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Not as enjoyable as his other books, but interesting reading about the development of weather patterns, storm prediction, and the weather bureau. Larson recounts a disastrous hurricane that killed 6,000 or more in 1900 in Galveston, Texas and the jealousies and poor communications that led to the huge loss of life. Larson focuses his tale on the life of Galveston weatherman Isaac Cline and his brother Joe.
Not quite the page turner that the other Erik Larson books I've read are. I really love this history-of-science/disaster genre, however this one seemed a bit sluggish in comparison. Certainly the events described--the hurricane that destroyed Galveston--were exciting enough, but I think the protagonist-hero just kind of lacked interest for me.
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My only real criticism is that the chronologic jump-around was a bit disorienting at times.
Having gotten that out of the way, Larson does a beautiful job at telling the tale of the hubris of mankind pitted against the brawn of nature, hubris that in this case lead to the death of ~8,000 people. The desolation is terrifying and the narrative is worth adding to your consciousness.
Having gotten that out of the way, Larson does a beautiful job at telling the tale of the hubris of mankind pitted against the brawn of nature, hubris that in this case lead to the death of ~8,000 people. The desolation is terrifying and the narrative is worth adding to your consciousness.
Oct 18, 2009
Alison
marked it as to-read
Nov 08, 2011
Windelbo
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Feb 22, 2013
Nydia “Cookie”
marked it as to-read
Jun 03, 2013
Zac
marked it as unread
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review of another edition
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