Isaac's storm
Issac's storm. A man and his fight against the most terrible hurricane of history (English title: Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History ) is a published in September 1999 New York Times - bestselling by Erik Larson . In the style of a non-fictional story , a factual novel , the book follows the events immediately before, during and after the Galveston Hurricane (1900) . In February 2000, the version translated into German by Bettina Abarbanell was published by S. Fischer Verlag .
Set in Galveston, Texas , a bustling port city at the turn of the century, the book focuses on Isaac Cline's role in the hurricane devastation of Galveston.
content
The book begins with a restless Isaac Cline on the night of Friday, September 7, 1900, the evening before the hurricane hit land. Despite all the meteorological signs to the contrary, Isaac got a bad feeling that something was wrong. Larson follows this prologue with a look at the science of hurricanes and the unusual circumstances of this hurricane season. At the origin of the storm, Larson speculates about the formation of hurricanes. He traces the path of the storm all the way to Galveston, describing the people of Galveston and the life force of the city. The narrative is supported by the scattering of letters and telegrams around the storm event. The special skills of Cuban meteorologists are highlighted, but they are completely ignored by the self-confident US weather service and its meteorologists. The hurricane passes Cuba and the Cubans predict they will move on towards Texas , but the weather bureau believes it will hit Florida . Larson, meanwhile, sheds light on the living conditions of some Galveston citizens on the eve of the storm, particularly Isaac Clines.
The storm is gathering and is starting to flood the streets. This is nothing unusual at first, but the conditions are noticeably deteriorating and the water continues to rise. Suddenly the connection to the mainland is broken, no more messages or telegrams get through. In the meantime, the storm has literally uprooted half the island, killing thousands and causing the survivors the worst destruction. Rumors are surfacing on the mainland and the full extent of the horror will soon be revealed. The islanders stand in front of the ruins of their destroyed city. Isaac has lost his pregnant wife and has doubts about himself. The city is being rebuilt a few meters higher, but the glamor of bygone days does not return, Houston has taken on Galveston's role as the most important port in Texas.
The narrative is peppered with many other details and individual fates. The author gives Clines published memoirs Storms, Floods and Sunshine , archives of the weather office, surviving letters, telegrams and photographs, as well as reports of survivors as sources that follow the main text with page references .
Isaac Cline
Isaac Monroe Cline (1861–1955) was chief meteorologist in Galveston, the Texas division of the US Weather Service, from 1889 to 1901. Cline had a significant influence on the later destruction through an article he wrote in the Galveston Daily News, in which he derided the notion of significant damage from a hurricane in Galveston as a "crazy idea". This article had played an important role in determining that a protective wall planned after the rival port of Indianola was destroyed by the Indianola Hurricane (1886) had not been built.
Cline is credited for issuing a hurricane warning on his own initiative, contrary to the policy of the weather service, during the 1900s hurricane; however, this warning came too late for an evacuation of the island. During the hurricane, Isaac returned home to his pregnant wife, three daughters, and younger brother Joseph. The Clines tried to weather the storm there, but the floods raised the house and the family was separated from Cline's wife Cora, who eventually drowned.
review
The book received the Louis J. Battan Author's Award from the American Meteorological Society in 2002.
The gripping narrative style is generally praised, but the mixture of facts and the emotions portrayed meets with criticism, as does the simplified depiction of technology belief and hubris.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Isaac's Storm . Random House (publisher) . Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ New York Times Bestsellers, 31. Isaacs Storm
- ↑ Erik Larson: Issacs storm , S. Fischer Verlag , ISBN 3-10-044806-5
- ^ About the author Erik Larson
- ^ Louis J. Battan Author's Award
- ↑ Perlentaucher culture magazine
- ↑ Washington Post Book Reviews: Isaac's storm
- ↑ Wieland Freund (Die Welt) Die-Limits-der-Parabola
- ↑ FAZ reviews of fiction: Hurrikinaden