"Isaac's Storm" by Erik Larson Book Review
The novel by Erik Larson called “The Isaac’s Storm” talks about the destruction caused by so far the deadliest hurricane in American history – the Great Galveston Hurricane. Although many people believe that Isaac Cline, one of the main weather experts, was responsible for all the destruction. However, Larson’s book, as well as a number of reviews written on it, prove that the question of whether Cline was guilty or the situation was caused by a number of factors will never be answered.
The hurricane hit the coast of Texas more than one hundred years ago, causing thousands of people to die and even more to lose their homes. Erik Larson is a modern writer and journalist, and one may question why and how he managed to gather all this information for his book about the event that happened so much time ago and left few living survivors. However, Larson went off to look for letters and diaries and asked the survivors and those who heard the stories about Galveston directly from them, and he succeeded. His book is credible also because he does not seem to pick sides: he neither blames meteorologist Cline, nor tries to justify his and the Bureau’s behavior. Larson understands that not only Cline’s overly confident nature was to blame, but also the political situation in the United States, mainly the growing tension with Cuba and racism. Therefore, he simply retells the story that happened in a journalist non-fiction style, and thanks to vibrant details, reading the book feels like watching a documentary.
Many people reviewed “The Isaac’s Storm”, trying to understand the reasons behind the tragedy and Larson’s take on them. T. Watkins, a professor at Montana State University, claimed that the book was significant for its “lively expose of bureaucratic stupidity”. Watkins considers the whole Weather Bureau responsible for the tragedy, Isaac Cline included, although the professor assumes that the latter was guided by the higher-positioned individuals. “[Cline’s] ignorance was abetted by the Weather Service in Washington under the iron thumb of director Willis Moore, an ambitious bureaucrat who did not like to give out bad news”. Watkins spends little time talking about the survivors and the victims of the hurricane, dedicating his review mainly to the causes of the disaster. The tone of Watkins’ review is neutral, and he is just introducing the facts without emotionally attaching to them. However, it is not hard for the readers to notice that he is very disapproving of the Weather Bureau employers and the whole political situation of the United States.
Loretta Kalb’s review of “The Isaac’s Storm” concentrates more on personal tragedies, although like Watkins, she does include her take on the political situation. She recalls an episode from the book, where Larson mentions how his acquaintance, Young, struggled with a heavy storm and prepared for imminent death. She also takes a few minutes to mention the fate of St. Mary's Orphanage and its 93 orphans …
