Hurricane Camille: Monster Storm of the Gulf Coast

Rating:
Summary: Regrettable
Review: Amazingly, Philip Hearn managed to turn seventy oral histories about the most deadly storm in Mississippi's recent history into one of the worst books I've ever read. As a Mississippi native, I heard stories of Camille throughout my childhood. I was mesmerized by the ferocity of the storm and terrified by tales of her destruction. When the Seafood Industry Museum opened on Point Cadet in Biloxi, I was one of the first in line, and I still remember chills I had when viewing the documentary "Camille, She Was No Lady." I had the good fortune to spend my formative years in Wiggins and Perkinston, Mississippi; there I learned history at Charles Sullivan's knee. My father was a colleague of his at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and I spent most of my free time pestering Sullivan for stories as only a twelve-year-old fledgling historian can pester a hero. Both in and out of the classroom my "Mr. Charlie" taught me the importance of discovering our past. As anyone who has the honor of knowing Charles Sullivan will understand, his excitement and dedication changed my life, and made a true historian of me. I will never forget the first time I read Sullivan's (as yet unpublished) manuscript about his own experiences in Camille. Years after I read it I couldn't drive down Highway 90 without seeing ghostlike images of Camille's wrath superimposed on the new condominiums and casinos.

Now, twelve years later, I have completed my formal studies with Sullivan and greatly expanded my historical knowledge at the University of Southern Mississippi where I studied under Drs. Charles Bolton and Curtis Austin, directors of the Oral History Project. One afternoon I went over to McCain Library and listened to some of the histories that Hearn massacred. I laughed, cried, and finally sat in mute disbelief of the stories the survivors told.

As stated in his acknowledgements, Hearn utilized the same oral histories at USM, talked with Sullivan, and viewed the heartbreaking pictures of Camille's aftermath. Somehow he managed to remove all emotion from those captivating accounts. Hearn's prose feels rushed and scattered; his humor attempts to break the tension but is out of context and only manages to distract the reader. Fortunately, the author's choice of photographs is outstanding, but even they only serve to illuminate his uncomfortable prose. Unfortunately, Hearn's book is the only published history of Camille's destruction. It is regrettable that he ruined such a fascinating story.


Rating:
Summary: Been there, done that
Review: I was 13 yrs. old when Hurricane Camille slammed into and devastated the MS Gulf Coast in 1969. While I was not actually present on the coast but far inland we still got very high winds and damage. I also remember my Dad was among the many relief workers who went there to try to help. I ordered this book as soon as I found out it had been written, straight from the publisher. I thought it was a great read, and enjoyed it immensely, in fact I read it out loud to my husband while we were on a long road trip and he enjoyed it too. The author did a great job of describing exactly how hurricanes are formed in a clear, easy to read format. I enjoyed all the facts about previous hurricanes and how the word hurricane came to be. The stories by the survivors were more than just who died and who lived, it gave very good descriptions about what they went through to survive, i.e. holding on to something and floating out the window of your 3rd story apartment because the storm surge was 24 ft. high. You can still drive along the coast and see stairs and sidewalks that lead to nowhere even 35 yrs. later. I thought it was a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Very Poor Writing
Review: This is without a doubt one of the most poorly written books I have read in several years.


Tragedies such as Hurricane Camille involve so many unique individuals and communities that a writer should have no difficulty in capturing the interest and emotions of even the most casual reader. This book includes the stories of many such individuals. And yet, the presentation of these individuals is so lacking in cohesion that the reader becomes more consumed in trying to keep track of who is who than in the tragedy of their stories.


Part of the reason for this problem is the lack of depth provided by the author. Most of the survivors written about, the reader learns, have their homes flooded, lose valuable possessions (that they will no longer care about), survive by hanging on to a tree or large object, pray, and find they have lost someone in their family. True? Undoubtedly. Interesting? Not in the way that these people are portrayed. All of the stories are so similar that the reader quickly reaches the point that each reiteration brings a response of "Again? So what?" And that may be the saddest part of this book; human tragedy is reduced to being boring.


What the author fails to achieve in personality and depth, he makes up for in clichés. Concise and clear observations of events are rarely found...unless, of course, you want a history of every hurricane that has struck the Gulf Coast. This history the author feels is so important that he dedicates two chapters to the recitations; one chapter to document the loss of life for each storm and a second to document the loss of property.


As a resident of the Gulf Coast, a book such as this should hold considerable interest for me. Instead, it took me over two weeks to read the 195 small pages of narrative. I forced myself to finish just so I could justify the money that I spent.