Hemingway's Hurricane: The Great Florida Keys Storm of 1935

I've never had an interest in visiting the Florida Keys, nor truly understood the plight of post World War I veterans -- even though my grandfather had been one -- but with the publishing of Hemingway's Hurricane by Phil Scott, I found myself caring. I now want to visit the Keys and explore, where this amazing tragedy took place, and to see first-hand just what it meant to span approximately 130 miles of water and islands by both train track and roadway. Scott's book provides both the necessary exposition to pave the way, while building suspense for the pending storm, much like those of us in television land find ourselves checking cable channels for updates on where and when storms will hit in the present day. From the building of a rail line as early as 1912 (the year the Titanic sank), known as Flagler's Folly, all the way to Key West to the semi-permanent Hooverville encampments and Bonus Marches near the White House during the Depression years, which encompasses public dissatisfaction with the federal government (long before the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam Anti-War activities occupied our nation's attention), this book truly prepares the reader for nature's destructive force. Scott also manages to draw the reader in long before Ernest Hemingway enters the picture, but the Hemingway angle helps make a timely connection between gross negligence in 1935 and the equally unexpected results of 2005's Hurricane Katrina and the combined slow response from today's federal, state, and local governments. I always expect my high school English and journalism students to "extend the text" to seek connections and meaning outside of the printed pages. For this reason, I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about how our government operates. There are lessons to be learned here, even if the events took place 70 years ago. And although the book moves quickly, I find myself stopping to check one or both of the two maps detailing both the Florida Keys and placement of the work camps, plus I find myself delving into the internet to pursue further inquiry. I do this because Scott's narrative and depth of information has given me reason to care and explore further this fascinating true story.

I have read Mr. Scott's other books and although I enjoyed them I found "Hemingway's Hurricane" to be a moving story. Mr. Scott describes the historical aspect of what happened to the Keys during the 1935 hurricane but he goes one step further in that he actually introduces the reader to many of the men who lived and died during that hurricane. I caught myself holding my breath and hoping that the men I had met (Frenchy, Capt. Ed and the others) made it through the storm. Of course many of them didn't and as I read about the loss of their lives I became aware that this incident was very similar to what happened to the individuals who were in the South when Katrina hit. Due to the lack of government communication...lives were lost and that is the sad part of this entire story. I have to admit that I had never heard about this hurricane until I read Mr. Scott's book and I'm happy that he chose to share this story with the rest of us. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about history, the weather, and about mankind in general.

Mr. Scott's book is truly amazing. The way that he portrays these men in a humanistic way that makes you truly care for their plight and outraged by the actions of our government. The parallel to New Orleans is shocking and touching in times like these. A definite must read. Mr. Scott is reaching his stride in his writing and I can't wait for more like this one. Truly poignant portrayls of real figures from our history.

A wonderfully dramatic narrative about the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in the 20th century. What makes this more than a "disaster-of-the-year" book is the care with which Scott presents his real-life characters--most of whom down-on-their-luck WWI veterans who didn't have the means or clout to escape the oncoming storm--and the historical context in which he places them: Depression-era politics and bureaucracy, the plight of WWI veterans, the saga of trying to create transportation paths through the Florida Keys, and the grasping state of hurricane prediction at the time. This is a real page-turner, but one with lessons to tell.

Phil Scot tells a gripping tale few from my generation (X) have any knowledge of directly or by way of our history classes, or for that matter, popular culture. It would have served quite the cautionary tale for the 2005 hurricane season had it been released just a couple of months before it was. Now, it just seems even more foreboding in a different sense - how easily we forget our mistakes! Change the places and dates and this story almost feels like you are reading about Katrina and its aftermath. A terrible and destructive hurricane hits the Florida Keys in 1935. Then, like now, human and financial losses are made all the worse by poor planning and leadership and gross inaction before its landfall and worse still by government fumbling after the skies cleared--and it happened 70 years ago, caused an outcry nationwide, led to Congressional hearings and on and on. Another time, place and scale, but it's really the same story. The same story people who build on sand must needs forget it seems. Compelling, tragic, instructive and revealing, Hemingway's Hurricane gives fans of this great author and national treasure a unique glimpse at an event that reshaped the Keys and the nation's response to disasters, while seizing Hemingway's heart and mind and outrage. I'm surprised every person with two cents to share about the '05 hurricanes isn't thumping this book as their reference. Anybody moving back to Norlenz ought to pick up a copy. In fact, anyone from the Outer Banks to Galveston might want to take a moment and read Scot's book. Better still, the staff at FEMA should each get a copy for Christmas. Maybe, California's earthquake response teams, anybody near Mt. St. Helens and . . . well, you get the point. Just try not to forget it.