Author Appearance
Join us on Wednesday, June 14 for a special reading from author Jim Minick from his new book, "Without Warning"!
Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas: On May 25th, 1955, an F5 tornado struck Udall, Kansas at 10:35 PM. There was no warning. In roughly three minutes, it destroyed most of the buildings, toppled the water tower, and killed 82 people. The Udall tornado was—and still is—the worst in the history of Kansas. Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas tells the story of this town’s destruction and rebuilding through the eyes of those who survived, and this story also provides insights into how we might move forward into our climate changed future. More information about the book can be found here: Without Warning : Nebraska Press (unl.edu)
"WITHOUT WARNING is a page-turning disaster narrative in the tradition of THE PERFECT STORM and ISAAC’S STORM: spare, vivid, suspenseful, meticulously researched, utterly harrowing. But the havoc an F5 tornado wrecked on this quintessential Kansas small town in the spring of 1955 is only part of the story here. By taking the arc all the way from the calm before the storm to the months-long labor of rebuilding and reanimating, Jim Minick has brought an entire community lovingly to life. At heart, this is a book about how what’s best about our country confronts and overcomes the worst of our weather." - David Laskin, author of THE CHILDREN’S BLIZZARD and THE FAMILY
Jim Minick is the author or editor of eight books, including Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas (nonfiction), The Intimacy of Spoons (poetry, forthcoming), Fire Is Your Water (novel), and The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family. His work has appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, Poets & Writers, Oxford American, Orion, Shenandoah, Appalachian Journal, Wind, and The Sun. He serves as Coeditor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel.
3 pm Small Meeting Room, Lower Level