A review by ricefun
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson
5.0
When I mentioned to a friend that I was visiting Galveston, TX for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, he immediately recommended that I read Isaac's Storm, an early book by Erik Larson. I already loved Larson from The Devil in the White City and other writings, and so I immediately took his advice.
The catastrophic hurricane that devastated Galveston is evident all around the city once I was keyed into the event. I was so appreciative that I was reading this book while actually in Galveston. And I finished it in two days time because it was so captivating and described so vividly places and spaces that I was visiting. It is hard to believe that a disaster on that scale happened, in all likelihood because some men were unable to lay down their pride and prepare for a disaster - and also that it is so rarely spoken about in general US history today.
Having family just outside Johnstown, PA, and growing up with the story of the Johnstown Flood told over and over around meal tables, I was shocked that the destruction from this storm in Galveston was such a magnitude grater than what happened in PA. And I was touched to read in Larson's book that one community that sent aid money to the island was Johnstown - who knew this kind of community disaster so well.
My partner joined me on the island after doing some back country hiking/camping near Houston. I told him story after story about things that struck me from Larson's account of the hurricane. I talked about the storm exhibits I saw at the local Public Library and at the Galveston County Museum - which included jewelry and clothing pieces catalogued off of bodies that were never identified and pictures of bodies pulled from rubble - many never identified - lined up for blocks and stacked on carts to be burned. I watched intently for placards hung near front doors if houses/buildings survived the 1900 storm as I walked through neighborhoods. And I stayed awake late wondering if the storm predicted for my time on the island would have any drastic consequences (it did not, thank goodness).
I've listed this book as a favorite. If I read it in a different context, it may not have struck me so deeply. But in this case, it was the perfect book at the perfect time. And I suspect I will remember it for years to come.
The catastrophic hurricane that devastated Galveston is evident all around the city once I was keyed into the event. I was so appreciative that I was reading this book while actually in Galveston. And I finished it in two days time because it was so captivating and described so vividly places and spaces that I was visiting. It is hard to believe that a disaster on that scale happened, in all likelihood because some men were unable to lay down their pride and prepare for a disaster - and also that it is so rarely spoken about in general US history today.
Having family just outside Johnstown, PA, and growing up with the story of the Johnstown Flood told over and over around meal tables, I was shocked that the destruction from this storm in Galveston was such a magnitude grater than what happened in PA. And I was touched to read in Larson's book that one community that sent aid money to the island was Johnstown - who knew this kind of community disaster so well.
My partner joined me on the island after doing some back country hiking/camping near Houston. I told him story after story about things that struck me from Larson's account of the hurricane. I talked about the storm exhibits I saw at the local Public Library and at the Galveston County Museum - which included jewelry and clothing pieces catalogued off of bodies that were never identified and pictures of bodies pulled from rubble - many never identified - lined up for blocks and stacked on carts to be burned. I watched intently for placards hung near front doors if houses/buildings survived the 1900 storm as I walked through neighborhoods. And I stayed awake late wondering if the storm predicted for my time on the island would have any drastic consequences (it did not, thank goodness).
I've listed this book as a favorite. If I read it in a different context, it may not have struck me so deeply. But in this case, it was the perfect book at the perfect time. And I suspect I will remember it for years to come.