lifted buildings from their foundations, smashing them into pieces, while wind gusts had upended steel girders and trestles, driving them through house walls and into sidewalks. No race or class was spared its wrath. In less than twenty-four hours, a single storm had destroyed a major American metropolis—and awakened a nation to the terrifying power of nature.
Blending an unforgettable cast of characters, accessible weather science, and deep historical research into a sweeping and dramatic narrative, The Storm of the Century brings this legendary hurricane and its aftermath into fresh focus. No other natural disaster has ever matched the havoc caused by the awesome mix of winds, rain, and flooding that devastated Galveston and shocked a young, optimistic nation on the cusp of modernity. Exploring the impact of the tragedy on a rising country’s confidence—the trauma of the loss and the determination of the response—Al Roker illuminates the United States’s character at the dawn of the “American Century,” while also underlining the fact that no matter how mighty they may become, all nations must respect the ferocious potential of our natural environment.

The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster: The Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900

History

Roker, Al

Americas

William Morrow

STORM CENTURY

MorrowPb

William Morrow Large Print

“Reads like a nail-biting thriller.” — Library Journal, starred review
A gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Flood—the deadliest flood in U.S. history—from NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker 
Central Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889: After a deluge of rain—nearly a foot in less than twenty-four hours—swelled the Little Conemaugh River, panicked engineers watched helplessly as swiftly rising waters threatened to breach the South Fork dam, built to create a private lake for a fishing and hunting club that counted among its members Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Carnegie. Though the engineers telegraphed neighboring towns on this last morning in May warning of the impending danger, residents—factory workers and their families—remained in their homes, having grown used to false alarms.
At 3:10 P.M., the dam gave way, releasing 20 million tons of water. Gathering speed as it flowed southwest, the deluge wiped out nearly everything in its path and picked up debris—trees, houses, animals—before reaching Johnstown, a vibrant steel town fourteen miles downstream. Traveling 40 miles an hour, with swells as high as 60 feet, the deadly floodwaters razed the mill town—home to 20,000 people—in minutes. The Great Flood, as it would come to be called, remains the deadliest in US history, killing more than 2,200 people and causing $17 million in damage.
In Ruthless Tide, Al Roker follows an unforgettable cast of characters whose fates converged because of that tragic day, including John Parke, the engineer whose heroic efforts failed to save the dam; the robber barons whose fancy sport fishing resort was responsible for modifications that weakened the dam; and Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, who spent five months in Johnstown leading one of the first organized disaster relief efforts in the United States. Weaving together their stories and those of many ordinary citizens whose lives were forever altered by the event, Ruthless Tide is testament to the power of the human spirit in times of tragedy and also a timely warning about the dangers of greed, inequality, neglected infrastructure, and the ferocious, uncontrollable power of nature.

Ruthless Tide: The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America's Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster

William Morrow Paperbacks

New York Times bestselling author, award-winning meteorologist, and Today Show co-anchor Al Roker explores extreme weather phenomena in his first book for kids. Dive deep into a world of fascinating weather with everyone’s favorite meteorologist, Al Roker!
With this mesmerizing book that covers a wide range of topics, readers will learn about the conditions that generate unique weather occurrences like red sprites, thundersnow, and fogsicles.
Surprising facts, colorful spreads, and captivating pictures will hook children and adults alike as they uncover the mysteries of extreme weather—some they never even knew existed!

Al Roker's Extreme Weather: Tornadoes, Typhoons, and Other Weather Phenomena

Children's Books

Science, Nature & How It Works

Harpercollins

Nobody can dish morning TV like Al Roker, who’s seen every side of a business that looks good on camera—even when sharks are circling inside the gleaming glass Manhattan media headquarters. Treachery abounds in Roker’s riotously thrilling debut novel—at once an ingenious murder mystery and a delicious behind-the-scenes look at network TV. As fact and fiction collide and the backbiting ignites, The Morning Show Murders will make you wonder: How much of this stuff is real? Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show’s perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air.And then the network’s head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame. Forensics show that Gerry Gallagher was poisoned and that the fatal coq au vin came from Billy’s restaurant. Gerry had an impressive list of women in his black book—and a news assignment in Afghanistan had plunged the TV exec into the heart of a violent international secret. Now unsavory characters are coming out of the woodwork, and another murder strikes the show’s inner circle. Billy knows that someone’s trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It’s about staying alive—and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow’s breaking news. From the Hardcover edition.

The Morning Show Murders

Literature & Fiction

Lochte, Dick

United States

Random House Audio |

After waking up the neighborhood with "The Morning Show Murders, " and keeping readers up late solving "The Midnight Show Murders, " Al Roker returns with his most tantalizing mystery to date. Celebrity chef turned sleuth Billy Blessing finds his plate full of danger once again, as secrets from his long-buried past threaten to make a comeback. 
Before Billy had his five-star restaurant in New York, before he was tapped to co-host the morning show "Wake Up, America!" and travel with it for a week in the Windy City--before he even assumed the name Billy Blessing--he lived a totally different life under a very different identity: as wily con man Billy Blanchard. Caught trying to run a scam on a shady Detroit businessman, Billy did time for his crimes, reinvented himself, and has successfully kept that part of his past covered up ever since. But when he and Eddie Patton, a nosy ex-cop with a long memory, are guests on a popular Chicago TV talk show, the off-camera chat turns to blackmail. And Billy may have no choice but to pay up or see the embarrassing truth from being blogcast to the world on Patton's true crime website. 
This being Chicago, secrets have a way of getting out--and getting people killed. When Patton winds up dead in his apartment only hours after trying to shake Billy down, it's just the first in a string of killings that has America's most beloved TV host scrambling for clues, unsure who his friends are, and desperate to clear his name before he becomes the media's latest poster child for celebrity scandal. Throw in a budding romance with a visiting movie star and Billy Blessing may have finally gotten himself into one sticky situation even he can't talk his way out of. 
Fast-paced, funny, and bubbling over with inside scoop on the business they call show," The Talk Show Murders" is Al Roker mystery fiction at its delicious, dishy best. "From the Hardcover edition."

Talk Show Murders (Lib)(CD)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Thrillers & Suspense

BOOKS ON TAPE]

The Talk Show Murders: A Billy Blessing Novel

Random House Publishing Group

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