Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud
In the months after the May 22, 2011, the city of Joplin, Missouri, earned a reputation for the admirable way in which it handled the death and destruction from the worst tornado to hit the United States in six decades.
Those who watched television or read internet or newspaper accounts in the days after the tornado became familiar with names like City Manager Mark Rohr, Mayor Mike Woolston, and School Superintendent C. J. Huff. Often they were referred to as heroes of the Joplin Tornado.
Those heroes had feet of clay, as those who read my new book, Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud: Greed, Corruption, and the Joplin Tornado, will discover when the book is published next month.
The book begins with each of these people and what they were doing when the tornado hit and follows their activities over the next four years.
During that time, the city manager was fired, the superintendent became the object of a public movement to have him suffer the same fate, and the mayor, now serving as a city councilman, is accused of using his position and insider knowledge to benefit his business partner.
The book also follows a Texas businessman who conned Joplin leaders into thinking he would be their savior as the master developer of the tornado-stricken area and ended up taking the city for a ride.
What started with considerable hype about how Joplin had the right leaders in place at the right time has ended up as a cautionary tale of how not to rebuild a city and a school district.
The book is based on interviews, court documents, recordings, videos, and in some sections in the book, on personal knowledge, since I have played a role in a portion of the events that have taken place in the last two years.
I will reveal more information about the book during the next few weeks and I will be happy to answer any questions anyone may have about it at Goodreads' Ask the Author area.
Those who watched television or read internet or newspaper accounts in the days after the tornado became familiar with names like City Manager Mark Rohr, Mayor Mike Woolston, and School Superintendent C. J. Huff. Often they were referred to as heroes of the Joplin Tornado.
Those heroes had feet of clay, as those who read my new book, Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud: Greed, Corruption, and the Joplin Tornado, will discover when the book is published next month.
The book begins with each of these people and what they were doing when the tornado hit and follows their activities over the next four years.
During that time, the city manager was fired, the superintendent became the object of a public movement to have him suffer the same fate, and the mayor, now serving as a city councilman, is accused of using his position and insider knowledge to benefit his business partner.
The book also follows a Texas businessman who conned Joplin leaders into thinking he would be their savior as the master developer of the tornado-stricken area and ended up taking the city for a ride.
What started with considerable hype about how Joplin had the right leaders in place at the right time has ended up as a cautionary tale of how not to rebuild a city and a school district.
The book is based on interviews, court documents, recordings, videos, and in some sections in the book, on personal knowledge, since I have played a role in a portion of the events that have taken place in the last two years.
I will reveal more information about the book during the next few weeks and I will be happy to answer any questions anyone may have about it at Goodreads' Ask the Author area.
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