Nonfiction Monday: Blizzard!

Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America. By Jim Murphy. 2000. Scholastic. 136 pages.

On Saturday, March 10, 1888, the weather from Maine on down to Maryland was clear and unusually warm.

Oh what a difference a day makes! Reading Blizzard! made me cold...and hungry...and thankful to be living in the modern world. Not that weather forecasters always get it right. Even now. But still. Jim Murphy's Blizzard! is about a great snowstorm--the great snowstorm of 1888. It's focus is mainly on the East Coast, mainly on New York City. Though the great storm was widespread--very widespread. Still, it seemed to hit bigger cities harder. Usually because these "modern" cities had grown more dependent on modern conveniences like daily deliveries.

What did I enjoy about this one? Many things. I found an interesting story, a well-crafted narrative that was engaging. It was rich in detail. (But not in a boring fact-heavy way.) I appreciated Murphy's research. He pulled together some interesting stories, and relied on many different primary materials. There was an immediacy to it that kept me turning pages. There were things that just amazed me. Of course there were parts of this one that were devastating. But. Bad things do happen. Especially in extreme situations like this one. I think the story that effected me most was the story of the Chapell family. It was personal stories like this one that made this one so compelling, so real.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews