At the dawn of the twentieth century, a great confidence suffused America. Isaac Cline was one of the era’s new men, a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based, was to him preposterous, “an absurd delusion.” It was 1900, a year when America … felt bigger and stronger than ever before. Nothing in nature could hobble the gleaming city of Galveston, then a magical place that seemed destined to become the New York of the Gulf.
That August, a strange, prolonged heat wave gripped the nation and killed scores of people in New York and Chicago. Odd things seemed to happen everywhere: A plague of crickets engulfed Waco. The Bering Glacier began to shrink. Rain fell on Galveston with greater intensity than anyone could remember. Far away, in Africa, immense thunderstorms blossomed over the city of Dakar, and great currents of wind converged. A wave of atmospheric turbulence slipped from the coast of western Africa. Most such waves faded quickly. This one did not.
In Cuba, America’s overconfidence was made all too obvious by the Weather Bureau’s obsession with controlling hurricane forecasts, even though Cuba’s indigenous weathermen had pioneered hurricane science. As the bureau’s forecasters assured the nation that all was calm in the Caribbean, Cuba’s own weathermen fretted about ominous signs in the sky. A curious stillness gripped Antigua. Only a few unlucky sea captains discovered that the storm had achieved an intensity no man alive had ever experienced.
In Galveston, reassured by Cline’s belief that no hurricane could seriously damage the city, there was celebration. Children played in the rising water. Hundreds of people gathered at the beach to marvel at the fantastically tall waves and gorgeous pink sky, until the surf began ripping the city’s beloved beachfront apart. Within the next few hours Galveston would endure a hurricane that to this day remains the nation’s deadliest natural disaster. In Galveston alone at least 6,000 people, possibly as many as 10,000, would lose their lives, a number far greater than the combined death toll of the Johnstown Flood and 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
And Isaac Cline would experience his own unbearable loss.
Meticulously researched and vividly written, Isaac’s Storm is based on Cline’s own letters, telegrams, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the hows and whys of great storms. Ultimately, however, it is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets nature’s last great uncontrollable force. As such, Isaac’s Storm carries a warning for our time.
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As in his other books, the author tells a blended story of two events and the impact one had on the other. The story of the storm and how a community dealt with it in the absence of the technology we rely on today was harrowing. The story of the early efforts of what woudl become a national weather bureau is heroic.
I learned so much about hurricanes and people and how they often don’t mix. So many tragedies are the result of misinformation, lack of knowledge or hubris. This one fits them all!
Since I live in southwest Louisiana, this was a quite interesting event to learn about; however, it did get a touch “dry.”
Isaac’ Storm was a dramatic retelling of the hurricane that decimated Galveston, Texas, in 1900. Erik Larson is a terrific writer who thoroughly researches his subject matter to bring out the humanity in the face of tragedy.
Background and true story of the devastating hurricane that destroyed Galveston on September 8, 1900, killing over 6,000 people. Erik Larson filled his pages with detailed research, including accounts of survivors.
I hunkered down in my home in Florida while four hurricanes rampaged through my area. After reading Isaac’s Storm, I will be the …
A readable account of weather forecasting before the days of radar and satellite imaging and the effects of a terrible hurricane on Galveston. If you feel inclined to complain about inaccurate forecasts, read this and be grateful for the warnings we get.
One of the best books I have ever read.
Best ever book by Larson. Couldn’t put it down.
Even if you don’t love history, this book is well written & will definitely have you hooked to read it!
One of my all time favorites. Author bring real events into readable tales. Makes you feel the emotions of the participants.
The first half is a bit technical, but you have to learn and understand about hurricanes, before he can tell you about the big one in Galveston, TX in 1900. It’s so incredible to read about hurricanes–never thought that would be interesting. Great author. Makes you feel you are right there. Also covers the beginning–rocky beginning of our …
I wait for Erik Lawson to write his next book, because every one is wonderful!
Larson continues to teach us about history while entertaining us.
Riveting narrative of a true event, with real characters.
Reads like a novel. Couldn’t put it down.
Historical. Tragic. Great read.
I have bought this book several times and read it several times. Each time I learn somehing new. I know more about hurricans from this book than anything I have learned by first-hand experience. I realy recommend this book and reading it more than one time.
Larsen is always a good bet for a historically interesting book.
Although it was a huge event at the time, and its effects linger today, I didn’t know much about the Galveston hurricane until I read this book.
Larson is masterful at telling two parallel stories and this is one of his best. Who knew he could make the hurricane in Galveston and the US Weather Bureau compelling stories. As always his narrative non-fiction is fabulous and has you anxious to find out the end of the stories. Love his work.