Boston Athenæum

July 21, 2016 at the Boston Athenæum. The hurricane that pummeled the northeastern United States on September 21, 1938, was arguably New England’s most damaging weather event ever. Without warning, the storm plowed into Long Island and New England, killing hundreds of people and destroying roads, bridges, dams, and buildings that stood in its path. Not yet spent, the hurricane then raced inland, maintaining high winds into Vermont and New Hampshire and uprooting millions of acres of forest. In this lecture, Long will share excerpts from his book Thirty-Eight, which is the first book to investigate how the hurricane of ’38 transformed New England. Drawing on survivors’ vivid memories of the storm and its aftermath, and on his own familiarity with New England’s forests, he will share with the audience how the storm brought about social and ecological changes that can still be observed today.