Storm Struck book publishes, less than two months after megastorm
From staff reports
It was a hundred-year storm. Thin trees snapped like matchsticks; thick ones toppled, one atop another, like felled soldiers. The storm’s straight-wind blast left houses with gaping holes, thousands of residents with no power for days, a Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore that is, said one official, unrecognizable, and a cleanup that could take years.
Mission Point Press, a Traverse City publisher, released the crowd-sourced book, Storm Struck: When Supercharged Winds Slammed Northwest Michigan, late in September — just 56 days after the Aug. 2 storm. The 108-page book, available in soft cover and as an e-book, chronicles the historic event, including the storm’s anatomy … what caused it, and why it was so devastating, a foreword by Cherry Republic owner Bob Sutherland, mapped details of the path it followed, extensive photographs showing the storm and the impact on Leelanau, Grand Traverse and Antrim counties from more than 60 different photographers, and stories of the people affected — their heroics and the swift response to repair the damage.
A book launch was held on Sept. 27 at First Congregational Church in Traverse City. Storm Struck author Bob Campbell, a former Detroit Free Press editor, moderated a panel that included: Bruce Smith, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Office in Gaylord, Tom Ulrich, deputy superintendent of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and Gregg Bird, emergency management director of Grand Traverse County. Approximately 75 citizen-photographers who contributed photos to the crowd-sourced book were given free copies of Storm Struck.
The 108-page book’s retail price is $22.50. Mission Point is donating $1 per book to Friends of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, whose members helped clear the impassable trails after the storm. An e-book is also available for $4.50.
Others involved in the project include Bob Butz, caption editor, and Heather Shaw, picture editor. Mission Point Press is a full-service book-publishing company that was formed this year by Anne Stanton, Shaw and Doug Weaver. For more information, visit MissionPointPress.com.
