I'm, not sure what to say about this book. There are many positive things, and yet, it seems as though it is very disjointed. Consistently while reading, I had to go back a few pages to find a link. Two writers were trying to tell a story and yet the tapestry wasn't woven in a manner that made a solid piece of art.

The positive thing about this book is that the authors did a credible job of adequately portraying the terror felt when a level nine earthquake occurred primarily in the northern regions of Japan on March 11, 2011. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami with 50 foot waves that far surpassed any walls previously built to abutt the sheer power of the water.

And then, the unstoppable triple event occurred when Daiichi's nuclear power plant went into meltdown. Located near the epicenter of the earthquake, automatically, pipes ripped apart, the power failed, and all too soon, the rods were overheated as the electricity in the plant was non existent.

I feel as though the authors tried to cover too much territory. Yet, I came to the end of the book knowing it was a credible work. Perhaps there simply were too many things that occurred to enable a straight path to the story.

The authors paint a wonderful portrayal of a strong and caring people who sustained so very much in a short period of time. The sense of camaraderie and otherness is what held and helped the people survive.

The title of the book is from a poem of the same name written by Miyazawa Kenji.

To be strong in the rain is a solid and positive attribute which enabled the country most impacted to come together in a caring of others, and a sense that tomorrow just might be better. ( )

2011 saw a trio of massive disasters strike Japan with a 9.0 earthquake followed by a colossal tsunami, both of which contributed to a nuclear meltdown at one of the country's many nuclear power plans. Strong in the Rain attempts to document the events as experienced by the people living in the affected areas as well as the population as a while. The authors are two experienced foreign journalists based in Japan.

Other reviewers have pointed to the uneven perspective and direction of the text and I am inclined to agree. With two authors, even similarly located, the problem of speaking with a unified voice is noticeable. The writing styles are different and in several instances, sentences or sentiments are repeated. The chapters provide a loose structure. The interviews and sources cited are strong and provide a good level of depth to the prose. The authors do seem to switch back and forth between exploring their topic materials and simply documenting it which lessons the impact of the book. They also attempt to cover media, political, environmental, and societal elements, all of them lightly in order to keep the text introductory, and all suffer slightly as a result. I can appreciate the desire to get the Japanese citizens' message out especially in light of the nature of Japanese media and reporting, but the opportunity to real dig deep into serious topics presented by the disaster are passed over.

The true strength of the book besides the authors' knowledge of Japan is the power of the story and lives involved. As noted, the interviews and sources used in the book put faces on the story as well as the success of Japan in dealing with these events. The power of community and human goodwill are the stars and while the extent of the disaster is hard to comprehend, knowing that so many were undeterred is inspirational. ( )

Human nature, at its most unedited, will surprise you.

Calamity has a way of sweeping away all petty concerns and a person's true nature has no choice but to emerge. Sometimes this nature expresses itself in less than noble ways. But more often as not you hear stories of courage, self-sacrifice, and determination that are nothing short of astonishing. These are the stories authors Lucy Birmingham and David McNeill tell of the 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown. Six ordinary, everyday people - a teacher, a school cafeteria worker, a fisherman, a worker at the Fukushima power plant and a student - put names and faces to a disaster that is incomprehensible in its scope.

This is a book heartwrenching in its power. One cannot help but empathize with these people and the horrors they undergo. Yet you also come away from this book with a renewed faith in humanity and its quest for goodness and for survival. While the book did not politicize, how government and business reacted to the disaster makes this a cautionary tale of the highest degree. Beautifully told and masterfully tied together, I would recommend this book highly for anyone but espeically to those interested in the history of this disaster, anyone with an interest in "green" energy, or anyone interested in the Japanese people and their culture. ( )

Strong In The Rain offers a great deal of information in two-hundred pages. It did feel like it was written in a disjointed manner with repetitive sentences and no real flow to it. It jumps from science, to politics, to the human side of this disaster rather haphazardly.

I would rather see two separate books, one based on the science, the other on the survivor's stories. The authors missed a chance to write a powerful narrative and settled for a diluted version. ( )

On March 11, 2011 Japan was devastated by a triple disaster - a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook much of the country to its core, which caused an enormous tsunami to sweep in from the pacific ocean and engulf much of the eastern coast, and when things seemed to be at their worst, it was discovered that the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear power plant had melted down, spewing a toxic cloud of radiation into the surrounding region. Strong in the Rain chronicles the trials faced by the survivors, both immediately after the disaster and in the years to come.

The book is a bit all over the place at first, and I was afraid I was in for a slog. It tries to cover multiple viewpoints of the disaster, but it feels unfocused, jumping back and forth in time and dancing about various subjects relating to disaster preparedness. This changes during the post-disaster half, however, as the topics discussed are much more cohesive and the authors feel much more knowledgeable about them.

Though I'm tempted to give the book an average rating due to the rough start, the information regarding the hazards of nuclear meltdown is as important as it is alarming. You have to feel for the Japanese and what they are going through, but it also serves as a warning to the rest of us. Weather patterns appear to be getting worse and worse, yet we continue to build more nuclear plants all over the planet. It's really too bad so many people died or suffered so terribly and yet we couldn't take something positive from it. Nevertheless, at the very least let us all hope Japan can continue to recover and, as the title suggests, stay strong in the rain. ( )