The Mercy of the Sky The Story of a Tornado

The inside account of Oklahoma's deadliest tornado, by a local girl who became a national correspondent Oklahomans have long been known for their fatalism and grit, but even old-timers are troubled by the twisters that are devastating the state with increasing frequency. On May 20, 2013, the worst tornado on record landed a direct hit on the small town of Moore, destroying two schools while the children cowered inside. Oklahoma native Holly Bailey grew up dreaming of becoming a storm chaser. Instead, she became Newsweek's youngest ever White House correspondent, traveling to war zones with Presidents Bush and Obama. But when Moore was hit, Bailey went back both as a journalist and as a hometown girl, speaking to the teachers who put their own lives at risk to keep their students safe, the weathermen who are more revered than rock stars and more damaged than they let on by the storm, and many shell-shocked residents. In The Mercy of the Sky, Bailey does for the flatlands what Jon Krakauer did for the ?Himalayas, telling a dramatic, page-turning story about a town that must survive the elements?or die.