The Storm and the Tide: Tragedy, Hope and Triumph in Tuscaloosa

by Lars Anderson

On April 27, 2011, a powerful tornado ripped through the heart of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, leaving 53 dead and a path of unimaginable devastation. In the aftermath, Alabama coach Nick Saban and his football team went out into the community, sharing its grief and aiding the recovery. They forged an unbreakable bond, and in a place where Saturdays are dedicated to the Crimson Tide, "Let's Play for Tuscaloosa" became a rallying cry, an emotional touchtone that transcended the playing field.

Barrett Jones, a 302-pound tackle, went street by street with a chainsaw clearing debris. Diehard fans Bob and Dana Dowling survived but lost their home. Long-snapper Carson Tinker, whose girlfriend Ashley Harrison died in the storm, emerged as the public face of Tuscaloosa's resilience. The rebuilding effort became a personal crusade; the football team was now competing for a cause much greater than a national championship. In The Storm and the Tide, Lars Anderson chronicles the rise of a team, the building of a dynasty and the resurgence of a town.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Football, History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2013

Reviews

[Bobbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think you have to be a Alabama fan to really appreciate this book although it seemed thoroughly researched and interesting. The writing was not particularly good, however, which took away from the story a bit.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I would have rated it higher, but I wanted more weather than football

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago, I was introduced to how intertwined the State of Alabama was with football when I read Warren St. John's "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania"...The sociological examination fans of sport, especially those that pack up their expensive campers and follow Tide football...It is here, that I found this quote later used by Lars Anderson, "A recent poll by the found 90% of the state's citizen's described themselves as college football fans. 86% of them pull for one of the major football powers there, Alabama or Auburn, and 4% pull for other teams-Florida, Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee, and Michigan, or smaller schools like Alabama A&M or Alabama State. To understand, what an absolute minority, nonfans are in Alabama, consider this: they are outnumbered there by atheists."...Whereas, "Rammer Jammer" explored the devotion of sports fans all over...what makes them crazed about the teams...why the emotional highs & lows revolve around wins & losses...what drives fans to follow sports with such devotion...St. John used the anecdotal stories of the famed BAMA "RV tailgate caravan culture" that loyally follows Tide Football, along with current physiological, sociological & psychological research, in an attempt to explain this very human sports phenomenon...In "The Storm and the Tide: Tragedy, Hope and Triumph in Tuscaloosa"...Lars Anderson gives us a heartwarming and heart wrenching story of the 2011 Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado that devastated the city and the campus of the University of Alabama, and the effect it had on the Tide’s football fortunes, the fortunes of the city and state and specifically, the changes wrought in the legendary Nick Saban...I highly recommend this book!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I always find myself so involved in the lives of the people Lars writes about...I literally cringe when the storm comes thru this college town. He's right up there with Erik Larson.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*- So close to 4 stars, but not quite.

This book was so great, and I really wanted to give it 5 stars... but there were a couple of writing things that prevented me from doing so.

Positives

Let me start by saying I'm not normally a huge non-fiction reader, but this story was so compelling it caused me to want to read more non-fiction. I just needed to know what happened to all of the people in the story!!

The beginning of the book dealing with the tornado was engrossing! I couldn't put it down - I just had to know what happened. It was the same with the end of the book, during the football season when the team trying to extend their win streak.

Honestly, having the map in the front of the book was really helpful when referencing where the tornado was going. I referred to it many times while reading.

I loved the characters I really go to know through the book. Some were given more of a spotlight than others, and I found I really connected to the ones heavily written about.

Critiques

Sometimes the book's flow wasn't great. I loved all of the content, but wish it had been written together a little more seamlessly.

I think I would have gotten even more from this book if I'd been a fan of Alabama college football. I love football, but I'm more of an NFL girl, so not knowing the players from this particular college team hindered enjoying it to the fullest.

If there had been more details about each person, I don't think that would have mattered, but since I didn't have any backstory on these particular players before reading the story, I wished the author had offered a little more about each person (especially the ones he only wrote a little about).

I found myself sometimes mixing up the characters who were less mentioned. There were a couple of times I had to flip back in the text to make sure I understood who he was writing about.

Overall

I really liked the book, and think I would get more from reading it again. Now that I'm more familiar with the people in the story, I might be able to keep track of who is who a little more easily.

There were moments when I couldn't put this book down (during the tornado, and during the football season), and I think that says a lot about my enjoyment of the book.

[calico Rosenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Iffy beginning; for straters there were too many new characters introduced too similarly and generically ( actually, now that I think about it, I'm not even sure if it was more than the two couples interchanging, but it seemed so at the time and just kept going. (spoiler- I knew a certain character would die in he ßtorm because, amon other reasons, I couldn't imagine she wouldn't have objected to being portrayed as she was.. "im scared." .. "mommy, I'm scared." (I don't mean too belittle the actual tragedy, though..

Overall I commend the attempt to relay this thing that the author clearly adores into something more prevelent and meaningful, but after a tenuous initiation in the immediate aftermath of the storm it becomes more And more tried and a reacht.

Now,personally I have zero jinterest in watching sports let alone those teams (the exact inverse is true of playing them) but I've come to regard such factors as irrelevant ; I've loved Jesus freak books as a major aetheist, and hated memoirs about writing despite Iit being thelifelog forerunner of an immense and well varied range of interests.

In this case, however ,I feel that this book could be enjoyed by a relevant sports fan

[Kacper Parobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Storm and the Tide” by Lars Anderson is a book about a tragedy that took place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It tells a story about a powerful twister that ripped right through Tuscaloosa, leaving many dead and wounded, and how the town managed to physically and morally rebuild itself. In my opinion, the book is mainly good because of the storyline, how it tells the individual stories of people that survived, but the thing I disliked is the writing, which could have been better. One part I liked is when the author thoroughly described what someone was going through after the tornado. “Yes, oh dear lord, it was her. He realized then that the wrapped body at the back of the tractor was that of his daughter.” This book made me think that people elsewhere may be having much bigger problems than I do, for example having a tornado destroy the town you live in, and take the lives of your loved ones.

[Malachi Antal · Rating 3 out of 5]

living in naturaldisaster plagued region and, being surprised when hit with destruction, comment on it, 'this [rubble] is our home, we're going to rebuild,' struck as idiocy when say house built on Mississippi floodplain continually is flowed and, begging help rebuilt,, moore 2013; tuscaloosa 2011

build new home elsewhere, unless is historic Jerusalem or, worthy of preservation

personally live in historic region not known for its hurricanes or, tornadoes

worship of athleticism like drones RV to away games, tailgate parties, are topics never understood or, identified with

the writing is spot-on

good inclusion of map

if one lives in a shitepit and, is what on, that's where chose be shat on

[Paul Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint Nick is on full display here. This is the story of the devastating tornado that hit Tuscaloosa in 2011, seen through the lens of a few impacted families and the Bama football team’s season. No major revelations here but chock-full of little details about how Saban embraced his role as THE most important person in the state of Alabama to help a community recover. A well-written, thoughtful reminder of the role of college football in the South.

[Nathan M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent story about perseverance and overcoming tragedy. I vaguely remembered this tornado, but never looked anymore into it than what was quickly covered in the news. When I spotted this book, the full story of what happened combined with the aspect of the importance of Alabama football and teamwork both on and off the field stood out to me. It was an in-depth, heartbreaking, yet inspiring read, and I really enjoyed it.

[Michael Stoudt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful book about the April 27, 2011 tornado and its aftermath in Tuscaloosa. How it devastated so many lives and how the Alabama football team helped rebuild from the destruction; both emotionally and physically. The book goes into depth what the SI article initially built upon after the tornado's impact. A good read.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 4 chapters are a 5 for everyone, the last several are a 3 unless you absolutely love football. Then the whole book would be a 4. If you love Alabama then you're looking at a 5 stars. Reading what these families went through is heartbreaking. It gave me a reason to understand how my daughter fell in love with UA.

[Matthew Stetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Perfect mixture of the tornado, how it effected Bama and the families that lost family members, history of Bama football and the SEC, and Nick Saban biographical details and stories. Easy read too.

[Sue Perkinson Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great but sad true story

[Mariellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roll Tide!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even a bulldog fan can’t stop rooting for team Alabama while reading this book.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most inspiring, feel sad, feel good stories I have ever read. I am not a football fan, but sincerely.....roll Tide!

[Lucas Wooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of true, tragic and victorious stories that will grip you. I am an Alabamian who lived through April 27th and had friends and family affected and killed. I felt like the book did a great job of describing the situation without being grossly detailed. The weather intrigued me more than the football talk, but the tie between the two is very interesting.

[Mary Shafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm no big sports fan, but I have been reading other books about the Tuscaloosa tornado of April 27, 2011. I went storm chasing two months later for the first time, and the tour group I go with was down in Joplin when that big one hit in between, and I wanted to learn more. But this book is unique in that it does cover the storm a bit, but more it's about the recovery from the storm, and the very large part that Tuscaloosa's pride and joy, the Crimson Tide, played in it. And apparently still plays in it, as the city continues to recover.

I kept thinking while I was reading this amazingly well-researched account of all the stuff that gets left out, depending on the angle one takes. I'd read two other books on this storm and seen several interviews of some of the people mentioned in this story on The Weather Channel's "Storm Stories" segments. But this book just fills in so many of those gaps and gives the real human story that none of those other formats was able to capture.

Very well written, sensitively so, and a really interesting angle on the whole story. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in this particular tornado disaster, storm stories in general, or fans of the Tide. You can't walk away from this book unscathed yourself. And that's a huge compliment to the author.

[Sean Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is touching, detailed, and interesting account of the horrific twister that ripped through Tuscaloosa and the impact Alabama football has on the state and the town. I was impressed by the emotion Anderson evokes in the Tuscaloosa residents but the more of this book I read, the more it became evident that evoking emotion on the topic of a) Football and b) Twisters is pretty easy. Sentiments about these two subjects never sit too far beneath the surface as they are such a common thread of life in the Yellowhammer state. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Nick Saban throughout the novel. He comes across quite often as aloof and difficult to know, but he made some generous, thoughtful, and touching gestures to players, former players, and complete strangers in the aftermath of the tornado. While I admit to cheering for the Tide in pretty much any NCAA sport, I also believe that you don't have to be an Alabama fan to enjoy this book.

[Katrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction account of a devastating tornado that rocked the college (University of Alabama) town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2011. The writing was solid but I was surprised by the lack of objectivity by Anderson, clearly a fan of U of A football. It is understandable that alumni, students and townies are over-the-top fans of Coach Saban, but it appears that Anderson believes Saban "walks on water" too. Some of the paragraphs in this book are cringe-worthy because of unabashed hero worship of Saban and his players. Geeze, the coach and the players helped in the post tornado recovery effort by handing out Gatorade, providing clothing, signing autographs and EVEN talking to the town people. Amazing! The story just isn't that compelling to deserve a book....a book on U of A football, sure, but not this.

[Kelly Cowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book concentrates on several individuals that are linked to the University of Alabama through being students, former football players or some other connection. The book tells how their lives were changed by the storm. Several of the featured individuals lost family members or close friends in the storm. The book tells of how these people were able to cope with their losses and follows their lives for several years. The book also profiles Nick Saban and how he became the Alabama coach. It tells of his life as a young man, his relationship with his father and how he met Miss Terry. I thought the book was great!

[Samantha Gunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Having lived in Tuscaloosa and being in town on April 27, 2011, it touched me on a level that many other people may not truly understand not having been there. Plus, I'm such a big Alabama fan, that I'll read just about anything involving Alabama football! I love that the book featured stories of people that weren't as well known along with how the Crimson Tide athletes helped to come together and rebuild the town and the spirit of Tuscaloosa. It's something I feel so strongly about that I wrote an article for USA Today's College blog.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Storm and the Tide....

It took me several months to read and finish this book. It was not fun easy reading. As a parent I can only imagine the heartbreak. As a football fan with limited understanding of the game I was filled with pride. My heart aches for the town of Tuscaloosa and swells with pride at the same time. ROLL TIDE!

[Russell Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely difficult book to read for anyone who lived in Alabama on April 27, 2011.

This is a superb read. I don't usually love sports journalism, but this book is astonishingly powerful.

If you care about Alabama football, the events of April 27, 2011, or even just life, family, and surviving, this book is for you.

I highly recommend it.

[Martha Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an emotional recount of how the tornado of 4/27/11 changed the lives of many by leaving a path of death and destruction through Tuscaloosa and how the hope and determination to help in any way possible by the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and coach Nick Saban helped the town to heal and rebuild. The story is well written and a must read for any Crimson Tide fan.

[bethany m. planton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The personal stories from those involved in the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa on April 27th, 2011, are powerful and inspiring. Unfortunately, this book does not do them justice. The writing is very poor and really took away from the story. This book should pull at the emotional heartstrings, but it just doesn't.

[Becky Hardesty · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a parent of a student who was there, this brings back so many memories. The people of Tuscaloosa didn't ask for help, didn't play the pity card, they just rolled up there sleeves and fought back. The book does a great job of showing the true spirit of the Crimson Tide.

[Carla Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lars Anderson's "The Storm and the Tide" is a difficult but beautiful read that reminds us of the power of sports to unite a community.

[Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I have read in a long time. Very emotional and heart breaking.