The Galveston storm of 1900 reduced a cosmopolitan and economically vibrant city to a wreckage-strewn wasteland where survivors struggled without shelter, power, potable water, or even the means to summon help. At least 6,000 of the city's 38,000 residents died in the hurricane. Many observers predicted that Galveston would never recover and urged that the island be abandoned. Instead, the citizens of Galveston seized the opportunity, not just to rebuild, but to reinvent the city in a thoughtful, intentional way that reformed its government, gave women a larger role in its public life, and made it less vulnerable to future storms and flooding. This extensively illustrated history tells the full story of the 1900 Storm and its long-term effects. The authors draw on survivors' accounts to vividly recreate the storm and its aftermath. They describe the work of local relief agencies, aided by Clara Barton and the American Red Cross, and show how their short-term efforts grew into lasting reforms. At the same time, the authors reveal that not all Galvestonians benefited from the city's rebirth, as African Americans found themselves increasingly shut out from civic participation by Jim Crow segregation laws. As the centennial of the 1900 Storm prompts remembrance and reassessment, this complete account will be essential and fascinating reading for all who seek to understand Galveston's destruction and rebirth.
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Along with a riveting narrative of the hurricane that smashed Galveston, TX, in 1900 (killing at least 6000 out of 38,000 residents) and the heroic relief efforts afterward, readers will find absorbing the accounts of Galvestonians rebuilding their city, reshaping gender and race relations, altering the environment, and instituting the nation's first commission form of city government. Professional historians Bixel (assistant editor, Journal of Southern History) and Turner (history, Univ. of Houston, Downtown) skillfully show how the hurricane forced changes in the city's civic cultureDunfortunately allowing Jim Crow modifications of segregation policy as well as economic boosterism and Progressive Era reforms. Written for both the lay reader and historian, this readable and well-illustrated book tells an interesting story of what people did before, during, and after the storm and shows how much Galveston represented urban America between 1890 and 1920. Academic and public librarians should purchase.DCharles L. Lumpkins, Pennsylvania State Univ., State College
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but lacking,
By A Customer
This review is from: Galveston and the 1900 Storm (Hardcover)
Authors Patricia Bixel and Elizabeth Turner have written an account of the 1900 Storm detailing its long-term effects on Galveston. The photographs, from a variety of sources, are wonderful in conveying to the reader the magnitude of this disaster. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of the story from the actual events during the hurricane and the aftermath to how Galveston recovered and protected herself from future storms. I give the book three stars based on the photographs and amount of detail they put into the writing. But the book, written by authors with PhDs, reads more like a scholarly account, rather than the politically correct coffee table book it appears to be. Much attention is paid to the changing role of women and African-Americans during the time, with some statements and theories offered that have not been seen in other accounts. It is necessary to check their sources to compare those accounts with others. Unfortunately, they failed to include any endnotes guiding the reader through their extensive research. Instead, as the authors write, "Because this work was written for a more popular, general audience, it lacks the full scholarly apparatus of footnotes, endnotes or bibliography." This is a great disservice to the reader as I found myself wanting to know where some of the information came from. This is my reason for saying the book is lacking.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A valuable resource,
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This review is from: Galveston and the 1900 Storm (Paperback)
This well-illustrated volume shows the historical & sociological background of the Storm & its aftermath. It's a good supplement to "A Weekend in September"--my favorite reference--and "Isaac's Storm"--in which the author shows more interest in His Art than telling an exciting story.
I might be tempted to give this book four stars, but I'm trying to even things up because of the reviewer who voted three times.
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