Texas Disasters: True Stories Of Tragedy And Survival

True Stories of Tragedy and Survival

by Mike Cox

The enormity of Texas's many major disasters are an appropriate match for the state's large size. This is an area of the country where tornadoes are a frequent threat, but in addition to the many violent twisters, residents have experienced fires, floods, drought, blizzards, shipwrecks, and other devastating events, including a yellow fever epidemic in 1867, which earned that year the grim moniker "The Year of Death."

Twenty dramatic true stories are retold in this well-researched collection,
>The deadly quarter-mile-wide tornado that roared through the town of Goliad in 1902, killing 114 people, injuring 230, and demolishing 150 structures.
>A 1937 natural gas explosion at a school in New London, which blew the whole building into the air and killed 298 students and teachers.
>A 15-foot wall of water that in 1965 swept down the canyon in the West Texas railroad town of Sanderson, killing whole families but uniting the racially divided town in rescue efforts.
>The 1947 explosion of the SS Grandcamp , a French vessel docked in Texas City and laden with ammonium nitrate, which had caught fire and later ignited another ship carrying the same cargo. The two blasts killed 576 people, injured thousands more, and jarred residents of Houston 40 miles to the north.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

I am the author of 15 nonfiction books, the most recent being "Time of the Rangers" (New York: Forge Books, 2009), the second of my two-volume history of the Texas Rangers. Also just out is "Historic Photos of Texas Oil," (Nashville: Turner Publishing), a coffeetable book containing some 200 vintage photos from the oil patch. My other books include a study of Texas disasters, three other books on the Texas Rangers, one true crime story, a biography, a memoir and three local histories, as well as numerous magazine articles, essays and introductions for other books. I have been an elected member of the Texas Institute of Letters since 1993.

My byline regularly appears in a number of national and statewide magazines and I have been an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly 20 years, most of that time with the Austin American-Statesman.

Reviews

[CK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling about disastrous events throughout Texas history. It was easy to read and digest chapters, and it included fascinating eyewitness accounts that had me glued to the page.
It's the end of February 2021 and I picked this up during the state-wide power outages caused by the week-long snow/ice storm. If Mike Cox decides to come out with a second version at any point, I foresee Feb 2021 being an addition!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often reading historical accounts feel starkly impersonal because they simply deliver just the facts. But the stories told in this book are poignant and personal and give a different dimension into those who are typically rendered "the victims."

[Jason Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging look at disasters throughout Texas. The book includes hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, explosions, aviation disasters, and more. Author Mike Cox goes beyond the headlines and tells lesser-known stories and details about these events. Recommended.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides a short synopsis of representative disasters in Texas history : floods, hurricanes, pandemic (yellow fever), fire, chemical explosions, blizzards, airline crashes, etc.

The criteria for selection seems to be body count first, followed by those disasters whose after-action reports resulted in saving lives, such as the New London School explosion. Natural gas is inherently odorless, but after this tragedy now contains a sulfur-like smelling additive.

It was tough to read the chapter on Yellow Jack Fever, with an 80% mortality rate, during the recent H1N1 wave, however the overall style is breezy, expressing the tragic loss of life without dwelling on it.

Disaster response is part of my job duties, and I'd recommend this book for anyone else in the profession first, followed by those with an interest in Texas history.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid accounts of several early events I knew little about, such as the Yellow Fever outbreak of the 1800s, Ben Ficklin flood, Paris fire, and what happened to turn Indianola on the Gulf Coast into a ghost town. Chapters are fairly brief and easy to read. The book is must reading for Texas history buffs.

It also gives us perspective on our tendency to label every modern event as the "worst ever". Not always true, because our forbears often had it far worse and did more to help themselves and neighbors rather than depend too much on outside entities (i.e. federal government agencies such as FEMA). The heroes here are the lone early rescuers placing their lives in danger to brave the flood waters or burning building again and again to bring out one more soul.

[Jan Pelosi · Rating 5 out of 5]

You probably have to either be a Native Texan or a Texan by choice to find interest in this subject matter. As a Native Texan, I loved it. I found the stories to be interesting and pretty amazing. Some I knew a lot about, some I knew a little about, and some I didn't know anything about.

Hope Santa brings me a copy for my personal library.

Good job, Mike Cox.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this at my local library and gobbled it up last night. Some of the disaaters will bring a tear to your eye. I was particularly interested in the 1900 storm that hit Galveston but this book didn't include any details my other books didn't. Excellent photographs.

[Ellen C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about many different Texas tragedies and disasters. I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for an interesting Texas history book because of its wide variety of diffferent stories.

[Sarah Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like true stories, I like Texas, I like disaster and survival stories. I like short reads. This book has all of that.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it so much I might have to read his disasters-in-other states books, although they won't be as immediate to me as the Texas ones.

[Stephen Journeay · Rating 3 out of 5]

February 2016. Well told, some stories that I had heard, others were new to me. .

[Storhm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. lots of info.