Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

By Erik Larson

If you enjoyed The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, you might also enjoy his Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History.  It is the story of Isaac Monroe Cline who was the United States Weather Bureau meteorologist assigned to, and living in, Galveston, Texas in 1922, with his family.  He grossly underestimated the force of the storm that was approaching shore.  Galveston lost over six thousand people and large areas of the city.  Cline himself lost his wife to the storm.

Weather forecasting was in its infancy in 1922.  Further there was a “turf war” in progress between Cuban weather forecasters and the US Weather Bureau forecasters.  Though the Cuban weather reports were fairly accurate, their report of the approach of a massive storm was not relayed to Cline in Galveston.  The resulting hurricane produced the greatest natural disaster in American history.

Though you know the outcome of the storm, the book is exciting and full of suspense.  It is hard to believe the arrogance of the US Weather Bureau and of Cline himself.  It is a heartbreaking saga of human arrogance and lack of knowledge facing the full power of nature.

This article is sponsored by a generous donation from M&S of Pawling. http://www.mandsofpawling.com/