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19th out of 90 books
—
18 voters
August Gale: A Father and Daughter's Journey into the Storm
by
Barbara Walsh (Goodreads Author)
An award-winning journalist’s voyage into her family history and her quest to face the storms she encounters there.
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
October 18th 2011
by Globe Pequot
(first published August 9th 2011)
Win a Copy of This Book
August Gale: A Father and Daughter's Journey into the Storm
by Barbara Walsh (Goodreads Author)
Long before "The Perfect Storm" and Hurricane Sandy, the 1935 August Gale roared Northeast. The surf raged along the New York and New Jersey shores as…more
by Barbara Walsh (Goodreads Author)
Release
date: Jan 15, 2013
Long before "The Perfect Storm" and Hurricane Sandy, the 1935 August Gale roared Northeast. The surf raged along the New York and New Jersey shores as…more
Giveaway dates:
May 08
- Jun 08, 2013
3 copies
available,
106 people
requesting
Countries available:
US
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Sep 14, 2012
James Mowery
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to James by:
No one
This was a great book. The title August Gale is quite appropriate as many things happen in August. It is the birth month of the author and her father--both principle characters in the book; as well as the month that took the lives of the author's great uncle and three or his four sons. It is a book about a family tracing its routes and finding and renewing relationships that had long been relegated to the past.
No family I know was ever perfect, but in the author's, my own, and the families of my...more
No family I know was ever perfect, but in the author's, my own, and the families of my...more
I just finished August Gale: A Father and Daughter’s Journey into the Storm by Barbara Walsh. This is an outstanding book. Barbara Walsh has very skillfully meshed three related stories. First is that of the catastrophic 1935 gale that took the lives of 40 Newfoundland fishermen including her great-uncle “Paddy” Walsh and several of her cousins, second is the story of her grandfather Ambrose Walsh who had emigrated to NY from Newfoundland to start and later abandon his own family and third, the...more
Barbara Walsh has crafted a riveting piece of nonfiction by skillfully weaving two lines of parallel events within three generations of her family. The author's Pulitzer Prize-winning research skills are showcased in the narrative's historical accuracy and honesty. Her humanity and compassion ground the work somewhere closer to the heart, reinforcing the idea that we are all the sum of our experiences and our decisions. There are inherited traits and tendencies, but we each build our castle (or...more
This is one of the saddest and most moving stories I have read in quite a while. It recalls the effect a devastating and tragic hurricane that stuck Newfoundland in August 1935 and the cost to one family. The storm leaves the Walsh family in tatters. The husband, captain of a fishing schooner, and three sons lost to the storm, a brother of the lost captain learns of the storm and abandons his family.
The hopeful part is that, through the efforts of one member of the Walsh family, the entire story...more
The hopeful part is that, through the efforts of one member of the Walsh family, the entire story...more
Liked "August Gale," the interwoven stories of the 1935 hurricane that hit the east coast of Newfoundland, taking many dorrymen and captains, and the history of Walsh's father's family, especially the tales of Paddy Walsh and his children and grandchildren. The desertion of Ambrose, Walsh's grandfather, deeply scarred her father Ron, who bore the scars throughout his life.
Lots to learn about hard fishing and hard times in isolated places. And lots to think about regarding family "secrets" and co...more
Lots to learn about hard fishing and hard times in isolated places. And lots to think about regarding family "secrets" and co...more
I read several books in the biography/autobiography/memoir category in 2011, but the most well-written was certainly Walsh's tribute to her enigmatic great uncle, Paddy. This book gets you more bang for your buck, because it's actually two tales in one. Walsh traces the story of the August gale that rocked Newfoundland in 1935 and its momentous effect on the fishermen (one in particular) with painstaking historical accuracy, while also chronicling the present day saga of she and her father hot o...more
A great read for anyone who loves seafaring stories (a la The Perfect Storm) or has dug into their family history and enjoys a good genealogical hunt. Walsh transitions smoothly between the hurricane of the past and the turmoil her family faces while uncovering their own history. Pretty amazing to be able to trace the history to such a tight-knight community and be able to travel to the places that tie the past and present together. Really enjoyable and I highly recommend it.
My daughter and I love this book and have put it on the list for our book club to read in January. This book is unique in the way it was written which involves present day family and the families that have passed. We in particular loved reading about the fishermen and the lives that they chose to live. Passions about a chosen livelihood are rare there days and it made us cheer the men who work hard everyday to bring in the fish, plow the fields and work the farms.
Having spent over 30 years in the oceasn business, this book has the making of an epic "sea story." It is superbly written. The author has managed to detach herself from a story to whoch she is very much attached, to the benefit of the reader. The rich storytelling will appeal to those who are interested in the sea, as well as those who experience a test of faith in their own lives. It is a story of reconciliation and, ultimately, hope.
The gripping true story of a grand-daughter's search for the truth about her absent grandfather and the family he lost in the famous August gale in Newfoundland in August 1935. It chronicles her father's acceptance of her search and the resulting affects on the immediate and newly-found extended families as well as the stories of the lives of the men who lost their lives in 1935's devastating 'perfect storm'.
August Gale was written by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Barbara Walsh. The book weaves two stories: that of a deadly 1935 Newfoundland hurricane, in which her great-uncle and other family members were lost at sea, and that of her father, who struggles with the abandonment of his father at age 11. Very well-written and compelling.
I thoroughly enjoyed this heart wrenching memoir. Barbara Walsh skillfully interweaves three stories. She brings to life the Newfoundland fishing village of 1935 and the fateful gale, a father's inexplainable desertion of his family, and the effects of long ago events on a present day family. This book is a "page turner".
As this book moves back and forth through time in two parallel narratives of heartrending loss and family ties over a century, the imagined portrayals of these real seafaring Newfoundlanders and those who waited at home come to life most vividly.
I was really engaged by the "Gale" part of this book, less so by "memoir" sections. They were okay, but didn't catch my interest the way the storm did. I guess maybe Walsh's real strength lies in story-telling.
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Even though I didn't rate this book that highly, I was really glad I read it. I did have to take a break in the middle (which is unusual for me) but I am glad to have finished it. I think this would be of more interest to someone from Newfoundland. I found the descriptions of the fishing process interesting.
Poignant family story that interweaves personal history with vivid paintings of a lost era.
Local author!
Kept my interest about the way of life, fishing life and history of Newfoundland and Marystown.
my aunt wrote this book! Ronald Walsh is my grampa and patty is my great uncle. I liked it I found out a lot about my family I never knew! I would suggest it!
Loved reading this true life story by a Maine author. Also interesting that she grew up in Pelham NH, a town very familiar to me and my family.
Good book. Interesting family.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| great book | 2 | 7 | Sep 16, 2012 02:14pm |
Barbara Walsh is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who has worked for newspapers and magazines in Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, and Ireland. Sammy in the Sky was inspired by her family’s first dog, Sam, a loyal and loving hound who died in 2003. She is also the author of August Gale; A Father and Daughter’s Journey into the Storm, an adult biography and memoir book. Barbara Walsh lives in Maine...more
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Jun 03, 2012 10:57am