Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

by Larson, Erik
ISBN: 9780375708275
4.7 (3)
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Overview

From the bestselling author of The Devil in the White City, here is the true story of the deadliest hurricane in history.

National Bestseller

September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy.

Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.

  • Format: TradePaperback
  • Author: Larson, Erik
  • ISBN: 9780375708275
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 8.00 x 0.75
  • Number Of Pages: 336
  • Publication Year: 2000

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  • The real storm of the century.

    Christopher J. - 5 years 1 month ago

    This is the story of what is still our most deadly natural disaster. The hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900 caused enormous loss of life and destruction but was largely forgotten until this riveting book came out. Erik Larson brings the era to life in a fascinating way, while showing the tragic results of unheeded warnings.

    HPB Staff Review

  • The High Price of Hubris

    Stephen G. - 6 years 7 months ago

    Written to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, this powerful and true story of the devastating event is a worthy read. The author, Erik Larson, does an excellent job of placing the event within the context of its time. The growth of the sciences at the start of the last century inspired a sense that mankind was on the verge of solving life's problems through the application of science and technology. Weather forecasting, though still in its infancy as a science, displayed a confidence in its abilities greater than was likely warranted. With that as a backdrop, along with American disdain of non-American (Cuban) forecasting techniques, the scene was set for a great tragedy. Larson takes us around the Gulf of Mexico, following the storm as it approached Galveston unseen and unsuspected. It is here that the writing is at its best, as Larson gives us the human dimension of this tragedy. The irony is that the very forecaster who dismissed the idea of a hurricane hitting Galveston was to pay for his hubris with the life of his family. Highly recommended.

    HPB Staff Review

  • The story of the Great Galveston Hurricane--the deadliest storm

    Donnette W. - 6 years 10 months ago

    To my mind, well-written history often trumps fiction; the human imagination is no match for the baroque machinery of fate. Erik Larson writes compelling history. His talent lies in interweaving the general with the specific, building the characters and the scenes in which they move with equal meticulous skill. In this particular book, the history of meteorology and the science of storms are interwoven with the life story of Isaac Cline, assigned to be Galveston's chief meteorologist in 1889. Larson draws the portrait of a nascent National Weather Service beset by scandal, eager to prove its worth, and determined to avoid any hint of public panic. He traces the path of the storm across the Caribbean and shows how the hubris of the age--when nature was considered all but conquered--conspired with Cline's and the Weather Service's limitations to ensure that the storm hit Galveston on that fateful September day with very little warning. Larson unfolds the day itself, through the memories of Cline and other citizens, giving a vivid account of what it was like to survive the storm, and how it changed their lives, and Galveston, forever.

    HPB Staff Review