Erik Larson’s Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History is the kind of book we can expect of Larson, an informative and entertaining piece of non-fiction. Larson documents the killer Hurricane that struck Galveston Texas in 1900, mainly through the lens of the chief government meteorologist, the Isaac of the title.
But the book is far broader than one man’s story. It is about the emergence of meteorology and weather forecasting with its accompanying strengths and pitfalls. This book is also about how weather can destroy not only a community that is rebuilt, but its future.
Galveston was poised to be Texas’ great port city. The hurricane exposed how vulnerable it was to massive storms, and that, along with the discovery of oil around Houston, pushed Galveston aside.
A city molded and destroyed by climate – still a timely story.
But the book is far broader than one man’s story. It is about the emergence of meteorology and weather forecasting with its accompanying strengths and pitfalls. This book is also about how weather can destroy not only a community that is rebuilt, but its future.
Galveston was poised to be Texas’ great port city. The hurricane exposed how vulnerable it was to massive storms, and that, along with the discovery of oil around Houston, pushed Galveston aside.
A city molded and destroyed by climate – still a timely story.
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