There are certain dates and events that are indelibly engraved in our personal and national psyche.

November 22, 1963.

September 11, 2001.

And for many Kansans, another such date is June 8, 1966.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Tonight's book is Hell Followed with It by Bonar Menninger.

And yes, he is a part of that family.

It was published in 2011 and is subtitled Life and Death in a Kansas Tornado.

The cover also notes that the book features award winning photos from the Topeka Capital Journal.

And those photos are indeed hauntingly spectacular in the stories that they document.

I generally try and bring you books that I have enjoyed.

However, I also attempt to provide a balanced perspective.

But in reference to this book, I'm afraid I must candidly admit that I'm offering you a rave review.

I love this book for so, so many reasons.

Menninger writes with sensitivity and does not sensationalize.

And the book covers so many topics the history of Topeka, the anatomy of a tornado, the history of storm prediction and weather alerts.

And the strength and determination of average citizens.

The tornado traveled a total distance of 22 miles, and it traveled eight miles through the heart of the city of Topeka.

It touched down at about 6:50 p.m., four miles south and a half mile east of Dover, Kansas.

It lifted just east of Millard Airport at 7:20 p.m.. 550 people were injured and 16 died.

Approximately 820 homes or businesses were destroyed, and 3000 more were damaged.

The Topeka storm became by far the most destructive tornado in U.S. history and would remain so until surpassed by the Lubbock, Texas, tornado of May 1970.

I think the best way I can finish this program is with Menningers own words.

As far as alerting the community.

“Bill Curtis was a recent law school graduate who was studying for the bar while working at WIBW Television.

As the information came in to the studio, he thought of his wife and young daughter living in a one story student duplex without a basement, on the Washburn campus.

What he said next could mean life or death for hundreds, if not thousands of people, including his own wife and child.

He understood that.

So should he shout?

Should he swear?

This was all happening in a matter of seconds.

He had to act now.

There was no time to waste.

So he conveyed the information about the apartments destruction and the tornados apparent path.

And then he just blurted it out, For God's sake, take cover.

” As to the violence of the storm, let me read you this.

“By the time the tornado let go of Dorothy Decker, the woman dragged off by the winds as she prepared to step into her car in the middle of downtown, she had traveled almost 200 yards or the full length of the 900 block of Kansas Avenue.

She was no doubt conscious and alive, but barely so.

The tornado had ripped off her shoes, dress, blouse and underwear and left her in only her bra.

Her left heel and right ankle were broken and virtually every inch of her body, except for the skin under her bra, was sliced, punctured or scraped.

She had a particularly deep wound on one knee, and she was a mass of blood when her husband, Earl, found her heaped in the middle of the street.

” As noted at the beginning of the show, this book is available from the Wichita Public Library.

And when I checked, it was still available on Amazon.

And I'm guessing your independent bookstore can order it for you.

I do hope you will take the time to find and read this book.

It is a truly amazing read.

That's our show.

I hope we have entertained and informed you.

See you next time right here on Inside the Cover.