New by R. A. SCOTTI

BASILICA
The Splendor and the Scandal
Building St. Peter's

&

SUDDEN SEA
The Great Hurricane of 1938

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do you have research i dont know my e-mail isjohnsonlee439317@sbcglobal.net

Thank you, madam, for the beautiful book you have written ("Basilica"). You took many facts I knew (and many I didn't) and wove them into a coherent, enthralling, often poetic narrative. A "beach book?" No way! Some few nits I've picked: p.236 "...excoriated for 500 years." 1600 AD + 500 = 2100 AD. p.263 ellipses don't have a locus, they have 2 foci, and the obelisk would never qualify as one, being so close to dead center. p.267 you might have credited Fulton Oursler for his work: "The Greatest Story Ever Told". You must be very thankful to God for your talents and beauty as well. If I were 40 years younger, I would hit on you. (even 30). An unpublished author, Thomas Grail PANGRAIL@AOL.COM You should see the several page critique I sent Dan Brown after "Angels and Devils" or whatever. His style was abominable, grammatical gaffes were rife, he made mistakes in Latin, French, Italian and German. But as P. T. Barnum maintained, you can never overestimate the poor taste of the American people (hence the blasphemous "Da Vinci Code").

A wonderful story. I read the paperback edition. On page 63 you mention the steam engines in Grand Central. Steam engines were not present in Grand Central after 1907. Thanks. Lee Johnson johnsonlee439317@sbcglobal.net



Unfortunately, I do not have a hurricane story, however I am making a documentary about the domes of Rome and have just now come across your wonderful book: Basilica. We have spent this past October shooting in Rome in HD for the documentary and are now in post prodution here in NY. I would love to talk to you about your book as it mirrors the time line of our documentary. We shot in St. Peter's at the crossing while it was closed for our shoot. You can go to www.domesofrome.com for a short trailer and behind the scenes blurb that outlines the concept of the film, although it was put together in 2003 on an initial shoot that I put together myself without proper financing. The documentary focuses on the Via Papale, or the road of the popes, that traverses the eternal city. We focus on the development of domed ecclesiastical architecture along the road from the 16th-17th centuries. The intrigue an infighting among Papal families to out do each other is mirrored clearly in the development and construction of St. Peter's which you so cogently entail in your book. You can reach me at romaphile@earthlink.net or by telephone on 213-880-3960, I live in LA as well. Look forward to speaking with you about your work and obvious passion. Jeffrey L Gilson, Creator/Director "The Dome of Rome: Finding the Via Papale.

HI, I have ready just about every book that has been written on the '38 hurricane, and think yours is the absolute best.... I have read it twice .. and also purchased a signed copy from the book store in Bristol. I also have a request. I am the Director of Community Relations at North Bay Manor in Smithfield RI. We are an active retirement community owned by the Horizon Bay Senior Communities. Every year our communities hold a fall celebration on a Saturday in October. This year it is planned for October 13th. We do a lot of advertising and open the event up to the public. We plan event all day long... From educational, to fun events. My focus for the day at North Bay is to feature things of interest to RI.. I know it is a long shot, but would you consider being my guest speaker for that day.. we could do it late morning or early afternoon and you could be our guest for lunch. If you could not make it that day, I would have you over any day!!! ... We would promote it before hand, open it up to the public. You could do a book signing.. etc.. I would love to have an opportunity to talk to you about this.... and actually about your book .. it is one of my favorite all time reads... Michele Pelletier, Director of Community Relations, North Bay Manor, Smithfield, RI 401-232-5577

ANSWER: Thank you for your invitation and generous words. I can't speak to your group Oct. 13, but let's try to find a later date.

Hi, my name is Bill Palmer. I live in Rhode Island. Subject, hurricane photograph 1938???? I have seen a photograph in the past, taken of the Coast Guard house in Narragansett, RI. The photographer was standing North of the towers, capturing an ocean surge, which completely covered the road, the water was 1/2 of the way to the top of arch. Have you seen this? I would like to find it...Thanks

ANSWER: The Towers in Narragansett has a wonderful collection of hurricane photographs. You may find the picture there. A second good source: the Providence Journal photo archive.


The weekend following the storm Pa, Grammie, Mom, Es Pris and I drove over to Watch Hill to meet with Mahlon [Adams] and that is when I took the picture of the boat [related in the book]. ... Most of the damage inland was cause by the trees being uprooted. I was in the 8th grade at the time and living in Essex, Ct. near the mouth of the Ct. River so we sustained a lot of damage. They let us out of school right in the middle of the holocaust, I don't think I weighed more than 80 lbs at the time and I was constantly being blown off my feet. When I reached the foot of Prospect St. I looked up Maple Ave. all the huge maples on either side of the street were up rooted and crisscrossed as far as the eye could see. These were very large and very old maples that created a huge cavity when they were uprooted. It took me forever climbing over trunks while avoiding power lines before I finally reached home. We had a huge maple in the corner of our yard that thankfully uprooted parallel to the house. Days later I was standing in the cavity of that tree's roots chopping away with my hatchet when I loosened something and heard a dull thud by my feet. What I picked up was an iron cannon ball about the size of a very large grapefruit. Weeks later, Par drove me over to New Haven to the Peabody Museum and the curator authenticated it as being a British cannon ball fired during the war of 1812 when the British sailed up the Ct. River ... I remember [Capt. Adams] telling us that a lot of the victims that lost their lives at Watch Hill had missing fingers where looters had cut of the swollen appendages so they could take gold bands or diamond rings. [From Addison Smith, nephew of Capt. Adams]

I remember this hurricane well; I had graduated from High School, joined the Naval Reserve and was going to school at Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach, New Jersey, near Toms River. [As related in the book] Dad [Mahlon Adams] was Captain of this private yacht belonging to a millionaire in Hartford, Conn. He was anchored off Watch Hill, Rhode Island, with another crew member aboard, Bob Alley from Linnekin, Maine. I had been on this yacht with Dad several times when he came up to Maine in the summer; a beautiful white pleasure yacht, the Heleu or something like that. When the huge tidal wave came into the area, it capsized the yacht, throwing them both in the water. It came back upright; they got back on board, started the engines and ran it up behind a firehouse so that when the tide went back out, they were high and dry. At the time his picture was in the Boston Post for saving the life of an older lady who was swept up by the tidal wave.[From his 2nd son LCDR Frank Willard Adams, USN (Ret.)]

R.A. Scotti, My name is Amy Jones and my father, Howard Hrdlicka watched the special on the History Channel about the 1938 hurricane and recognized the Chellis family. My father's uncle, Rudy Iten,was the lighthouse keeper at Point Judith Lighthouse and my father would spend time there at Point Judith. At the time my father was 8 years old. He specifically remembers Marion Chellis and being playmates with her. One day he was playing with Marion and he didn't want to play house with her so she said she was going to hit him on the head with a croquet mallet, and she did! He also relates that their father, Carl was the assistant lighthouse keeper at Point Judith and describes the house where they stayed and where my father and his brother would stay in the same house. It brought back some fond memories for my father after watching the show. I got on the internet and printed out your excerpt and some other articles, including one from Port St. Lucie, FL in which they interviewed Bill Chellis about the hurricane. My father lives in Florida also and is interested in trying to contact Mr. Chellis to share his stories with him. I emailed the writer of the article and anticipate hearing from him. I find it very interesting that my father was somehow a part of this event. I will try and find your book so I can send it to him. I know he will enjoy it. Thank you. amyjones57@hotmail.com


ANSWER: Amy, Thank you for your story. I'm sure Bill Chellis will be pleased to talk with you and your father.

R. A., My name is Geoffrey Walter King. I live in Greensboro, NC. My dad, Walter King, named me after Geoffrey Moore. My dad was a life guard and also ran a boy's camp in Watch Hill at that time and knew the Moore family. Geoffrey was one of my father's "campers." My dad and mom moved to North Carolina in 1950, 3 months before I was born. He practiced medicine, and died in February of 2000, just days before his 90th birthday. I would like to introduce myself to Geoffrey if at all possible. You can reach me at gking2@triad.rr.com or 336-545-0468. Kindest regards, Geoff King


ANSWER: What a great story. I'll pass your note on to Jeff Moore. I'm sure he'll be delighted to discover that he has a namesake.

Greetings, R.A. ~ I have a bunch of homemade looking real photo postcards all marked september 1938 and depicting a natural disaster. I would like to send you a scan or two and get your help in identifying them if possible! They all appear to depict the same industrial complex, perhaps a quarry or gravel operation. Thank you and regards Michael Sarasota FL email, paperperson@verizon.net


ANSWER: I will be interested to see your hurricane postcards. I did not come across any in my research.

R.A. Scotti, I grew up in Westerly, R.I. and Watch Hill, R.I. My grandfather was the principal of the Elm Street School and Babcock Jr. High School in Westerly. He photographed some of the destruction in the aftermath of the '38 hurricane. So I read your book with great interest, finding it to be an outstanding read. I wanted to bring to your attention a memorial marker that wasn't mentioned in the book. It is located on the Westerly-Watch Hill road near the entrance to the Misquamicut Club golf course across the street from the beach holes of the course and the Watch Hill pond where several houses were washed up. It is a large granite stone that was carved with the inscription: HIGH WATER MARK HURRICANE SEPT. 21, 1938 I have taken pictures of the stone. You can see the pictures by going to my website: http://www.keywestflyfishing.com/shep.htm


ANSWER: Next time I'm in the Westerly area, I will visit that memorial and, in the meantime, I will visit your website. The Westerly Public Library has an excellent collection of hurricane photos. You might want to make copies of yours and give them to the library.

In the aftermath of Katrina, I went out specifically to find a book about the Hurricane of 1938. My mother, born in 1930 in Meriden, Ct., often told me stories about the storm when I was a boy. I'm now 50 and she's been gone awhile but I have long felt those "two degrees of separation" from the Hurricane. Your wonderfully written book filled in the blanks for me and enabled me to connect the dots between the trees falling in the park across from her house to the tragedy that occured throughout New England.

ANSWER: Thank you for this lovely note. The '38 Hurricane was New England's Katrina, with the added tragedy of surprise.


hi--our grandfather built two houses at misquamicut 100 years ago. one got washed away in 1938; the other (knock on wood) survived and i am writing to you from it (51 Atlantic). we are looking for photos of both pre-1938 and wonder whether you have come across any.

ANSWER: I haven't found a photo specifically of your house. But many families in the area have photographs. If you put a note in the newsletters of the local libraries or historical societies, you may find find some that way.

Click and type in a question or comment

do you have research i dont know

Dear R.A. Scotti, I am cheating and do not have a hurricane story, but I wanted to tell you how much I loved Basilica! It was a great read and I learned a lot - but I am stunned by how little credit poor della Porta gets for finishing the dome. Everything I read and hear attributes this work to Michelangelo, which is not fair, correct? I sent note to Rick Steves in a vain attempt to correct his work, but I am not sure if he will ever get the credit he deserves. I am guessing you traveled to Rome to do your research, were you allowed to view any of the Vatican's records? I understand they guard them like Ft. Knox. Do another historical perspective on Rome or maybe Florence, Basilica is a terrific read! Best, Tom Ennis tjennis@alcatel-lucent.com

Ridley Watts did not die as a boy. His summer home was destroyed by the hurricane. His descendants include Ridley Watts, Jr. (1901-1974); Ridley Watts, III (1928-2002); Ridley Watts, IV (1956- ); and Ridley Watts, V (1986- ).

The statue of Ridley Watts by boardwalk says he died as a boy. Was he one of those who died in the hurricane? Does the statue reveal when he was born? I wonder how old he was. Whenever I was there as a child, I wanted to visit the statue.

• One of the 10 worst storms of the century.
• The worst natural disaster in New England history.
• The fastest recorded hurricane in U.S. history.
• The 4th deadliest storm in U.S. history.
• Almost 700 killed in 7 states.
• Sustained winds of 121 mph. Gusts of 186 mph.
• Storm surge estimated at 50-70 feet high.
• Entire communities wiped off the map.
• $47 billion in damages, estimated in today's dollars.
• Only 5% of losses covered by insurance.
• Millions of trees lost.
• Enough hurricane timber to build 200,000 5-room houses.