leasummer's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very interesting book detailing the 1900 hurricane that struck Galveston, TX. It includes the budding Weather Bureau and their dedication to being taken seriously, even at the detriment of those depending on them for weather. It shows how the arrogance of man can make a disaster much worse and more deadly. There are stories from survivors of the hurricane to paint a picture of what it was like as the hurricane came and what it left behind.
captaincocanutty's review against another edition
2.0
While the meteorological science, eyewitness accounts, and historical context are interesting to read to gain perspective, Erik Larson tries way too hard to paint Isaac Cline in a sympathetic light. My great grandfather survived that storm no thanks to him, and Cline should not be portrayed as some tragic hero.
jeaninesmith1962's review against another edition
4.0
This book had a very slow start. As it began to share the history of meteorology, it grabbed my interest. I learned a great deal about the science of weather - hurricanes in particular.
bibliomaniac33's review against another edition
5.0
Why hasn’t this been made into a blockbuster movie?!? This was a fantastic book. I cannot believe I hadn’t run across it earlier. I’m going to read again ASAP.
mobailey's review against another edition
4.0
I love Erik Larson and have read almost all of his books. There was a lot of weather talk in the book understandably, so a bit dry but his writing is always fantastic. I never knew about this deadly hurricane from 1900.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
3.0
The storm was monumentally devastating...but it needn't have been. Eric Larson's account of the hurricane that devastated the offshore Texas town of Galveston is well done and quite readable. Like any drama, it is most appealing when the rubber hits the road, or in this case during the actual destruction of Galveston. Larson's recreations of the first person experiences of the storm are done in riveting fashion. Some of the images planted in my mind's eye will stay with me always. The blow by blow descriptions of the storm, the inhabitants of Galveston and the swirling water and debris wrench the heart. The storm is tracked across the Atlantic though when the technical structure of the storm is discussed, it bogged down the narrative. I became frustrated that I didn't understand the mechanics as well as I wanted to--a lot of information was crammed into a small space and not allowed to breath. The unfolding of the politics of weather forecasting, however, was done quite well. The mixture of insight and misinformation that informs any new field of knowledge contributed to American forecasters leaving Galveston unprepared. The title of the book refers to a regional weather man almost swallowed by the storm who should have known better but allowed his superiors to hold sway over his common sense. Exactly why it is considered his storm is only driven home at the end. What should have been a stronger central theme was played with but never driven home until the end of the book. There were some secondary characters introduced unnecessarily to heighten the tragedy of the storm--they diluted and confused the action. On the whole, quite enjoyable as history and mass tragedy but a misstep in really delivering the person of Isaac behind the title.
superiorweasel's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic account of a horrific storm. Vividly detailed.
isa_08's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
The best part was part 4 since it finally started with all the action. In my opinion Larson took too long to set the scene you don’t need 2 parts of the book for that.
lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting, if frustrating, account of the Galveston hurricane of 1900. It was obviously well researched, as all Larson works are, and the level of detail regarding the Weather Bureau of the time and the storm itself was excellent. However, I think it's a little misleading to call the book "Isaac's Storm", claim it's about him, and then have to make up a bunch of stuff because the man didn't really write all that much about himself. Yeah...yeah. But still pretty good.