More than 150 historical photographs, many taken by survivors of the storm, capture the devastating impact of the 1938 hurricane on the Hamptons area of Long Island. Original.

The massive destruction wreaked by the Hurricane of 1938 dwarfed that of the Chicago Fire, the San Francisco Earthquake, and the Mississippi floods of 1927, making the storm the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Now, R.A. Scotti tells the story.

Prophetic fiction that is a warning of storms to come.

The thrilling story of the hurricane of 1938, the worst New England storm of the 20th century, as told by a reporter whose first day on the New Bedford waterfront was the day the storm blew in.

“Before there was the Perfect Storm, there was the Great Hurricane of 1938. A riveting and wonderfully written account.” —Nathaniel Philbrick On the night of September 21, 1938, news on the radio was full of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. There was no mention of any severe weather. By the time oceanfront residents noticed an ominous color in the sky, it was too late to escape. In an age before warning systems and the ubiquity of television, this unprecedented storm caught the Northeast off guard, obliterated coastal communities on Long Island and in New England, and killed nearly seven hundred people. The Great Hurricane, 1938 is a spellbinding hour-by-hour reconstruction of one of the most destructive and powerful storms ever to hit the United States. With riveting detail, Burns weaves together countless personal stories of loved ones lost and lives changed forever—from those of the Moore family, washed to sea on a raft formerly their attic floor, to Katharine Hepburn, holed up in her Connecticut mansion, watching her car take to the air like a bit of paper. “A very good book.” —The Washington Post

Founded in 1640 on the eastern end of Long Island, Southampton is New York's oldest English settlement. In its seaside scenes and structures, it still exudes importance and historicism. Nowhere is this grandeur more evident than among the residences associated with its original summer cottagers. Many of these splendid homes have graced the village's estate area since the 1880s and have been frequented by names still famous today, such as Gloria Vanderbilt and Henry Ford II. They survived Long Island's devastating hurricane in 1938 and witnessed the ebb and flow of trends in style, culture and design. Local author Sally Spanburgh uses her historical and architectural expertise to tell the stories behind the construction, preservation and lives of these historic structures, beginning with those found on the exclusive Gin Lane.

"In the tradition of The Great Gatsby and Mrs Dalloway, Samantha Bruce-Benjamin delivers a haunting and evocative insight into five minutes in the life of a celebrated Hamptons society hostess, set against the backdrop of The Great Hurricane of 1938. September 21st 1938, and at Serena Lyons' exquisite Hamptons estate, the footmen are serving vintage champagne, the orchestra is playing a favorite tune, and the house is lit so brightly it could almost be mistaken for a star in the distance. The occasion is the last party of the season at The Westhampton Leisure Hour and Supper Club and anybody who is anybody has turned out in force. All except for one. As her guests arrive, Serena watches from her bedroom window, searching for a face in the crowd: The Summer Visitor she has never forgotten ... Based on historical research about the Hamptons at the peak of its grandeur, the devastation that the 1938 hurricane wrought, and a real supper club called The Leisure Hour and Supper Club, Bruce-Benjamin spins a story that will remind readers of Rebecca or, more recently, Rules of Civility"--Back cover.