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

Erik Larson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 11, 2000

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 devestating 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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Reading in his signature dispassionate style, narrator Edward Herrmann brings an eerie calm to this powerful chronicle of the deadliest storm ever to hit the United States--a huge and terribly destructive hurricane that struck land near Galveston, Texas in September of 1900. In this abridged recording, Author Erik Larson re-creates the events leading up to the disaster in astonishing detail, tracing the thoughts and actions of Isaac Cline, a scientist with America's burgeoning U.S. Weather Bureau. Cline's unwavering confidence--"In an age of scientific certainty one could not allow one's judgment to be clouded..."--blinds the meteorologist to the deadly onslaught about to be unleashed. Herrmann's calculated performance reflects the impending doom and dangers inherent to an unquestioned and absolute faith in science. (Running time: 5 hours, 4 CDs) --George Laney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Torqued by drama and taut with suspense, this absorbing narrative of the 1900 hurricane that inundated Galveston, Tex., conveys the sudden, cruel power of the deadliest natural disaster in American history. Told largely from the perspective of Isaac Cline, the senior U.S. Weather Bureau official in Galveston at the time, the story considers an era when "the hubris of men led them to believe they could disregard even nature itself." As barometers plummet and wind gauges are plucked from their moorings, Larson (Lethal Passage) cuts cinematically from the eerie "eyewall" of the hurricane to the mundane hubbub of a lunchroom moments before it capitulates to the arriving winds, from the neat pirouette of Cline's house amid rising waters to the bridge of the steamship Pensacola, tossed like flotsam on the roiling seas. Most intriguingly, Larson details the mistakes that led bureau officials to dismiss warnings about the storm, which killed over 6000 and destroyed a third of the island city. The government's weather forecasting arm registered not only temperature and humidity but also political climate, civic boosterism and even sibling rivalries. America's patronizing stance toward Cuba, for instance, shut down forecasts from Cuban meteorologists, who had accurately predicted the Galveston storm's course and true scale, even as U.S. weather officials issued mollifying bulletins calling for mere rain and high winds. Larson expertly captures the power of the storm itself and the ironic, often catastrophic consequences of the unpredictable intersection of natural force and human choice. Major ad/promo; author tour; simultaneous Random House audio; foreign rights sold in Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan and the U.K. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Thus. edition (July 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375708278
• ISBN-13: 978-0375708275
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (406 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Atmospheric Sciences
  • #3 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Weather
  • #3 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Rivers

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

235 of 238 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Loved It January 2, 2000

By Richard W. Taylor

Format:Hardcover

I've been a meteorologist for 20 years. Trained by Dr Bill Gray, I've walked in the eye of three hurricanes and flown in they eye of one. One recent book interest has been adventure stories including THE PERFECT STORM, INTO THIN AIR, ENDURANCE, etc. I had shyed away from ISSAC'S STORM because I couldn't imagine what Larson could tell me I didn't already know about the 1900 disaster at Galveston. I shouldn't have waited. Even the most seasoned weather geek will learn from this book. Like Carl Sagan, Larson has a knack for putting complex concepts in layman terms. I took away new simple descriptions of tropical meteorological concepts. However, that is not the genius of this book. Erik Larson did a wonderful job piecing together thousands of bits of information and crafting it all into a gripping read. What's missing? Photographs. Like SHIP OF GOLD IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA, this book is screaming for a companion book of photos. Eric said he waded through over 4,000; 250 of the best would make a super addition to this treatise. Rick Taylor, [e-mail]

130 of 134 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eerie and Powerful description of a Natural Disaster July 30, 2000

By E. A. Lovitt HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Are there other folks out there who enjoy reading true accounts of someone else's misfortune, especially if that misfortunate involves a titanic, unstoppable force of nature? A few, really good examples of this true-life disaster genre that I've read over the years are: "The Earth Shook - The Sky Burned" (San Francisco Earthquake)"; "The Coming Plague" (newly emerging diseases); "Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals" (doomed on Lake Superior, etc.); "Rats, Lice, and History" (a biography of typhus); and "Isaac's Storm" (the Galveston hurricane of 1900).

Erik Larson's book on the deadliest hurricane in history has two main focal points: the hurricane itself; and the human drama of Isaac Cline, the Galveston meteorologist who failed to predict the intensity of the storm. The book meanders through occasional dry stretches of Isaac's pre-storm biography, and through the history of the U.S. Weather Bureau (they were interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the storm), but once it focuses on the events of September 8, 1900 and beyond, I wasn't able to set "Isaac's Storm" down. Especially compelling are the eerie descriptions of what it's like to sail through the eye of a hurricane, and of course the narrative (from the viewpoints of several survivors) of what it was like to be in Galveston before, during, and after the storm. If you are afraid of storms or of water, you might not want to read this book because Erik Larson puts you right there when the storm debris is caving in the side of your house, or when the "tide suddenly rises fully four feet at one bound".

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Mother Nature and human nature collide. October 14, 1999

By J. Schramm

Format:Hardcover

Larsen's book is a true account of not only the physical damage a severe hurricane can bring but also how human error (read: stubborness) can cause just as much damage. "Isaac's Storm" chronicles the Galveston hurricane of 1900. Larsen ably follows the path of the hurricane and the paths of the survivors and non-survivors. I enjoyed Larsen's description of the anatomy of a storm, tracing one from the west coast of Africa to possible destruction on the other side of the Atlantic. As I read, I feared the description would get too scientific to follow. Larsen gently leads through the stages of the storm and takes time to explain what is happening and why. Equally fascinating is the pride the people of 1900 exhibit. Consider: 1) A storm would never cross the Gulf of Mexico and strike Galveston. 2) The U.S. Weather Bureau was convinced that Cubans could not forecast a hurricane and caught off all weather warnings from Cuba. 3) Only Washington could declare the storm a "hurricane". The local forecaster (who was dealing with the wind, rain, etc.) could not. I found this book enjoyable, historical and a little chilling. I may have also learned a little more about all of us.