A World Turned Over: A Killer Tornado and the Lives It Changed Forever

I would like to make two comments about this book. Most important, it is powerful, beautiful, and interesting, and is a great example of literary reporting, as well as memoir. My second comment is to express my anger at the amazingly ill-informed and inaccurate comments made by "a reader from Arlington, Virginia," who saw fit to give the lowest rating possible to a book that, by all appearances, he or she has not even read. The comment that it is "poorly researched" could not be further from the truth, and his condescending suggestion that the author should have made use of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History makes him look like a fool, since that institution was cited as a source of information, as was the Eudora Welty Library. The reviewer is right that the town of "Byram" is not spelled correctly, though his argument is rather deflated in light of the fact that he cannot correctly spell the word "rectified" himself. There are many Jackson natives that would take issue with his assertion that there is not a single live oak tree in Jackson. One of the most amazingly ignorant "criticisms" is that "there were very few eyewitness interviews in the book"-----There were more than twenty. Even more outrageous is the claim that there is "very little on the impact the event had upon the community of South Jackson." (sic) In reality, this impact is the subject of the ENTIRE BOOK. It's unfortunate that this person's careless reading was translated into a review. Listen instead to The New York Times, which praised A World Turned Over and called it "lush" and "evocative."

The least discussed facet of grieving in our culture--that you don't get over it, that it doesn't go away, that you carry it to your grave, that those we have lost actually are still with us, is illuminated in this book with shining humanity, truth-drenched prose and rich description. Lorian Hemingway has dug way way way below the surface to pull out deep truths about people, tragedy, loss, renewal and survival and managed to avoid the triumphant ending other authors seem never to have been able to resist. A gripping read which will haunt you long after you've finished it.

First of all, I am shocked and disappointed to see the error-ridden and ill-thought review of this book from Mr. Rubendall. I wonder if it is even possible that he read the book, and if he did, how he did not "get it." Actually he is right on one count, which is that if you are hoping to read the cliche-filled, formulaic, "straightforward" examples of "disaster books" with which he is so enamored, this book is not for you. If, however, you are interested in a book that powerfully, lyrically, and with great compassion describes a tragedy that has been ongoing in the minds and lives of a group of small-town Americans for more than thirty years, A World Turned Over will not disappoint. It is in the same league as John Hersey's Hiroshima. Highly recommended.

I found this book to be fascinating as well as compelling. As a survivor of a terrible tornado that hit Wichita Falls, Texas in 1979, I could relate with the author's quest to find out how the Jackson, Mississippi tornado had impacted the lives of the survivors there. Lorian Hemingway has done a terrific job of presenting a painful subject with grace and compassion.

I just met the author of "a World turned Over: A killer tornado and the lives it changed forever". She gave a reading at the university of washington bookstore. the great thing about this book is it does not follow the disaster formula that so many books do when they tell the story of a tragedy. She focuses on the people that were impacted by this horrific event and has a legitimate reason for writing this story because she moved from the area just three weeks before the tornado struck.The book dosen't rush into the story of the tornado. It takes its time developing mataphors of war and the civil rights movement and than weaves them into the story of tornado. The author interviews people with such respect and compassion that I can understand why people wanted to speak with her. Above all she is a great writer.