Hemingway's Hurricane

Phil Scott talked about his book Hemingway’s Hurricane: The Great Florida Keys Storm of 1935, published by McGraw Hill. On Labor Day weekend of 1935, a Category 5 hurricane with 200 mph winds killed 423 people as it made its way across the Florida Keys. Among the victims were 259 World War I veterans who had been sent there through a New Deal program to help construct a highway to Key West. After the storm, writer Ernest Hemingway traveled by boat from Key West to the Upper Keys, the area hardest hit. The loss of life he saw there led him to believe that more could have been done to prevent the deaths. He would later write on behalf of the veterans who died and those writings were published in a U.S. communist magazine, something that would affect him for years to come. Following his presentation, Mr. Scott responded to questions and comments from members of the audience. close