Erik Larson

A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

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

Ryan Mateyk

I found parts of this books dragged, especially the rivalries and relationships between all the weather scientists, but the descriptions of destruction were unparalleled as was the clearly immense research that supported this book (as evidenced by the 50+ pages of notes). Here's to 2017, the year of embracing non-fiction!

The Drowning of Galveston, 8 September 1900

Isaac's Storm

altlovesbooks

"Few asked the obvious question: If the bureau had done such a great job, why did so many people die?"

Unfortunately, a confluence of ego, hubris, and ignorance is not a good combination for a coastal city. At nearly every stage of this storm's journey (which you can revisit here), people not wanting to admit they were wrong, that other people knew better, or that anything was amiss in their great state of prosperity hindered any sort of advance warning that Galveston might have had. The result was catastrophic damage, something like 8-10,000 people dead, and survivors that had to pick up the pieces. 

I thought this was an incredibly compelling book that outlined the day-by-day progress of the storm and all the points of failure along the way. We also got a brief historical writeup beforehand about hurricane detection in history, which I thought was really interesting as well. The beef between Columbus and Bobadilla and the ending that story had was especially delicious. There's an incredible amount of notes and sources at the end too, which were also interesting to flip through. 

If you're a weather enthusiast looking for hard science, maybe pass this one up, though. Everything's kept at a basic level, which is great for keeping the ley person engaged and on board. If you're looking for a compelling historical look at an epic disaster, though, definitely give this a look.

Aaliyah Jenkins

Wynn Netherland

Larson tells the incredible story of hubris, disaster, and loss behind the fall of Galveston as America's premier Gulf Coast city from the perspective of several residents, most notably Issac Cline who oversaw the nascent Weather Bureau office there. Well-paced and immersive, it's an entertaining read.

Jeni Enjaian

I was incredibly disappointed by this book. The Galveston tragedy was one of those events that I learned about as a fact but have not had a chance to learn any details. I hoped that this book would provide those details. On one hand this book provided those details. On the other hand, Larson's narrative squandered potential historical narrative gold by wandering all around the point and "focusing" his narrative on a single employee of the nascent Weather Bureau.

I put "focusing" in quotes for a reason. More than half of this book completely ignored Isaac Cline. That half did not solely discuss the storm although that made up a part of it. No, that half found itself scattered throughout the Isaac-centered portions. Sometimes Larson discussed random boat captains who were caught in the storm. Sometimes Larson discussed other people who found themselves caught up in the disaster. In fact, Larson spent an entire chapter telling the background for a couple that he failed to mention much further than the first third of the book. I cannot recall if he even mentioned their ultimate fate.

Although well sourced, Larson wrote an abysmally terrible historical narrative. I recommend that people avoid this book entirely.

Lily Trueper

I feel like I can’t review this because I’m just not an avid reader of this genre, but it wouldn’t be fair for me to rate it low just because of that! I think it’s a good book actually, I just struggled to really get into it. (I read this for school so that’s why I read it in the first place)

Anna Adams

Shocking, and yet I wanted more of the personal stories post the storm. Erik Larson is an amazing writer.

Ben Nathan

Fascinating as per usual for Larson. I learned a fair amount and now want to write a trivia round about this in some way shape or form...or at least a question.

Francine Corry

Andrew Reeves

Pierke Bosschieter

Ashley McFarland

Isaac Monroe Cline

Briar Rose

John Bush

Noha Abdelaziz

L A-T

Elizabeth Bentler

Kathy Rodger 

Amanda Gilson

Celia Street

Tanya Sutton

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.

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

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