5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado

by Randy Turner

At 5:41 p.m. May 22, 2011, the deadliest single tornado to hit the United States in 60 years started ripping its way through Joplin, Missouri. By the time it completed its deadly course, 161 lives were lost and those who survived have stories they will tell for as long as they live.The 10th anniversary edition of 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado, features stories written by more than two dozen survivors, as well as reporting from award-winning reporter/photographer John Hacker, who currently writes for the Joplin Globe, and Randy Turner, a former reporter and editor for Missouri newspapers, who was teaching eighth grade English at Joplin East Middle School in 2011. The expanded anniversary edition also features more photos from the tornado and recovery period and complete obituaries of those who died in the is a book that details the tragedy of a violent storm that destroyed one-third of Joplin and the triumph of its residents who refused to give up and inspired the nation.

528 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 25, 2021

About the author

Randy Turner is a retired middle school English teacher and spent more than two decades as a journalist, earning more than 100 awards, including 30 for investigative reporting. He has written 16 books, including three novels and 13 non-fiction books,

Reviews

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good account of the human experience of Joplin. I do wish that a timeline of events and news accounts had been included to provide more background information, a map, etc.

[Mike Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous Book

A very complete book describing the storm, the damage, the rebuilding and the various citywide meetings from the school superintendent to the Governor, to the President of the United States. The city of Joplin had less than 3 months to enable school to start on time which was tough with half it’s facilities gone. A nice touch at the end of the book was the author included a tribute about each person who perished in the storm. So Joplin is moving on, but not forgetting it’s past or it’s people. I feel this is the best book on the Joplin event.

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I got this book because I’ve done so so so so many deep dives into the 2011 Joplin EF5 and something just doesn’t seem right maybe because I have family friends who live there during it but what worries me is that they had 2 tornado warnings and people ignored them hell I ignore the tornado sirens when there’s a tornado here .. this book and like 3 others I’ve read this is one of the good ones and actually makes you feel like you’re in the town when the tornado hit Joplin and the aftermath.