Northeaster

A vivid and gripping story of an epic Maine snowstorm that tested the very limits of human endurance. A National BestsellerFor many, the past few years have been defined by climate disaster. Stories about once-in-a-lifetime hurricanes, floods, fires, droughts and even snowstorms are now commonplace. But dramatic weather events are not new andNortheaster,Cathie Pelletier’s breathtaking account of the 1952 snowstorm that blanketed New England, offers a valuable reminder about nature’s capacity for destruction as well as insight into the human instinct for preservation. Northeasterweaves togethera rich cast of characters whose lives were uprooted andendangeredby the storm. Housewives andlobstermen, loggersand soldierswere all trapped as snow piled in drifts twenty feet high. The storm smothered hundreds of travelers in their cars, covered entire towns, and broke ships in half. In the midst of the blizzard’s chaos, there were remarkableacts of heroism and courageous generosities. Doctors braved the storm to help deliver babies. Ordinary people kept their wits while buried in theircars, and others made their way out of forests to find kind-hearted strangers willing to take them in. It’s likely that none of us know how we would handle a confrontation with a blizzard or other natural disaster. ButNortheastershows that we have it inside to fight forsurvival insome of the harshest conditions that nature hasto offer.