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Read what the book reviewers are saying:

From Dallas Morning News:

The author, a former White House correspondent, grew up in Tahlequah, Okla., where sweeping the dust and snakes out of her grandmother's storm cellar was a spring ritual. She has both the broad perspective and the narrow focus and narrative skill to keep several stories rolling forward at once, like the braided vortices of a big tornado. One of the most intriguing is that of Tetsuya Fujita, a brilliant Japanese scientist who saw similarities between A-bomb damage at Hiroshima and the pattern of destruction left by severe storms. Almost everything we know about tornadoes was discovered or surmised by Dr. Fujita, who didn't witness a live tornado until late in his life. But he left us the Fujita Scale, the yardstick by which we measure the destructive power of these storms. The book is crowded, like one of those country crossroads where on a spring afternoon storm chasers, scientists and reporters all come together to probe, study, measure or just gawk at a passing storm. There are lessons to be learned: Forewarned is forearmed. Read the entire review here.

From Booklist:

On May 3, 1999, a staggering number of tornados--almost 70 of them--touched down in Oklahoma, wiping out more than 10,000 homes and causing at least $1 billion in damage. One tornado, a mile wide or more, generated the fastest winds ever recorded on the earth's surface. The author, a native Oklahoman, takes us back to that terrible day, and--through interviews with survivors, meteorologists, and others--makes us feel as though we are right there in the midst of the holocaust. Comparisons to The Perfect Storm are sure to be bandied about, but it's important to remember that while Sebastian Junger relied on invented dialogue and dramatic license, Mathis was able to speak to the people who lived through the disaster, and her re-creations ring more clearly of the unvarnished truth. The current fascination with big-weather events almost guarantees the book a wide audience, and that's fine: it deserves one. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Publishers Weekly :

On May 3, 1999, a series of 71 tornadoes blasted Oklahoma. The biggest of them all spanned a mile—making it the largest in recorded history—and delivered ground-level winds of over 300 mph. In her exhaustively researched book, journalist Mathis brings the Tornado Alley calamity to life. A native Sooner who spent many hours crouching in fear in her grandmother's root cellar, Mathis has a visceral connection to the region and its heavy weather that she supplements with the expert use of interviews and historical research. Mathis introduces readers to the slow development of weather science, to the families of the victims and to such unique individuals as Tetsuya Fujita and his Fujita Scale for measuring tornado strength. Although her initial, century-spanning onslaught of science and characters can be overwhelming, the story lines eventually coalesce, and by the time the tornadoes touch down on or near Oklahoma City, the reader is engrossed. In an era of Weather Channel "Torn Porn," tornado chasers and even "tornado tours" at $3,000 per person, Mathis has written a book that helps readers locate the story behind the spectacle. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publisher: Touchstone
ISBN-13: 9780743280532 0-7432-8053-9
$24.00 hardcover
$29.99 in Canada