Blizzard!! The Great White Hurricane

by Timothy Minnich, Siri Shaw (Editor)

THE BLIZZARD OF 1888, legendary in the annals of American weather history, was among the most ferocious winter storms ever to pound the Northeast. Many hundreds of people perished on land and sea during its three-day reign of terror, including some 200 in New York City alone – ground-zero for this storm. In his debut novel, Tim Minnich paints a vibrant New York City landscape in the weeks leading up to what has been coined "The Great White Hurricane." Bound to fascinate weather enthusiasts, history buffs, and general readers alike, Minnich captures the suspense which culminates in this awesome display of nature, all while vividly depicting life in late Nineteenth Century Manhattan.On Sunday evening March 11th, the denizens of this great metropolis go to sleep completely unaware they'd be awakening to a howling blizzard. All except for young William Roebling, a brilliant meteorologist recently transferred to the New York Office of the US Army's fledgling Signal Service Corps – the agency responsible for the nation's first weather forecasts. Will has painstakingly developed an ingenious system allowing him to predict this historic event days in advance, but his unconvinced Commanding Officer, for political reasons, orders his silence. A conflicted Will feels he must alert his loved ones, and does – only to find himself in a battle for his life at the height of the storm.Minnich deftly combines the drama and excitement of the blizzard with its profound impact on those unfortunate enough to have been caught in its path, simultaneously weaving an engaging tale of true love, faith, and the indomitable human spirit.

424 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 24, 2019

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a load of junk. This was a romance novel where the first 300 pages are for a girl he (SPOILERS) finally dumps. Then some Blizzard story, then more romance novel. The characters are very one dimensional, every conflict is easily solved. There is almost no science discussed for a book about the creator of the modern forecast system. His landlady is the perfect therapist, psychic, intuitive meddling do-gooder, who should have sense enough to stay home. Roebling is set to be the story’s hero, yet he blunders the biggest issue; letting people know there is a monster blizzard coming.
Actually, it was the entire Army forecasters who dropped that ball. The blizzard swept through the mid-west first, as they knew, and was headed for the largest city in the USA with no warning to the people who lived there. I hoped this book would address that. It did not.
If you hope for a history book, you will not get one. If you want a 481 page clean, childish, romance novel you won’t enjoy buy now.
It was written in clear English and was fairly well edited. It has that going for it.

[Robert Scotto]

By Far the Best Blizzard of ’88 Book

Blizzard! The Great White Hurricane is an awesome read. Set in New York City, it brings to life, in accurate historical detail, the late 19th century societal impact from what truly was an unexpected, extraordinary, but natural extreme weather event. The development of the character Will Roebling, a young, but brilliant weather forecaster, is captivating. Feeling "alone on an island," Roebling struggles with the realization as being the only one who truly knows the magnitude of the approaching storm. In Roebling’s character, what comes to life is the psychological stress and associated guilt of not having the authority or position to warn City residents of the approaching disaster. Similar to the "Perfect Storm," I hope this novel gets picked up as the basis for a screen play for what I believe could be made into a blockbuster movie thriller. RLS, Freehold, NJ

[Robert Feller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to imagine being there during the storm as a result of the descriptive writing of the author. Not only was the book well written but the subject captured me and I had a hard time taking a break from the book. I got so involved with the characters in the book that I wanted to start yelling at people to listen up and start taking the storm seriously. The book is a novel yet based upon actual events and that type storm could happen all over again if the weather patterns converge as happened in 1888. With the capabilities of computerized special effects, this could be a real block buster movie if it ever gets to the silver screen and I hope that it does.

[J.J. Lair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fiction book using some real people and real events. I was immediately interested in Kira’s and Will’s relationship. Mrs. D is a complex character not a standard busybody landlord. We have these relatable people before the storm hits. From the setup, I began to wonder how and when such a storm could hit. Then it does. I can see the damage. I can feel the cold. I can see the lost people. The writer gives us details into all aspects.
The writer takes us through a disaster and relationships among the people.
Read everything even the afterward because I grew to care about the effects this had on their lives.

[Aleta J · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun read

This wasn’t as much about the blizzard as I expected. More like a romance novel set in the blizzard. Kind of silly. Some historical favorites, but a lot of made up personal conversations between characters. Still a fun story, even if it made me roll my eyes a bit.

[Edward Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing tale of the power of Mother Nature and the human drama that surrounded the poor folks who were caught up in this amazing storm. Great read!