Kindle
$14.24
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$28.67
Paperback
$14.99
Buy new:
$28.67
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14
Ships from: Honest Bookstore
Sold by: Honest Bookstore
$28.67
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14. Details
Or fastest delivery May 7 - 9. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$28.67 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$28.67
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Honest Bookstore
Ships from
Honest Bookstore
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$26.00
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Minimal wear, underlining/writing on a few pages. Minimal wear, underlining/writing on a few pages. See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 9. Order within 10 hrs 8 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$28.67 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$28.67
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Willie Drye
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (Adventure Press) Hardcover – August 1, 2002

by Willie Drye (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 135 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$28.67","priceAmount":28.67,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"28","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"67","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"giQ2csW9PkgIgnKVkoo76xFpigLT7Jr2tysWE6RZEGi2bzbwn0Xh77s06pLWZcUlibWVbN4sOeggAEFUGt%2FwBp%2FoL%2F%2BioK1DbjqgO787YVPFKQMjB0NuBl%2B%2Bb4ryq2X2Xy2yOqT5e%2FSF4Nzr4GKKPlpIu9fgRcCriO5wtdF2JFJqMd0ck4njP41p6H%2FAzT37","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$26.00","priceAmount":26.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"26","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"giQ2csW9PkgIgnKVkoo76xFpigLT7Jr2dOxGm5PLJ05liH1e5SmSUeYFFhCjuCgEgvJ%2FbYLkqwgRb6rnAe0o8GIlJ1DWQeqgDgmtWoUv3ulLXJBVKk9jwo2KBMQ9Uma%2B5hpeLrIm7S%2BHNqn1O%2FOqfgheY%2F5qETt5GV1MLo2UHr7D6%2FcKX6XoPOT4e5s7n7ck","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

A gripping chronicle of the most powerful hurricane to ever hit the United States and its devastating aftermath details the fiercest storm of September 1935 from the perspectives of survivors of the storm, Federal Emergency Relief Administration employees, and government officials.
Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Adventure Press
  2. Print length
    320 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    National Geographic
  5. Publication date
    August 1, 2002
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0792280105
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0792280101
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (Adventure Press)
$28.67
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Honest Bookstore.
+
A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes
$13.61
Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Legacy Books & Media and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On Labor Day in 1935, a hurricane that produced the record low barometric pressure reading of 26.35 inches hit Florida's upper Keys, destroying virtually everything in its path. In his meticulously researched work, Drye gives a vivid, detailed account of the storm's approach and impact when it made landfall. Drye was drawn to the story of the unnamed hurricane not only because of its intensity, but also because it killed nearly 260 World War I veterans who were building a highway as part of a federal construction program. Living in flimsy huts built in low-lying areas, the veterans' only chance to survive the storm was evacuation, a move officials were too slow to order. The first two-thirds of the book, which includes a terrific description of the Keys around the turn of the century (when Key West was Florida's largest city), is especially gripping, punctuated with first-hand survivor accounts of the storm's fury. Responsibility for the deaths of the veterans became a political football, and the blatantly partisan investigation that ensued will have a timeless resonance for followers of American politics. But Drye overreaches when he suggests that full disclosure about the disaster could have caused problems for FDR's reelection bid; the author is on far safer ground as a weather historian than as a political commentator. (Sept.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The Labor Day hurricane of 1935, which ravaged the Florida Keys, was the most devastating hurricane to ever hit the U.S. In the Keys at the time were hundreds of World War I veterans, sent to build bridges as part of Roosevelt's New Deal program to provide government-funded work for those left destitute by the Depression. The makeshift work camps were totally destroyed by the winds and storm surge, killing hundreds of workers who, through miscommunication or carelessness, were not evacuated by the federal agencies overseeing the work programs. With extensive depth, Drye covers the political fallout afterwards and the inquiries into the way the Roosevelt administration handled the crisis. Impressively, this account does not take the easy stance of vilifying those in charge but instead portrays them as all-too-human and naive about a hurricane's destructive potential. Drye tells many of the victims' and survivors' stories in painful detail, describing tragedy and danger scarcely imaginable. A powerful book that will leave a lasting impression on every reader. Gavin Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Geographic (August 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0792280105
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0792280101
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.34 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 135 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Willie Drye

Willie Drye

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Award-winning author and journalist Willie Drye's latest book, For Sale-American Paradise: How Our Nation Was Sold An Impossible Dream In Florida, won a 2016 IPPY Award Silver Medal for Best Nonfiction, Southeast Region. He also won the 2007 Charlie Award for Best Public Service Coverage from the Florida Magazine Association.

Drye is a contributing editor for National Geographic News and has written about hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and dozens of other topics. His stories about Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike set page-view records at NG News. His work also has been published in the Washington Post, Toronto Globe and Mail, and other regional and national publications.

Drye's first book, Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, was praised by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and others, and is regarded by many meteorologists as the definitive book about this tragic and fascinating event. The book was made into a documentary film by the History Channel titled "Nature's Fury: Storm of the Century."

Drye served in the US Army Medical Corps, earned an Honorable Discharge, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in North Carolina, where he divides his time between Plymouth and Wilmington.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
135 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ImageMD
5.0 out of 5 stars 1935 Destruction and Devastation in the Florida Keys
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
The ghost of the 1935 hurricane lives on in glitzy South Florida. The Woodlawn Cemetery memorial, the Islamorada memorial, the abandoned rusty railroad bridges along the Overseas Highway, all evidence the carnage of this event. The national uproar from the deaths of World War I veterans gives readers a unique view of FDR's first term and his uncanny ability to manage a narrative (and subsequent investigations) that might negatively impact his reelection campaign.
This book is a must read for residents of South Florida and the Keys, telling a story which cannot be repeated often enough, a story about the destructive power and devastation of nature.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Sarah Correia
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
I learned a lot reading this book about hurricanes, the Florida Keys and the hurricane of 1935. I'm a researcher so books that aren't well researched I just put down but I read this book almost straight through and will read it again.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
L. Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed and well-researched retelling of one of the worst storms to hit the US
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
Drye's experience as a journalist and writer combine to bring this true story to life 85 years later. A must read for anyone interested in hurricanes, history, veterans interest, government mishandling, and humanity in general.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Donald
4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed Look at a Horrific Event
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
I grew up in South Florida. Trips to “The Keys” were a joy. I remember fishing from the old 7-mile highway bridge, built on the original railroad bridge after the hurricane destroyed the railroad. I also went through several hurricanes. But even then, the Hurricane of 1935 was seen as cataclysmic. I sought to read first-hand details about that event. But envisioning it was a horror.

Storm Features at Landfall

• The storm surge reached 19 feet. (The sea level at the Upper and Middle Keys was 5-7 feet.)
• Sustained winds were 185 mph.
• With a barometric pressure of 892 millibars (26.34 inches), even today this storm remains the most intense U.S. landfalling Atlantic hurricane.

In Storm of the Century, author Willie Drye does an excellent job of recreating the background that led the veterans to the keys, the hurricane’s landfall with its tragic losses, and the aftermath of investigations and whitewashes. This period covered about four years. Drye concludes with a “where are they now” retrospective and a recent update on the area’s storm history.

The author’s thorough research leaves the reader well-informed. To provide first-hand details, Drye examined past newspapers and periodicals, and visited local libraries and archivists. He also interviewed survivors and relatives of those in the storm. His material is generously annotated at the book’s end, although not indexed within the text.

The Story

The book’s early stages focused on the Depression era “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans who demonstrated for an advance on their bonus payment for wartime service. These desperate individuals converged on Washington D.C. and erected a tent city. Their encampments became an embarrassment to the administration (Hoover’s and Roosevelt’s). A veterans work program in the Florida Keys could extract the demonstrators from Washington. So, the veterans were sent to the Keys to work on an “overseas highway,” a project they would never finish.

The Florida Keys in the 1930s were nothing like today. Facilities, transportation, and communications were primitive even by standards then. The main mode for remote travel was by train to Key West or South Florida via an overseas rail line. No connecting highway existed. The native population was sparse: probably under 1,000 outside of Key West. The storm’s target was Islamorada, a strip of land 20 miles long and, at its broadest point, no more than one mile wide.

In 1935, hurricane forecasters lacked weather satellites, hurricane reconnaissance aircraft, and technological equipment. Position reports originated from passing ships. A barometer could detect an approaching storm, but could not accurately predict its intensity or direction.

Additionally, administrators without hands-on experience were unlikely to be savvy about the tasks and durations needed for hurricane preparation and evacuation. These shortcomings would be exposed during this worst-case storm that changed its direction and rapidly intensified close to shore.

Worst off were the vets. Their camps were shoddily built and dangerously located. Lack of advance planning and bureaucratic inertia delayed their evacuation until it was too late. Over 400 people died; more than half, vets.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Nancy Farley
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
This was well researched and well told. I lived through several hurricanes while living in Florida. Anything under Cat 3 and I stayed.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Southern Sun
5.0 out of 5 stars Really fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is a really fascinating and well told narrative of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. It reads like fiction!
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
kathy dove
3.0 out of 5 stars Storm of the Century
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2013
Verified Purchase
Storm of the Century review

My husband is reading it. He was born in Key West so it is interesting to him.
Helpful
 Report
Jerome Hanson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story and vast information on Hurricanes in general
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2014
Verified Purchase
Very good read w/ strong history component. I particularly liked all the information on Hurricanes, some of the patterns local people look out for during Hurricane season, and known characteristics. I bought another copy and sent it to a friend that lives in Florida. Thought he would enjoy the story and he could use the information for his own benefit and safety.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Ric
5.0 out of 5 stars An astonishing report at one of the most tragic events in American history
Reviewed in Canada on May 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
I cannot sing the praises of this book often or loud enough. Mr. Drye’s attention to detail about the ‘35 hurricane that swept over 250 WWI veterans to their deaths is a heartbreaking yet necessary look at an event in history that is shamefully overlooked. Highly recommended.
Report
DAVID BRYSON
5.0 out of 5 stars NAMELESS NEMESIS
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2018
Verified Purchase
It was my interest in railways that led me recently to buy two vivid and absorbing books concerned with the railway over the Florida Keys that met its destruction on 2 September 1935. The destroying angel that visited Florida on that day has never to my knowledge had an official name like modern hurricanes, but it is still the most powerful wind ever known to have assaulted the USA. It dominates Les Standiford’s Last Train to Paradise; but that is still a book about the railway first and foremost. In Willie Drye’s Storm of the Century the railway is a vital part of the scene but not the main part. The Labor Day orgy of destruction takes up most of the book – that together with the actions (or lack of action) that deposited so many victims in its path; with the chains of miscommunication that hid the truth of what was happening; and with the squalid politics that then masqueraded as enquiries.

Willie Drye goes into some detail regarding the formation and development of hurricanes, while still denying that the full story of that phenomenon is completely understood. Their basic ‘fuel’ (a word he uses repeatedly) is warm sea-water; and another factor in the process – one that took me aback – is that in certain circumstances the winds can coil themselves around the central eye, so that the cloud formation is not actually very wide by hurricane standards, while the intensity of the winds is enormous and diabolical. That was the origin of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

We have to remember that wireless communications and meteorology were at 1935 levels. The author seems to imply that even with up-to-date technologies today prediction of a hurricane’s impending path is not a matter of absolute certainty. With our hurricane-monster still impending it sounds as if locals and experienced natives had a sense for the matter that science could not yet match. The distant weather bureau was doing its conscientious best in putting out weather advisories. These were as good as the state of the art allowed, which of course did not excuse them later from foolish charges of inaccuracy.

The Florida Keys are low coral islets, obviously prone to flooding in a region prone to hurricanes. As was alleged in Congress by the formidable New England Republican widow Mrs Rogers, they looked a convenient place to ‘park’ hundreds of WW1 veterans who were unemployed and demanding early payment of promised bonuses. They were an embarrassment to the new President and his New Deal, and the conditions of this ‘relegation’ were squalid in the extreme, something not always admitted, particularly not to the tenacious Mrs Rogers. However it was beginning to penetrate official consciousness that they ought to be moved out of the way of potential harm, whatever anyone chose to believe about the hurricane’s path. Well, the hurricane struck with a violence that nobody had ever experienced before, and the train supposedly being sent to rescue them had still not appeared. They had only their rickety cabins, which the storm smashed like matchwood: ‘residents’ homes fared little or no better; and Willie Drye’s account of the whole scene is almost as devastating to read about as it may have been to experience, if that can even be imagined.

The storm eventually moved on, but one further horror that gets the full treatment here is the nauseating condition of the cadavers, attacked immediately by the heat, the humidity and the blowflies. Drye is not rhetorical in his account of the so-called reports that descended into farcical attempts at denying human responsibility for the death and destruction, attributing all that to divine intervention. However clear ‘goodies’ and ‘ baddies’ appear through the murk of lies and prevarication. Mrs Rogers I have mentioned, and another worthy actor was the investigator David Kennamer. This pillar of integrity had pointed his finger at three federal officials, dismissing the Hand of God arguments with the contempt they clearly deserved. If he had had no party politics of any kind his inconvenient conclusions would no doubt have met with the same treatment as they hastily did, but for good measure Drye mentions that he had a long Republican pedigree.

Oddly, the most famous denizen of the Keys gets only a passing mention plus a quote from a short newspaper piece. It’s true of course that Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West, which had escaped the worst of it all, but, as Drye again points out, Hemingway was a Republican too, out of sympathy with Mr Roosevelt and his deals. What FDR knew about the plight of the vets and the way they were shunted to their death Drye doesn’t seem to take a position on. One is almost tempted to say that the conditions under which these brave and patriotic rejects were reduced to living for so long was not a lot better.
Report