The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras

Written by Brantley Hargrove

Narrated by Jacques Roy

The saga of the greatest tornado chaser who ever lived: a tale of obsession and daring and an extraordinary account of humanity’s high-stakes race to understand nature’s fiercest phenomenon from Brantley Hargrove, “one of today’s great science writers” (The Washington Post).

At the turn of the twenty-first century, the tornado was one of the last true mysteries of the modern world. It was a monster that ravaged the American heartland a thousand times each year, yet science’s every effort to divine its inner workings had ended in failure. Researchers all but gave up, until the arrival of an outsider.

In a field of PhDs, Tim Samaras didn’t attend a day of college in his life. He chased storms with brilliant tools of his own invention and pushed closer to the tornado than anyone else ever dared. When he achieved what meteorologists had deemed impossible, it was as if he had snatched the fire of the gods. Yet even as he transformed the field, Samaras kept on pushing. As his ambitions grew, so did the risks. And when he finally met his match—in a faceoff against the largest tornado ever recorded—it upended everything he thought he knew.

Brantley Hargrove delivers a “cinematically thrilling and scientifically wonky” (Outside) tale, chronicling the life of Tim Samaras in all its triumph and tragedy. Hargrove takes readers inside the thrill of the chase, the captivating science of tornadoes, and the remarkable character of a man who walked the line between life and death in pursuit of knowledge. The Man Who Caught the Storm is an “adrenaline rush of a tornado chase…Readers from all across the spectrum will enjoy this” (Library Journal, starred review) unforgettable exploration of obsession and the extremes of the natural world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781508255352

Brantley Hargrove

Brantley Hargrove is a journalist who has written for Wired, Popular Mechanics, and Texas Monthly. He’s gone inside the effort to reverse-engineer supertornadoes using supercomputers and has chased violent storms from the Great Plains down to the Texas coast. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Renee, and their two cats. The Man Who Caught the Storm is his first book.

Reviews for The Man Who Caught the Storm

[Cascade 1003 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it, very moving. I cycled through emotions during this.

[texasbooklover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

BIOGRAPHY/WEATHERBrantley HargroveThe Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim SamarasSimon & SchusterHardcover, 978-1-4767-9609-3, (also available as an e-book, an audio book, and on Audible), 304 pgs., $26.00April 3, 2018On March 28, 2017, in Dickens County, Texas, just west of the city of Spur, shortly after a tornado warning was issued, three storm chasers, two of whom were contractors for The Weather Channel, were killed when their vehicles collided during a chase. I live in Spur now, and violent tornadic storms are a terrifying but fascinating fact of life in this part of the world, often beautiful on the approach, before they turn vicious.Tim Samaras, a Coloradoan, often chased storms in Texas, very near my home. He had no more education than a high school diploma, but innate talent and skill, combined with knowledge learned in his job testing high explosives and concussive force for the military, met with a little serendipity. Samaras had an instinct for storm movement and convergence and designed an in situ probe that worked when the professors said it couldn’t be done. He enjoyed a loving and fulfilling family life and a successful professional life, including stints with National Geographic and Discovery Channel’s “Storm Chasers.” Until Samaras’ death during a storm outside El Reno, Oklahoma, at 6:23 p.m. on May 31, 2013, no storm chaser had died by tornado, improbable as that seems. The tornado that caught Samaras, his son, Paul, and fellow chaser Carl Young, was 2.6 miles wide, the largest ever recorded.The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras is Dallas journalist Brantley Hargrove’s first book. His articles have previously appeared in Wired, Popular Mechanics, and Texas Monthly. The Man Who Caught the Storm opens with the tornado that wiped Jarrell, Texas, off the map in 1997, and closes with an inspired epilogue, revisiting the people and place where Samaras’ probe (affectionately known as the “turtle”) first successfully penetrated the core of the vortex, collecting data never before seen. In between is a fast-paced, dynamic account of a man and his obsession, providing us an entrée into a subculture few will ever experience.Hargrove conducted extensive research on the various sciences involved in storm prediction and chasing, including interviews with scientists at the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies and the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The science is accessible and the history of storm prediction and the “cowboy science” of chasing are fascinating. Hargrove interviewed family and friends, and had access to video and audio recordings, as well as Samaras’ own writing and correspondence.Then Hargrove went tornado hunting with Samaras’ colleagues, the better to convey the chase. His descriptions and imagery are evocative and gripping, sometimes chilling. In Part III, as the end nears, everything seems portentous, and Hargrove’s pacing is perfect, the tension unnerving. Occasionally he becomes overwrought, but it’s difficult to overstate the devastation and the stakes.Hargrove allows us to live vicariously through the eyes and ears of Samaras and his fellow travelers. The Man Who Caught the Storm is a fitting tribute — and why we read biography.Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.