It is impossible for those of us who live in mild regions to imagine a storm like the blizzard of 1888, as described by David Laskin in this book. After 5 years in Iowa and 18 in upstate New York, I still can't grasp the ferocity of weather that attacked the Dakotas and other prairie regions in this famous blizzard. Laura Ingalls Wilder actually does a much better job of describing life with constant blizzards in The Long Winter. Laskin spends too much time for my taste on technical weather facts and the ins-and-outs of the Signal Corps. The book is titled The Children's Blizzard because of the hundred or so children who were lost in the blizzard on their way home from school. I'd rather have read more about the families and less about "the vagaries of forecasting." Still, this is an interesting book, which potentially could have been a fascinating book (and might be for someone who is interested in the technical parts of weather).
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