When a hurricane hits Bermuda or comes close you can pretty much bank on the electricty going out. No TV to entertain you or music unless you have a small battery-operated radio. So the best thing you can do is read - remember books?!So why not read some books dealing with hurricanes, fiction or non fiction.Some of the most interesting books came in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Katrina which destroyed New Orleans in 2005.Katrina was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest US hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. And total property damage was estimated at $81 billion.US writer Brentin Mock is based in New Orleans and here he picks some of the top books on Katrina.***Not Just the Levees Broke by Phyllis Montana-LeblancWhile many books about Katrina have attempted to perform surgery on the bodies of corrupt government or excavate the root causes of racism and poverty in Gulf Coast states, rarely will you find, in book form, the average person’s voice. Enter Phyllis Montana-Leblanc, the people’s champ in New Orleans, whose book, Not Just the Levees Broke, is her personal account of the physical, emotional and mental abuse she endured during the breached-levee floods and her evacuation.***When the Walls Came Down by Wilbert WilsonIn any city with a super-majority of African Americans, it can probably be said that he who holds throne in a barbershop is king. One of New Orleans’ more popular barbers is Wilbert Wilson, aka “Mr. Chill.” His book, When the Walls Came Down, is an autobiography written with the help of Edwin Buggage, editor of The New Orleans Data News Weekly, one of the city’s black newspapers. Wilson’s book stands out because of its themes of self-discovery and racial reconciliation. While other authors examine the legacy of poverty in New Orleans before Katrina, Wilson looks at how he and many of his peers escaped poverty, mostly by dealing drugs. He got out of that game to open a barbershop, realising the full potential of his trade in the aftermath of Katrina, when thousands of military personnel, doctors, nurses, reporters and volunteers descended upon the city.***Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City by Jed HorneProbably the most comprehensive account of Hurricane Katrina and the corrupted-levee floods is Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, written by former Times-Picayune city editor Jed Horne, whose writing and editing earned him and his fellow staffers a Pulitzer Prize. This work should be the entry point for anyone whose interest in Katrina-related issues goes beyond mere curiosity. One of the more fascinating stories Horne tells comes in the chapter “In Search of Common Ground,” about Black Panther activist Malik Rahim, who rode out the storm (his neighbourhood, Algiers, wasn’t flooded) and then organised hundreds of visiting volunteers to form the first running health clinic. The setting wasn’t exactly fertile for this clinic’s sprouting: Horne reports how white vigilantes armed with guns were looking for African Americans under a “shoot first, ask later” policy. But with the help of his white comrades, who travelled from as far as Washington, DC, Rahim was able to maneuver around to get his health clinic, Common Ground, running.***The list of books about Katrina is extensive and ever growing. These works, recently released, also offer sobering insights: Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina, a collection of reports edited by Robert D. Bullard and Beverly Wright; Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder That Rocked New Orleans, by Ethan Brown, an account of two lives lost in Katrina’s aftermath: that of an Iraq War vet suffering from PTSD who returned to the city in 2004, and the girlfriend he killed in 2006 before taking his own life; Zeitoun, by David Eggers, based on the true story of a Syrian man who, while rescuing those stranded in the flood, is detained and accused of being a terrorist; Under Surge, Under Siege: the Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina, by Ellis Anderson, about the Mississippi city where the storm actually made landfall; and Black Rage in New Orleans, which looks at the corruption and brutality of the New Orleans Police Department from World War II to Katrina, and how the Crescent City’s African-American residents have responded.***Here is a list of other books written through the ages about hurricanes recommended by Neal Dorst:The Tempest (1611) by William ShakespeareOk, it's not technically a book but a play. But it is one of the most important ones regarding Bermuda. Inspired by a 1609 hurricane which shipwrecked the Sea Venture on Bermuda, in the opening act Prospero magically conjures up a sea storm to bring a ship to his island exile.***Chita : A memory of Last Island (1889) by Lafcadio HearnIn this novella a young Cajun girl survives the 1856 hurricane that wiped out the resort on Last Island and is raised by a Spanish fisherman on the Louisiana coast.***Son of the Carolinas (1898) by Elizabeth Carpenter SatterthwaitA story of a hurricane striking the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast. Noted for its use of the native dialect.***Wed by Mighty Waves (1901) by Sue GreenleafA romantic novel set against the horrors of the Galveston hurricane.***Typhoon (1903) by Joseph ConradIn this short story a steamer blunders into the teeth of a typhoon in the South China Sea.***Hurricane (1935) by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman HallThe duo that wrote the “Mutiny on the Bounty” trilogy reunited to bring us this tale of a devastating typhoon in French Polynesia which alters the lives of the residents of the island of Manukura. This novel was made into a movie twice, once in 1938 starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall and a remake in 1979 with Mia Farrow and Dayton Ka’ne. The first effort had a musical hit with the song “The Moon of Manukura”. The 1979 remake inspired the end of Dayton Ka’ne’s movie career.***Hurricane Road (1954) by Nora K. Smiley and Louise V. WhiteFictional account of the building of Henry Flager’s railroad to Key West, and the devastating hurricane in 1906 which nearly destroyed it and the Labour Day hurricane in 1935 which did.***Wyatt’s Hurricane (1966) by Desmond BagleySet on a lush Caribbean island, meteorologist David Wyatt knows that Hurricane Mabel will hit despite what the forecast says. Throw in a political revolution and some romance and you’ve got a mid-60’s suspense novel.***Under the Eye of the Storm (1967) by John HerseyTwo couples sail their yawl into the heart of a hurricane and into the stormy seas of their relationships.***Hurricane in the Keys (1968) by Henry Hayes StansburyThis self-published novel tells of a Category Five hurricane threatening the Florida Keys and the President of the United States’ decision to order the seeding of the storm.***Devil Walks on Water (1969) by John F MurrayA novel based on accounts of survival from the 1938 New England hurricane.***On the Wings of the Storm (1969) by Richard NewhaferA heist caper set in Palm Beach as Hurricane Margo threatens.***Hurricane Alert (1970) by Walter T DonovanA Florida county Civil Defense director must battle political corruption as Hurricane Hanna looms in this ‘gut grabber’.***Hurricane Hunters (1972) by William C. AndersonThis novel concentrates on the lives and loves of Air Force Hurricane Hunter pilots. It was adapted into a made-for-TV movie in 1974 called “Hurricane” starring Martin Milner and Frank Sutton.***Condominium (1977) by John MacDonaldResidents of a condo in southwest Florida are beset by unscrupulous real estate developers, faulty construction, and a Gulf hurricane. This was adapted into a 1980 TV movie starring Barbara Eden and Steve Forrest***Cat Five (1977) by Robert P Davis.As a Category Five hurricane menaces ritzy Palm Beach, hurricane researchers are torn apart by a blistering love triangle.***Storm Center (1983) by Elizabeth Verner HamiltonNovel based on her family’s accounts of surviving the Great Hurricane of 1893 hitting Charleston, SC.***Prospero Drill (1984) by Carl A PoseyA former NOAA Public Affairs Officer, Posey penned this roman à clef about hurricane researchers seeding a hurricane off Cuba, and Castro’s huffy response.***Mother of Storms (1994) by John BarnesWhen someone sets off a series of underwater explosions it releases large quantities of methane from melting methal hydrates, which in turn triggers global warming and hyper-hurricanes. The only hope lies with an astronaut with a brain the size of a small planet, who shields the Earth from the sun until things cool down.***Stormy Weather (1996) by Carl HiassenIn this novel inspired by Hurricane Andrew, people’s lives in the wake of a devastating hurricane are further stressed by con men, shady contractors and a former Lt Governor.***One August Day (1998) by Charlotte MorganRevisits Hurricane Camille in 1969 and its impact on the lives of the people of the Gulf Coast.***Second Wind (1999) by Dick FrancisFrancis takes a break from the horsey set to spin a yarn about a BBC TV meteorologist who goes on a hurricane hunting joy ride.***Windows on Heaven (2000) by Ron RozelleA novel based on accounts from the 1900 Galveston hurricane in which over 8000 people perished.***Zero Hour (2003) by Benjamin E MillerAntarctica is melting and its suddenly warm waters threaten to spawn a super hurricane. A world famous MIT professor is consulted about his theory on hypercanes, and somethings up with those wacky penguins.***Shutter Island (2003) by Dennis LehaneIn 1954, US Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates an inmate’s disappearance from a hospital for the criminally insane on the title island when his pursuit of the truth is disrupted by Hurricane Carol. This novel was made into a 2010 movie directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley.***Hurricane: Of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane (2004) by Janice A. ThompsonAn inspirational novel about the people of Galveston surviving the hurricane of 1900 and rebuilding their city.***Hurricane 38 (2004) by Gaylord MeechBased on news accounts and family letters, this novel is about people trapped by the Great New England hurricane of 1938.***Cat 5 (2004) by RD DildayGlobal warming has forced the US Government to form the Department of Weather and make a ruthless TV weatherman its new Secretary. Meanwhile, a disgraced former Director of NHC investigates paleotempestology which may or may not have a bearing on coffee futures. Then a Cat 5 hurricane takes aim at Catalina Island.***Storm Chasers (2004) by Paul QuarringtonA professional storm chaser flies into Dampier Cay to videograph an on-coming hurricane, where he crosses paths with various losers seeking refuge in the storm from their sorry lives.***Whirlwind (2004) by Michael Grant JaffeA North Carolina TV weatherman finds fame and fortune after he pulls a ‘Dan Rather’ during Hurricane Isabel, and tries to pull his life out of the toilet.***Category Five (2005) by Philip S DonlayA mystery man founds a scientific organisation called Eco-Watch. When he flies its jet into a hurricane with 300 mph winds and gets trapped in the eye he must come clean about his past in order to save the day.***Honeymoon Hurricane (2006) by Pamela RowanSeveral people, including a honeymoon couple, head to Sanibel Island for vacation only to be trapped there during a hurricane.***Hurricane (2006) by Karen HarperTwo single parents desperately try to find their children as a hurricane swerves to menace their southwest Florida community.***Hurricane Hannah (2006) by Sue Civil-BrownA female jet pilot named Hannah makes an emergency landing on a small tropical island, and must wait out the passage of Hurricane Hannah while becoming familiar with the eccentric locals.***Windstorm and Flood: a novel (2007) by Rosalind BrackenburySet in Key West, where weather and Cuban politics mix.***Rebel Island (2007) by Rick RiordanYet another honeymoon couple are trapped on an island as a monster hurricane looms. This time they must solve a murder mystery and confront their past before the storm strikes.***Category 7 (2007) by Bill Evans and Marianna JamesonAn ex-CIA meteorologist carries out clandestine weather modification experiments while his old organization tries to track down the eco-terrorist manipulating hurricanes. In retribution for past budget cuts, the ex-CIA man sends a Cat 5 hurricane toward New York City (it would’ve been a Cat 7, but the Saffir-Simpson scale doesn’t go that high.) And the USAF 53rd WRS upgrades to P-3s.***Acts of Nature (2007) by Jonathon KingA PI and his police girlfriend find their vacation at a Florida fish camp interrupted by a hurricane, scavengers, and gunmen.***Blown Away! (2007) by Joan Hiatt HarlowA boy growing up in the Florida Keys befriends a local fisherman and courts the new girl in town, until the Labour Day Hurricane blows his life apart.***Elevator (2008) by Angela HuntA trio of women (the wife, the mistress, and the cleaning woman) are trapped in an elevator as Hurricane Felix menaces Tampa, Florida.***Hurricane: a novel (2008) by Terry TruemanBased on the devastation Hurricane Mitch wrought on Honduras as seen through the eyes of a young man.***Babylon Rolling: a novel (2008) by Amanda BoydenNew Orleans neighbours must confront their prejudices as Hurricane Ivan threatens the city.***Hurricanes in Paradise (2010) by Denise HildrethThe director of guest relations at a posh Bahamian hotel begins a journey of healing with friends when a hurricane heads for the island.