In a recent radio interview on WCPT 820 Chicago with host Richard Chew, national bestselling author William Elliott Hazelgrove provided new insights into the catastrophic flood that struck the Texas Hill Country on July 4, 2025. The flood claimed the lives of 146 people, including 27 young campers at Camp Mystic. Hazelgrove's forthcoming book, The Camp Mystic Flood: A Story of Tragedy and Heroism (Bloomsbury, July 8, 2027), is the result of months of on-the-ground research, offering a comprehensive narrative that goes beyond the headlines.
Hazelgrove emphasized that the book is not about assigning blame but about telling the complete story—from the first weather alerts to the desperate rescues and the remarkable acts of courage that emerged. During the interview, he discussed traveling the Guadalupe River with first responders, walking the flood zone, and interviewing survivors and rescuers. He also examined thousands of pages of investigative reports, emergency communications, and eyewitness accounts to reconstruct the events with precision.
The book details the minute-by-minute rise of the Guadalupe River before dawn, the final hours inside Camp Mystic as counselors and campers struggled to survive, and the extraordinary rescues by Coast Guard helicopter crews, first responders, neighbors, and ordinary Texans. It also covers the search that continued long after the floodwaters receded and addresses how one of America's worst freshwater disasters unfolded despite modern forecasting technology. The legislative investigations, lawsuits, and lasting impact on Texas summer camps are also explored.
"This is not a book about assigning blame," Hazelgrove said. "It is the story of what happened, why it happened, and the extraordinary courage shown by so many people in the darkest hours of that morning." His approach combines investigative reporting with narrative storytelling, a hallmark of his previous works such as Capone's Vault, Henry Knox's Noble Train, and Evil on the Roof of the World.
The complete WCPT interview is now available online, offering listeners an early look at the research and reporting behind the book. Hazelgrove, whose works have been featured by The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, and C-SPAN Book TV, continues to illuminate remarkable moments in American history. His books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, and have been selections of the Book of the Month Club, ALA Editors' Choice, and the History Book Club.
As the publication date approaches, The Camp Mystic Flood promises to be a definitive account of a tragedy that shook a community and a nation, shedding light on both the fragility of life and the resilience of the human spirit.
