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The Vortex: A True Story of History's Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation
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About This Book
The deadliest storm in modern history ripped Pakistan in two and led the world to the brink of nuclear war when American and Soviet forces converged in the Bay of Bengal In November 1970, a storm set a collision course with the most densely populated coastline on Earth. Over the course of just a few hours, the Great Bhola Cyclone would kill 500,000 people and begin a chain reaction of turmoil, genocide, and war. The Vortex is the dramatic story of how that storm sparked a country to revolution. Bhola made landfall during a fragile time, when Pakistan was on the brink of a historic election. The fallout ignited a conflagration of political intrigue, corruption, violence, idealism, and bravery that played out in the lives of tens of millions of Bangladeshis. Authors Scott Carney and Jason Miklian take us deep into the story of the cyclone and its aftermath, told through the eyes of the men and women who lived through it, including the infamous president of Pakistan, General Yahya Khan, and his close friend Richard Nixon; American expats Jon and Candy Rhode; soccer star-turned-soldier Hafiz Uddin Ahmad; and a young Bengali revolutionary, Mohammed Hai. Thrillingly paced and written with incredible detail, The Vortex is not just a story about the painful birth of a new nation but also a universal tale of resilience and liberation in the face of climate emergency that affects every single person on the planet.
Reviews
"The authors describe The Vortex as a book of narrative nonfiction, and it certainly is that, the product of more than 200 interviews and multiple trips to Bangladesh, undertaken to help build dramatic (and occasionally theatrical) reconstructions of events ..."
"A powerful, timely exploration of an environmental and political tragedy."
"Carney and Miklian make a persuasive case that as climate change produces more frequent and deadlier storms, the world faces 'an increasing likelihood of selective genocide and even global international war.' Shot through with colorful character sketches and lucid explanations of South Asian politics, this is an urgent warning about the links between global warming and geopolitical turmoil."
"An essential history of the infuriatingly tragic creation of Bangladesh amid a devastating storm, genocide, war, political intrigue, and hope."
"But the core argument underlying "The Vortex" doesn't seem like a tired phrase — it sounds like a blaring alarm"
"Carney and conflict and crisis researcher Miklian reveal a long-concealed and profoundly shocking confluence of geopolitical crimes and crises ..."
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