Isaac’s Storm

Erik Larson

On September 8, 1900, the island of Galveston, Texas, was hit by a monster hurricane.

The fierce hurricane inundated the island, washing away houses, animals and people.  Over 6,000 people died in the deadliest hurricane in history.  It remains, to this day, the greatest natural disaster in American history. 

Isaac Cline, the main person in the account, was the chief meteorologist in Galveston for the U.S. Weather Bureau.  We see the drama and the tragedy through his eyes, along with the accounts of a number of other people who survived the storm, and a number of others who died in the storm.  This gives the book an especially poignant and human face.

If you do not understand the power of a hurricane, the most powerful force in nature, then Larson’s book is one to read.  This is a thrilling account of the 1900 Galveston hurricane.