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The Children's Blizzard (P.S.) |  | Author: David Laskin
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
Buy Used: $1.61
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You Save: $12.38 (88%)
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Seller: _beaglebooks_
Rating:  71 reviews
Sales Rank: 39422
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0060520760
Dewey Decimal Number: 977.031
EAN: 9780060520762
ASIN: 0060520760
Publication Date: October 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780060520762 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
Thousands of impoverished Northern European immigrants were promised that the prairie offered "land, freedom, and hope." The disastrous blizzard of 1888 revealed that their free homestead was not a paradise but a hard, unforgiving place governed by natural forces they neither understood nor controlled, and America's heartland would never be the same. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
 Fast, compelling reading March 7, 2010
BeachReader (Delaware)
I read this book in just few hours, but must admit to skimming much of the meteorologic information and the drama about the forecasters.
But the rest of the book - the tales of struggle, death, and survival - gripped me and forced me to read every sad word. Laskin's compelling writing just pulled me into this awful story.
I could not help be reminded of David McCullough's "The Johnstown Flood" which I also finished in just hours. Both of these books made its tragedy so personal. Sad stories, indeed.
 Wonderful history on many levels December 8, 2009
Cathy Van Maren (Wisconsin)
I picked this book up at our local library and was really delighted by it. The story of the blizzard is very immediate and filled with details that make you feel as if you were there (brrr). But that's not all. The story of the immigrants is equally compelling; why they came, how they lived, how they survived. And the history of the National Weather Service's beginnings is also interesting. Another government program we couldn't live (literally) without. I took this book on a family trip this summer and ready many of the passages as we traveled. I've also recommended this book to several friends. Overall, a great and happy surprise.
A Sad Reminder September 18, 2009
D. Bell (Colorado)
What a sad book and even more so because it's true. The horrible way many of the children died during the blizzard of 1888 is shocking and would cause a public outcry today. It also chronicles the workings of then weather service and should make many today glad for the service they have. The pages contains a fascinating look at the history leading up to the event and makes a comment about how sparsely populated the prairie currently is. This book is a perfect complement to 'The Worst Hard Times' by Timothy Egan since it predates the events of the 1930s and gives more of a background of upper end of the future dust bowl. A must read for all history buffs and a painful reminder of what American ancestors endured to settled a part of the west. This reviewer, now wants to visit the town sites, even if they aren't there, to get a feel for the past most take for granted.
The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin September 17, 2009
D. H. Parker
As I was doing research for the fourth installment of my cozy mystery series (hereafter known as "Jig of Bones"), I ran across this book. It's not fiction. It's also not in any way fun to read. It's horrific, but I think it should be a part of every American's historical education. It is the story of a blizzard, followed by deep cold, that struck the Great Plains on January 11-13, 1888. The event is sometimes called the school children's blizzard because so many school children died in it. It came into being when several extreme weather conditions met, and literally exploded into the country from Canada.
The book weaves together the story of the weather that created the storm, the histories and eyewitness accounts of settlers who were affected, the actions of the only weather forecasting system available then (a department of the U.S. Army), and much more to give a fascinating and terrifying "you were there" look at this event.
I cannot imagine living like those early settlers lived, even on their good days. In comparison to them, most of us Americans now are a soft, spoiled, sometimes pathetic, bunch of whiners. I salute them and the determination to survive that they bequeathed to us as a nation.
Please get a copy of this book and read it-only you might want to wait until a very hot day, because it will chill you to the bone.
Well written, interesting, amazing American history July 30, 2009
katie
As a teacher I found this book very interesting for many reasons. Besides history, I also learned a lot about the effects of hypothermia and weather forecasting. I found the history of the plains and the people that lived there the most interesting and I could relate to the dilema the teachers and parents faced as the storm descended upon them so quickly. A fascinating American story which taught me a great deal, information I never knew before.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
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