TRUE POWERFUL STORM STORIES

Storms can be incredibly beautiful to see and feel, whether they are in the air, in your brain, or in your heart. We found some wonderful new books that tell incredible stories and capture intense images of the most powerful storms outside, inside, and in outerspace.

 

Every artist wants to be known for his or her own style and talents. But it is also an honor to be compared to a previously established genius. Mitch Dobrowner is considered by many to be the Ansel Adams of storm photography. Dobrowner’s extraordinary black-and-white images of monsoons, tornados, and massive thunderstorms are iconic portraits of weather, like Adams’ landscape portraits.

 

Dobrowner's new book, “Storms,” is a compilation of photographs previously published by magazines, such as National Geographic, Time, and the Los Angeles Times. Gretel Ehrlich, the American travel writer and poet, adds perspective in the foreword.

Photo: Courtesy of Google Inside Search.

Dobrowner began photographing the landscape of the American West in 2005, and since then, storms have become one of his main subjects.

 

"My job is to capture a 'portrait' of each storm I encounter, an image that does each one justice as if the storm was a person," Dobrowner states in the book's afterword. Check out his video account here.

 

The book is beautifully produced, in wide format print, with stunning images of storms all across the country.

 

(Aperture, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Amazon.

Hurricane Sandy was a monster storm that left many powerful stories in its wake. “The Gathering Wind: Hurricane Sandy, the Sailing Ship Bounty, and a Courageous Rescue at Sea,” by Gregory A. Freeman, is one of the more unusual yarns that reads like a thriller -- but testifies as a memoir.

 

The story begins in October 2012, when a replica of the famous HMS Bounty, an eighteenth-century tall sailing ship, set out to sea -- at the wrong time -- when Superstorm Sandy was headed directly into its path.

 

The Bounty, led by captain Robin Walbridge, departed from Connecticut without a care, then attempted to outmaneuver Sandy. But, in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the storm gained the upperhand. The ship was trashed. And the crew were thrown into the stormy sea.

 

The North Carolina Coast Guard flew into action on a rescue mission amidst hundred-mile-per-hour winds. It was to be one of the most danegerous and most memorable rescues recorded ever.

 

The Gathering Wind will grip you, choke you up, and inspire you.

 

(NAL, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Scribner.

 

Sandy is still fresh, but humans have been hit with storms that challenged their survival since the beginning of time. The biggest storms spin off the most powerful lore. We can’t get enough of their stories.

 

“A Storm Too Soon: A True Story of Disaster, Survival and an Incredible Rescue,” by Michael J. Tougias, recounts the the white-knuckle rescue of a small crew after their 47-foot sailboat capsized 250 miles out to sea in the Gulf Stream, in the middle of a hurricane.

 

Tougias spins the tale in the present tense -- you are immersed -- it is happening around you, now. Life and death are dancing a dangerous tango atop 80-foot waves. Men are in the balance, struggling to survive the punishing storm, both treading water and hovering above in the Coast Guard’s Jayhawk helicopter.

 

This is a story of another one of the most incredible rescues ever attempted.

 

"Tougias spins a marvelous and terrifying yarn....this is a breathtaking book." -- Los Angeles Times

 

(Scribner, 2014)

Image: Courtesy of Henry Holt.

 

Touglas has proven he knows how to pack a punch in his presentation of historic storms and rescues. He paired up with Casey Sherman to write “The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue,” about a killer winter storm off the shore of Cape Cod in 1952.

 

This storm and the heroism of the rescuers were both so mind-blowingly big, it is considered to be the U.S. Coast Guard’s most daring rescue. It is right up there with "The Perfect Storm."

 

“Gripping. . . . Tougias and Sherman ably narrate the desperate struggles of crew members on both the wrecks and the rescue boats . . . will make readers appreciate the bravery of the men who put their lives on the line . . . action-packed.” — Publishers Weekly

 

(Henry Holt and Co., 2014)

Image: Courtesy of Vintage.

 

We’re now familiar with storm-chasers, thanks to The Weather Channel and the technologies that enable storm tracking. But storm-chasing pioneers began their missions centuries ago.

 

“Storm Kings: America's First Tornado Chasers,” by Lee Sandlin, is a fascinating account of the scientists whose discoveries created modern meteorology.

 

The central plains of North America are the perfect breeding ground for tornados. Early settlers called them “Storm Kings.” In his book, "Storm Kings," Sandlin re-creates some of the most devastating storms in America’s history, including the Tri-state Tornado of 1925 and the Peshtigo “fire tornado,” whose deadly path of destruction was left encased in glass.

 

In a literary documentary, including snippets of memoirs, letters, eyewitness testimonies, and archives, Sandlin highlights the thinking of 18th and 19th century scientists, such as James Espy, America’s first meteorologist, and Colonel John Park Finley, who helped place a network of weather “spotters” across the country. And we learn about the history of the National Weather Service.

 

Sandlin’s skill as a compelling storyteller will sweep you up in the force of the storms as well as in the efforts to manage life impacted by their ominous power. The book contains 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations.

 

“I have been a meteorologist interested in tornadoes for my entire career. . . . I found Storm Kings a compelling history.”

 

—Chuck Doswell, Nature

 

(Vintage, 2014)

Image: Courtesy of Amazon.

 

Storms are not norms. And so we are full of wonder about how and why they do what they do. “It's Raining Frogs and Fishes: Four Seasons of Natural Phenomena and Oddities of the Sky,” by Jerry Dennis, is a cool collection of questions and answers about storms, both here on earth and out there in the universe.

 

The title is not merely a metaphor. The book includes bizarre, well documented cases of fish, reptiles, snails, and snakes that have rained down on earth. The book presents both historical and contemporary understandings around the most curious storms and other extraordinary natural forces, including meteor showers, hurricanes, tornadoes, and rainbows. The book is beautifully illustrated by Glenn Wolff.

 

“Amusing and illuminating…This writer-artist team shines a bright and lovely light on nature.” ~Los Angeles Times

 

(DCA Inc, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Cambridge University Press.

 

The most powerful and violent storms ever experienced on earth pale next to storms that occur in outer space. While most of us are barely aware of them because they rarely impact us enough to notice, space storms have the capacity to knock out critical communication satellites, electric power grids, and, well, technically, the whole planet.

 

“Storms in Space,” by John W. Freeman, takes phenomena we rarely see, like the aurora borealis, and vividly shows them for what they really are -- space storms. He presents cutting edge space storm forecasting systems and frankly cites their reason for being -- preventing human crises. And we think he makes a good case for The Weather Channel: Space Edition.

 

John W. Freeman is Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University. Over the past 35 years he has directed a number of satellite instrumentation projects, including the Apollo 12, 14, and 15 projects for which he was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1973).

 

(Cambridge University Press, 2013)

 

Image: Courtesy of Tarcher.

 

Adolescents and young adults have storms whipping around in their brains. “Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain,” by Daniel J. Siegel MD, draws upon important new research in the field of interpersonal neurobiology, which offers a new understanding of the teenage brain and how it functions.

 

“This book is chock-full of cutting-edge knowledge as well as a deep compassion for teenagers, the adults they will become, and the teenagers in all of us.”

—Alanis Morisette

 

(Tarcher, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Erica M. Egge.

 

Some brainstorms are are brutal. "Dear family, The most frustrating feeling is not being able to finish a sentence because I forget what I said, or what I was going to say, or the word I'm trying to use. Since I can’t express myself verbally, I’ve decided to start a blog."

 

“Living In a Brainstorm: A Memoir,” by Erica Marie Moos Egge, is a courageous triumph over epilepsy. Egge suffered for 18 years, with daily seizures and debilitating side effects from medications, before she finally opted for a brain surgery that could possibly cure her. She documents her fight, her fear, and her hope.

 

(Erica M Egge, 2013)

Photo: Courtesy of New South Books.

 

And, of course storms can happen in relationships with others -- and with ourselves. Steady minds and balanced spirits weather storms better than most. “Strength in the Storm: Transform Stress, Live in Balance, and Find Peace of Mind,” by Eknath Easwaran, offers insights and anecdotes that just might help you hold your head up high while you walk through your storms.

 

Easwaran shares his own ideas about how to use a mantram (or mantra) to quiet the mind, slow down, and stay in present. If you concentrate and chillax a bit more, stay kind and generous in the face of adversity, and support those around you, you can get through your storms with strength and grace.

 

"I have long found the writings of Eknath Easwaran to be models of clarity, simplicity, and practicality."

 

— Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Healthy Aging and Spontaneous Happiness

 

"An excellent book for all those who sincerely desire peace, both within themselves and the world."

— Arun Gandhi, Founder, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

 

(Nilgiri, 2013)

 

Read about Beautiful Storms all this week, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact.

 

Get busy and enter the BN Competitions, Our theme this week is Beautiful Storms. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 11.10.13.

 

Photo: Courtesy of InterActiveMediaSW.

 

Also, check out our special competition: The Most Beautiful Sound in the World! We are thrilled about this effort, together with SoundCloud and The Sound Agency. And we can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!