Drive around central and southern New England, and you may catch a glimpse of some small signs posted in a range of about 6 to 10 feet above the road surface. Or they could be placed even higher. These simple "1938" markers may be attached to poles, bridges or the sides of buildings. Maybe the words "High Water" will be added as a further definition.

Every region has had its share of historic storms. The Great Hurricane of 1938 is one that belongs to Long Island and to New England. Its effects can still be seen and felt today.

First, author Cherie Burns reminds us that weather forecasting and news reporting wasn't as advanced a century ago as it is now. She states the obvious. No satellites tracked this disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean in September 1938. No forecasters predicted anything other than "heavy rain" for the area. Besides, as the residents of New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts were quick to tell you back then: Hurricanes didn't ever come this way. No one was preparing for bad weather. Some folks were spending their day near the beaches. Others were paying closer attention instead to the radio news out of Europe. Over there, the ingredients for a new war seemed to be gaining momentum.

This book immediately reminded me of David McCullough's The Johnstown Flood. In both instances, the stages are set as soon as we are introduced to key individuals and to key families who are located at key points in the geography. When the storm hits, and as the water rises, we continue to follow these folks. We witness how they deal with, or how they don't deal with, the unexpected and life-threatening situations that come their way. And after the surges subside, we hear the rest of their stories, and we learn whether or not our new friends survived. Both books include graphic narratives of attempts to swim in debris-laden waters, as well as devastating views of great loss of lives and homes. Both books obviously rely heavily on first-person accounts to create the wider pictures of the disasters. By comparison, the Great Hurricane of 1938 affected far more territory and far more people than the Johnstown Flood of 1889 did. The hurricane also had more wind and water at its disposal, in order to wreak its widespread havoc. Still, these are both important histories to know. They provide good reminder lessons in the power of wind and water. They are also stories of human resiliency, and in many cases, outright good luck.

I chose to listen to the CD set for this book. Anna Fields does a decent job at narrating the tragic text.

If you live in the northeastern United States, then you need to know something about the Great Hurricane of 1938. This book can help you fill in the blanks. All along, readers and listeners are left to consider: (a) How could ANYONE live through this crisis? and (b) Surely, this disaster would never happen this way again. We have advanced warnings, and people would move inland and out of the path of the storm, well ahead of time. Well, maybe. Hopefully. With climate change and storms increasing in both frequency and strength, our future may include ever more situations like these. And if you're still in the mood for similar stories, don't forget to read Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, & the Deadliest Hurricane in History, by Erik Larson. Here, you'll be transported to Galveston, Texas, in September 1900. Hang on to your hat.