The Children Blizzard

The Children 's Blizzard

By David Laskin

(A Book Report

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The Children 's Blizzard

By David Laskin

(A Book Report

About the Author

David Laskin is an enthusiast of History . He has written several books about the weather history , the travels he made and his personal experiences that he encountered

as he was on his several journeys

Through his written works , Laskin won several awards in the year 2001 with the Washington State Book Award

Aside from being an author of his own books , Laskin is also known for his writing activities that are posted in the Wall Street Journal , The Washington Post and other readable magazines

Today , he is happily living with his wife Kate O 'Neil , who is a law professor and his three daughters in Seattle

About the Book

David Laskin 's Inspiration in writing the book on Children 's Blizzard during the year 1988 , came form an actual situation that happened during the said year . His enthusiasm in writing about the weather and how it deeply affects the lives of the people has made it possible for him to present the situation he was relating in such a realistic way

Although the author of the book has less knowledge of how the weather was being forecasted during those times , he was able to present the impact of the devastating natural disaster through relating the situation by using the views of the people who were actually there and were able to witness the situation

The researches that he has made have equipped the book with the accurate informations needed to assist the readers in understanding the even t both from a common and technical perspective

Summary of the Book

The Children 's Blizzard is based upon the actual weather crisis that happened during the year 1988 in Nebraska , Dakota and Minnesota . The said places were known for having a considerably fine climate all throughout the year . The children of the said states were naturally enjoying the place as they play along the streets of the said areas

1988 as it is , weather forecasting then were not as accurate and updated as the weather forecasting processes of today are . It was January 12 , 1988 when the blizzard came . It was not just a snowstorm the falling snow was violent enough to cause turmoil in the sky . The wind was blowing so strong that the whole community was alarmed and everything else in the streets was swept away by the ranging blizzard

At that moment , it could be noted that the weather forecast failed to actually learn what was initially happening . Their lack of materials for weather analysis has made it harder for them to identify the said natural crisis

By the morning of January 13 ,the whole picture of the environment was devastating enough to see . People lay dead along the streets and children who were supposed to go to school during the Blizzard were froze to death and laid down along the streets as well with the fallen trees and dismantled posts

The immigrants of the place who once knew Dakota , Nebraska and Minnesota s a warm and inviting place were then terrified by the fact that their community is governed by natural forces that not even them could control

Through the narrative way of portraying the lives of five families whose lives were massively changed because of the blizzard , David Laskin showed the intense emotional depression that happened during that year in the three States of America . Along with the emotional depression comes their way of recovering from the disaster . The clear picture of the situation makes the account clearer for the readers to understand the event being related in the book

A Critical Analysis

History has always been an undoubted account that builds up the interest of readers . Due to the fact that the events are real , and that they actually occurred suggests that the situation is much related to what have and what could still happen in the future

The title of the book mainly features the main theme that the author of the book wanted to send his readers . The idea is to help the readers focus on the fact that the careless regard given to weather could cause the lives of much causality especially that of the children . This book helps the readers understand about the importance of accurate weather forecasting . True , people cannot control the occurrence of natural disasters . However , through listening and acting on a warning would help alleviate the dreadful outcome of not following instructions of the ones in authority to do so , in this case the weather forecasters

The intimate narration that has been portrayed in the story through the incorporation of the experiences of the five families in the story has made the written work even more affecting to the readers . The appeal that the experiences made was a perfect pattern in making a written work more realistic , bringing every scene in the story into a livable situation

In this written work , it could also be noted that the reaction of the society on several natural disasters have been presented well . Based form the present society and comparing it with that of the past , which mainly relied on weather predictions , it could be observed that now even though there already exists some more complicated gadgets for weather forecasting , people still lack the ability to heed warning

This is the reason why up until now , the sudden change in the weather cause so much disaster and causes so many lives to fade in the distractive events . Once , the society lack its concern of safety form the weather changes , it would likely occur that another children 's Blizzard ' could happen in the present society . The book then of David Laskin serves as a wakeup call to everyone in becoming much aware of the weather changes and heed the warnings to be able to preserve themselves alive

Conclusion

Unknown to the present society , the government allowed school sessions to continue during the time when the Blizzard was about to come . This identifies the lack of concern that the authorities gave to weather which resulted to the massive lost of children 's lives (Laskin , 32

Yes , one of the main causes of death is not the disaster alone , but the reckless concern of the authority for the actual results that the blizzard could bring forth . Giving them the benefit of the doubt , the blizzard may have had occurred in a sudden `attack . However , the predictions that were made before certainly gave a warning that a blizzard is about to come . Because of the fact that the weather was fine during the earlier hours of the day , many concluded that the whole day would be fine . Their lack of attention on what was about to come caught them unprepared for the situation . This teaches the present society to clearly heed the warnings and act towards it for weather occurrences such as this are not merely a fiction story . They are reality and they did happen in history . There is no reason that they would not occur at present . As a result , everyone them should be aware of how much they attend to the warnings that they receive from the elite system of weather forecasting that is applied right now

BIBLIOGRAPHY

David Laskin (2004 . The Children 's Blizzard . HarperCollins . ISBN-10 br...