first edition Hardcover
(c.1964) · New York
by Helm, Thomas
New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. Near Fine in Very Good+ dj. (c.1964). First Edition. Hardcover. [minor shelfwear, a nice clean book, agency label on ffep; jacket similarly nice, but the spine title (in red) has faded to near-unreadability]. In novelistic form, the author "tells the dramatic story of the life of [a] hurricane and the effect that it has on the lives of those unlucky enough to be caught in its vengeful path. Seamen on the Gulf, convicts escaped from a Florida prison camp, young lovers on a sailing picnic, inhabitants of the small town marked for death -- all will have their destinies changed by the unpredictable path of the storm." (The storm in the book is called Hurricane Clementine -- which still, to date, has apparently not been used as the name of an actual hurricane.) The New York Times reviewer cited its "rousing action-story style," and was impressed by the sheer volume of incident in the book: "In a rich profusion of detail, [the author] scatters disasters that could well have been the plots of several other adventure novels." I suspect that the book was bought more heavily by libraries than by the public, which could account for the current scarcity of non-ex-library copies in the marketplace. . (Inventory #: 24126)