Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
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.
What a great story! This book just raced along full of facts and interesting detail about "a man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history." I must admit that when this book was first released in Australia I wasn't overly interested. It didn't sound like something that would interest me in the slightest. How wrong can you be, after picking the book up for the third or fourth time and actually taking the time to see what the story was about I had to read it. The author, Erik Larson,
Well, this was ok, but I didn't find it as engaging as Larson's Dead Wake story. The lengthy history on hurricanes and weather reporting was a bit dry, and the characters within this story weren't all that engaging. The relating of the disaster itself was very good though, and I learned a lot, not previously realizing the scope of lives lost and destruction in its path.
Popular history with just enough science thrown in to explain what happened without causing the reader to go cross-eyed. Fast moving and engrossing in the tradition of the best suspense/disaster fiction only the 1900 Galveston Hurricane was real. Somewhere between 6,000-8,0000 people lost their lives and the city of Galveston, Texas sustained a body blow that derailed it's ambitions of becoming one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the United States. It's now a moderate sized city that
Ever want to read a nonfiction tragedy about a presumptive meteorologist? Exactly. Still, Isaac's Storm is an engaging cautionary tale, and one with a bit of relevance for America today. In fact the book is almost foreshadowing in that it was published just a couple of years before Hurricane Katrina. The writing in this book is not nearly as tuned as it is in The Devil in the White City, but Larson is still better at this than nine of ten nonfiction writers. Side note: when Katrina hit, several
erik larson is the darling of the narrative nonfiction world, and while this is the first of his books i have read, ive long appreciated his commitment to cover-consistency:and then theres this one, breaking up the visual flow:written in 1999, this is one of his first, and i can only assume that, along with growing into a particular font-and-layout groove as his career progressed, he also grew as a writer. 'cuz this one was kind of zzzzz.heres the thing - i am more or less freaked out by nature.
I feel terrible when I say I like these sorts of books. Perhaps I should say I admire the book, the story that the author accomplished, and that I still feel heartbroken for the pain and suffering that the survivors of the disaster. They are all dead now, the hurricane killed 6,000 people more than a hundred years ago, but their suffering was real, families were blotted out entirely, people that would be great-grandchildren now, never existed because in disasters its just as much about luck as
Erik Larson
Paperback | Pages: 336 pages Rating: 4.05 | 44357 Users | 3564 Reviews
Mention Of Books Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
Title | : | Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History |
Author | : | Erik Larson |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 336 pages |
Published | : | July 11th 2000 by Vintage Books USA (first published August 24th 1999) |
Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. Science. Biography. North American Hi.... American History. Historical |
Narrative Toward Books Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
National BestsellerSeptember 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.
Specify Books Conducive To Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
Original Title: | Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History |
ISBN: | 0375708278 (ISBN13: 9780375708275) |
Edition Language: | English |
Setting: | Galveston, Texas(United States) |
Literary Awards: | Book Sense Book of the Year Award Nominee for Adult (2000), The Louis J. Battan Author's Award for Adult (2002) |
Rating Of Books Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
Ratings: 4.05 From 44357 Users | 3564 ReviewsAssessment Of Books Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
An interesting and often sad of several accounts of the great hurricane that ravaged Galveston, Texas in September 1900. This Katrina class or stronger hurricane hit this city with the people having no knowledge or warning of the intensity and power these types of storms can unleash.The book loosely follows Isaac Cline and his brother who were the weather observers working for the newly formed National Weather Bureau during this tragic event.The beginning of the book has a general history ofWhat a great story! This book just raced along full of facts and interesting detail about "a man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history." I must admit that when this book was first released in Australia I wasn't overly interested. It didn't sound like something that would interest me in the slightest. How wrong can you be, after picking the book up for the third or fourth time and actually taking the time to see what the story was about I had to read it. The author, Erik Larson,
Well, this was ok, but I didn't find it as engaging as Larson's Dead Wake story. The lengthy history on hurricanes and weather reporting was a bit dry, and the characters within this story weren't all that engaging. The relating of the disaster itself was very good though, and I learned a lot, not previously realizing the scope of lives lost and destruction in its path.
Popular history with just enough science thrown in to explain what happened without causing the reader to go cross-eyed. Fast moving and engrossing in the tradition of the best suspense/disaster fiction only the 1900 Galveston Hurricane was real. Somewhere between 6,000-8,0000 people lost their lives and the city of Galveston, Texas sustained a body blow that derailed it's ambitions of becoming one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the United States. It's now a moderate sized city that
Ever want to read a nonfiction tragedy about a presumptive meteorologist? Exactly. Still, Isaac's Storm is an engaging cautionary tale, and one with a bit of relevance for America today. In fact the book is almost foreshadowing in that it was published just a couple of years before Hurricane Katrina. The writing in this book is not nearly as tuned as it is in The Devil in the White City, but Larson is still better at this than nine of ten nonfiction writers. Side note: when Katrina hit, several
erik larson is the darling of the narrative nonfiction world, and while this is the first of his books i have read, ive long appreciated his commitment to cover-consistency:and then theres this one, breaking up the visual flow:written in 1999, this is one of his first, and i can only assume that, along with growing into a particular font-and-layout groove as his career progressed, he also grew as a writer. 'cuz this one was kind of zzzzz.heres the thing - i am more or less freaked out by nature.
I feel terrible when I say I like these sorts of books. Perhaps I should say I admire the book, the story that the author accomplished, and that I still feel heartbroken for the pain and suffering that the survivors of the disaster. They are all dead now, the hurricane killed 6,000 people more than a hundred years ago, but their suffering was real, families were blotted out entirely, people that would be great-grandchildren now, never existed because in disasters its just as much about luck as
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