Blizzard! The Great White Hurricane by Timothy R Minnich

In his first novel, Timothy R Minnich brings us a journey to the past that only a meteorologist with a keen eye for context could write. Blizzard! weaves history, weather, and human interest in a way many readers will find irresistible.

Set in the middle of the years between the Centennial and the beginning of the 20^th Century, Blizzard! unlocks an era in American history that often gets no more than a brief mention in the textbooks.

Grover Cleveland was still in his first term when this storm paralyzed the Northeast in March, 1888, and the stunning Brooklyn Bridge had been completed for only four years. Into this setting comes young Will Roebling, the story’s central figure, blessed with a keen intellect and a rare instinct for predicting weather events. But Roebling faces a major obstacle in the bureaucratic red tape that binds his meteorological office in Washington, D.C. Ironically, when he gets transferred to the New York City office in April, 1887, he will be in the ideal position to put his system to the test, if the right storm ever comes along. Mired in military chain of command pettifoggery, Roebling’s breakthrough forecasting system might save many lives in its first test or it might be kept under wraps long enough to allow a great city to be blindsided by a colossal storm. But Roebling, our Everyman, has more daily concerns in his life than predicting the weather. He is torn between colleagues and friends, bosses and supporters as he grapples with a problem far larger than himself. In all of this he has the good sense to take the counsel of Mrs. Duncan, his landlady, who keeps him focused on personal integrity and true faith.

Roebling, in Blizzard! plays a role long beloved in history and fiction, the one righteous man. He is the one person who knows something and suspects much more while others ignore him for their own petty reasons. Some even resist him actively, but he pushes on along the narrow path of honor and courage, surrounded by apathy and self-interest, facing squarely ahead. Millions could benefit from his insights but of those same millions, only a handful know he exists, and fewer still are aware of his gift. He might end up hero or villain, but how to decide what to do? Human nature itself emerges as a major player in the drama as it unfolds.

There are scenes which replay in this reader’s mind. It was memorable walking diagonally across the grid of Manhattan streets on the daily journey between work and a home in Brooklyn. There was the unfamiliar use of newfangled telephones and elevated railways. A hotel served as a place of refuge from the disaster unfolding outside in snow-clogged streets. Everyday lives intersected in new ways. Some were lost and some survived but never recovered. Above all, there was the white knuckle journey of public service across the Great Bridge in a howling gale as the storm bore down upon New York City. Those known to us and many other anonymous characters lean into the biting wind and hang on for dear life as they make the perilous trek high across the East River. Will they make it?

Perhaps one day we might see this drama played out on the wide screen, with a little help from someone who knows someone.

Drawing on the annals of the American Meteorological Society, historical accounts of the storm, and his own considerable imagination, Minnich’s Blizzard! is more than just good historical fiction. It is also captivating. It rates 5 Stars.

Blizzard! The Great White Hurricane by Timothy R Minnich