Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History in Around the World in 80 Books

Apr 20, 2011 Kay rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, natural-histry, american-histry, harrowing-tales

A study of a man... and a storm

It is instructive, in this time of changing weather patterns and global warming, to read this account of the deadliest storm ever to have struck the United States. Isaac's Storm is above all else a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris. U.S. Weather Bureau employee Isaac Cline, head of Galveston's weather reporting station, felt confident that the city would sustain little more than moderate flooding should a tropical storm or even cyclone approach. He posite A study of a man... and a storm

It is instructive, in this time of changing weather patterns and global warming, to read this account of the deadliest storm ever to have struck the United States. Isaac's Storm is above all else a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris. U.S. Weather Bureau employee Isaac Cline, head of Galveston's weather reporting station, felt confident that the city would sustain little more than moderate flooding should a tropical storm or even cyclone approach. He posited that the gradually sloping ocean shelf approaching Galveston and the bay that lay behind it would do much to defuse the effects of even a severe storm. As it happened, these two unique features rendered the city more, not less, susceptible to the effects of the hurricane that struck on September 8, 1900.

Isaac Cline was not alone in his overly sanguine views or his dismissal of ominous weather patterns developing in early September 1900, as Larson makes abundantly clear. The newly formed Weather Service that employed Cline seemed more intent on currying political favor and advancing personal agendas than in providing useful storm tracking information, not to mention that it had misplaced confidence in flawed theories of weather prediction. Larson devotes a good portion of the first half of the book to Cline's early career and the state of meteorology at the turn of the 20th century.

For my taste there was too much dissection of faulty pre-storm tracking, but once the background on Cline, the Weather Service, and the genesis of the hurricane were dealt with, the book took off with gale force.

Larson follows the lives of a handful of survivors hour-by-hour on the day of the hurricane, and their gripping accounts propel the narrative. Seemingly random decisions fated who lived or died as the storm tore apart houses and sent massive objects swirling through the streets, many becoming deadly projectiles. As I read this harrowing account, my imagination summoned up memories every severe storm I'd experienced, but in comparison, I realized, the storm that hit Galveston was far beyond anything I'd ever witnessed or even seen on television coverage of modern-day disasters.

Although the author does a fine job of describing the storm, I do think that it would have helped my understanding if there had been some maps of the town and its position on the Gulf to have referred to. Better yet, I'm sure that there are photos of Galveston before and after the hurricane or photos of some of the people mentioned that would be excellent documentation to accompany the text. It was baffling to me that when so much care was taken to research the book that this simple enhancement wasn't included.
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Aug 24, 2017 Erica added it

Shelves: environment, american-history

Fun book. Amazing details of one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history. The carnage is almost unbelievable. The story is well told, but the connections are not as well drawn as in Larson's other books.

pg 37: loc 126: "In a pamphlet called -Home Seekers-, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe described the lush land of the Texas coast as 'waiting to be tickled into a laughing harvest'."
"Meteorology was an emerging science rooted not so much in rigorous research as in stories and adventures."
pg 37 ...more

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Jan 10, 2016 Oblomov rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well I was late to the party on this one. A rather interesting story about the great Hurricane which struck the Texas town of Galveston in 1900 and the weatherman Isaac Cline who failed to predict the oncoming storm. To make matters worse Isaac had spoken against the need for the a seawall to protect the island town, significantly adding to the estimated casualties of over 10,000 citizens. A harrowing tale of occasional escape, but more often of unexpected death claiming men, women and children ...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Ken rated it really liked it

Highly readable account of the hurricane which devastated Galveston, Texas, in September 1900, and the failings of the US Weather Service. Some additional history of the US Weather Service and the science of hurricanes is thrown in for good measure. It's very well researched and well written. It would benefit greatly from more maps, and reproductions of period photos which are mentioned in the text but not shown. ...more

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Sep 16, 2019 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it

Shelves: src

While Larson readily admits he makes his nonfiction read like fiction, and introduces situations that he could not have witnessed or have sources that depict exactly what he relates, his book is much more engaging and terrifying for his method of presentation. The facts behind the hurricane in Galveston in 1900 are there and a feeling for the major characters in the events are revealed in an exciting manner.

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Mar 04, 2008 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: zz2008-read, non-fiction, maritime, science-related

A good read about a devastating natural disaster with which I hadn't been familiar. Larson weaves a good human story out of the extant records and first-person accounts written at the time, and he sure as heck makes the study of weather sound very exciting. But I think he did some build-up on a few things to create tension that didn't quite pay off in the end, such as the break between Isaac Cline and his brother Joseph. Still, it's a gripping--and sad--story all the way around. ...more

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Jan 27, 2008 Janna rated it really liked it

Shelves: best-reads

My grandmother came to Galveston not long before the flood I believe - fascinating historical account of this disaster that has great parallels to our recent experience with Hurricane Katrina.

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