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!" Author Michael Tougias
combines stunning photographs with riveting text to reawaken our
communal memories of the event dubbed "The Blizzard of '78."
Tougias first chronicles the period before the storm, then follows it
through its progression, as it caused commuter nightmares and wreaked
devastation. From Cape Cod to Conecticut, from Rhode Island to Route
128, Tougias 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 viscous 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.
Tougias' book will be cherished by anyone who survived the Blizzard
of '78, as well as by those of us who have been spellbound by its
legend.