"The letters, memoirs, and oral histories collected in this volume allow the survivors to tell - in their own words - what they witnessed and experienced during the most catastrophic natural disaster ever to befall the United States. Seventy photographs of the storm's aftermath underscore the horror.".

"The days leading up to the storm were chronicled in a daily journal kept by Isaac M. Cline, local meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau. The volume editors have used these accounts to frame the letters that detail the storm that followed. The letters include one document written during the storm itself and another drafted in the immediate aftermath.".

"The letters and memoirs included in this volume not only provided catharsis to their writers but also left important documentation about the events for future generations. Oral history recordings made in the 1960s and 1970s provided further accounts given by survivors as they approached the end of their lives. Their descriptions stand as moving testimony to the enormity of the worst natural disaster Americans have ever experienced."--BOOK JACKET.