The Blizzard of '78

by Michael J. Tougias

New England was knocked to its knees on February 6th and 7th, 1978, by the incredible snow and wind referred to locally as the worst storm of the century, and this history combines stunning photographs with riveting text to reawaken memories of the "Blizzard of '78." Chronicling the period before the storm, the book then follows it through its progression, as it caused commuter nightmares and wreaked devastation. From Cape Cod to Connecticut, from Rhode island to Route 128, it explains how people survived the storm by spending more than 48 hours in their cars, and how coastal homes were torn from their foundations and smashed to smithereens by the vicious surf. The book records the brighter sides of the blizzard too, including neighborhood parties, cross-country skiing down abandoned highways, and the many ways that people pitched in to help total strangers. Intriguing analysis also compares the Blizzard of '78 with the Great Blizzard of 1888. This book will be cherished by anyone who survived the Blizzard of '78, as well as those spellbound by its legend.

Genres: History, Survival, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

True Survival, rescue and history is the topic of most of my books. that runs through most of my books. My latest book is with St. Martins Press and is titled In Deep Water: A True Story of Sharks, Survival and Courage. Other nonfiction sea survival and rescue books include Overboard! A Storm Too Soon, Rescue of the Bounty, Fatal Forecast and Ten Hours Until Dawn.
Disney made a major motion picture of my book The Finest Hours: The Trues Story of the Coast Guard's Greatest Rescue (Disney kept the same title). The movie stars Chris Pine an Casey Affleck and is a fantastic film.
My co-written history books include So Clost To Home (about surviving a Uboat attack in the Gulf of Mexico), Above & Beyond (the untold story of the Cuban Missile Crisis) King Philip's War (Native Americans vs Colonists) Abandon Ship (wwii) and several more
Another adventure for me is publishing a funny family memoir with my daughter, called The Cringe Chronicles (Mortifying Misadventures with my Dad).
My friends were been asking if I'll write a sequel to There's a Porcupine in my Outhouse (2003 Outdoor Book of the Year) and I suprised them with another book of misadventures titled The Power of Positive Fishing: A Story of Friendship and the Quest for Happiness. Also in the same category is The Waters Between Us: A Boy, A Father and Outdoor Misadventures.

Reviews

[Will G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictorial history of the storm I've been hearing about all my life from the older folks in my family. I have to say, from this book, it must have been an impressive storm. It also sort of makes the case that weather forecasting has come a long way since then. Glad I don't live where winter brings these kinds of events...

[W Swen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This super quick read covers the progression of the storm to the clean up. No stories, just statements. Loads of pictures. No Dunkin’.

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is only 126 pages and mostly pictures. Sadly, most/all of the pictures are poorly reproduced - sort of like photocopies of photocopies of photocopies, etc....Our library just got a copy of the book, which is how I came upon it - it was originally (I'm guessing self-) published back in 2001, which may explain the poor quality of the pictures. I read it in less than 2 hours, and it's definitely worth a read for the memories. I've awarded it ⭐⭐⭐⭐, not because it was all that well written, but because of all those memories.

[Robyn Obermeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome memories and how ironic I picked this book up at library the day before another Nor'Easter Jan4 2018!

[Charlie Newfell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview, focused on photographs of the Blizzard of '78. Brought a little too much back to my memory!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if anything will be written about the historic snows of the winter of 2015?

I saw this on the shelf at the Hollis Social Library and decided that my warped sense of humor would be served by reading it now. My recollection of the Blizzard of 78 is that we had no school for a whole week in my final year of high school, and no electricity for four days. My sister and brother-in-law cross country skied in the streets of Boston, helping their neighbors who needed food and medicine.

I'll definitely keep reading books by Michael Tougias.

[Ed Lavalette]

Not as descriptive as "Ten Hours" with regards to the storm but some of the photo's were interesting.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos and narrative of this incredible event. Thank goodness for improvements in weather forecasting!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures were great, but I wish there was more narrative.