One hundred years after the hurricane of 1900 devastated Galveston, Texas, it remains the most deadly natural disaster in United States history. Although many heeded the warnings of local weatherman Dr. Isaac Monroe Cline, numerous others did not. More than 6,000 souls perished. Shortly after the storm, author Nathan C. Green set out to share with the world the Story of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane . For those who had lost their lives, he would become their voice; for those who had somehow miraculously survived, he would become their chronicler. To further memorialize the events of the Galveston Hurricane, Pelican has reprinted Dr. Isaac Monroe Cline's Storms, Floods and Sunshine: An Autobiography, which it first published in 1945.
Spur Award Nominee: How Galveston, Texas, reinvented itself after historic disaster: “A riveting narrative . . . Absorbing [and] well-illustrated.” —Library Journal The Galveston storm of 1900 reduced a cosmopolitan and economically vibrant city to a wreckage-strewn wasteland where survivors struggled without shelter, power, potable water, or even the means to summon help. At least 6,000 of the city's 38,000 residents died in the hurricane. Many observers predicted that Galveston would never recover and urged that the island be abandoned. Instead, the citizens of Galveston seized the opportunity, not just to rebuild, but to reinvent the city in a thoughtful, intentional way that reformed its government, gave women a larger role in its public life, and made it less vulnerable to future storms and flooding. This extensively illustrated history tells the full story of the 1900 Storm and its long-term effects. The authors draw on survivors’ accounts to vividly recreate the storm and its aftermath. They describe the work of local relief agencies, aided by Clara Barton and the American Red Cross, and show how their short-term efforts grew into lasting reforms. At the same time, the authors reveal that not all Galvestonians benefited from the city’s rebirth, as African Americans found themselves increasingly shut out from civic participation by Jim Crow segregation laws. As the centennial of the 1900 Storm prompts remembrance and reassessment, this complete account will be essential and fascinating reading for all who seek to understand Galveston’s destruction and rebirth. Runner-up, Spur Award for Best Western Nonfiction—Contemporary, Western Writers Of America
From the bestselling author of The Devil in the White City, here is the true story of the deadliest hurricane in history. National Bestseller September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy. Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.
*Includes pictures *Includes survivors' accounts of the hurricane *Includes a bibliography for further reading "First news from Galveston just received by train which could get no closer to the bay shore than six miles where the prairie was strewn with debris and dead bodies. About 200 corpses counted from the train. Large steamship stranded two miles inland. Nothing could be seen of Galveston. Loss of life and property undoubtedly most appalling. Weather clear and bright here with gentle southeast wind." - G.L. Vaughan, Manager of Western Union in Houston, in a telegram to the Chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau on the day after the hurricane. In 2005, the world watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans, and the calamity seemed all the worse because many felt that technology had advanced far enough to prevent such tragedies, whether through advanced warning or engineering. At the same time, that tends to overlook all of the dangers posed by hurricanes and other phenomena that produce natural disasters. After all, storms and hurricanes have been wiping out coastal communities ever since the first humans built them. As bad as Hurricane Katrina was, the hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900 killed several times more people, with an estimated death toll between 6,000-12,000 people. Prior to advanced communications, few people knew about impending hurricanes except those closest to the site, and in the days before television, or even radio, catastrophic descriptions were merely recorded on paper, limiting an understanding of the immediate impact. Stories could be published after the water receded and the dead were buried, but by then, the immediate shock had worn off and all that remained were the memories of the survivors. Thus, it was inevitable that the Category 4 hurricane wrought almost inconceivable destruction as it made landfall in Texas with winds at 145 miles per hour. It was only well into the 20th century that meteorologists began to name storms as a way of distinguishing which storm out of several they were referencing, and it seems somewhat fitting that the hurricane that traumatized Galveston was nameless. Due to the lack of technology and warning, many of the people it killed were never identified, and the nameless corpses were eventually burned in piles of bodies that could not be interred due to the soggy soil. Others were simply buried at sea. The second deadliest hurricane in American history claimed 2,500 lives, so it's altogether possible that the Galveston hurricane killed over 4 times more than the next deadliest in the U.S. To this day, it remains the country's deadliest natural disaster. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 chronicles the story of the deadliest hurricane in American history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Galveston Hurricane like never before, in no time at all.
The year was 1900--a time before cars, evacuation routes, and up-to-the-minute weather reports. It was the day the deadliest storm in US history hammered Galveston, Texas. It was the day an entire island city was nearly wiped from existence. At the onset of the hurricane, Albert Campbell and the other boys at the orphanage kicked and splashed in the emerging puddles. Daisy Thorne read letters from her fiancé, and Sam Young wondered if his telegram had reached the mainland, warning his family of the weather. Just a few hours later, torrential rains and crushing tidal waves had flooded the metropolis. Winds upwards of one hundred miles per hour swept entire houses and trees down the streets. Debris slashed through the air; bodies whirled amid the rushing waters. Albert, Daisy, and Sam weren’t safe. No one was. Based on an historic natural disaster, CITY OF THE DEAD weaves together a shocking story where some miraculously survive . . . and many others are tragically lost. CITY OF THE DEAD is the first book in the Horrors of History series. The series commemorates horrific, life-changing events in our nation's past. Each novel makes history accessible with a combination of thorough research, descriptions of a specific time period, narrative accounts of actual historical persons, and fictionalized characters.
Twelve-year-old Carrie is excited to spend the night at her best friend Betsy's house one Saturday night in the turn of the century Galveston, Texas. But when her parents receive a last-minute invitation to a high-society party, they insist Carrie stay home to babysit her little brother, Henry. Despite a storm brewing -- and Carrie's protests over the change in plans -- her parents go to the party. As the storm approaches, the streets begin flooding. Henry is scared, and Carrie tries to calm him. But then hurricane hits, and the house is shaken from its foundation. Carrie must make some quick decisions to save herself and her little brother from the Great Galveston Hurricane. Readers can learn the real story of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 from the nonfiction backmatter in this Girls Survive story. A glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts are also provided.
Set in Galveston, Texas, Galveston 1900: A Storm, A Story of Twin Flames is the story of Uri Petrokov, a Russian immigrant, and Genevieve Parker, a beautiful, independent-thinking young Texas woman who is far ahead of her time. As successful as Uri has been partnering with his brother Peter in the print business and thus living the American Dream, Uri remains, none the less, unfulfilled until the day Genevieve walks into the shop. The struggles the young couple endure to be together including prejudices in the community- and more agonizingly in Genevieve's own family- test the very limits of their being and love. Meanwhile, another storm is brewing, quite literally. On a Saturday in 1900, Galveston is taken by complete surprise when a hurricane unexpectedly devastates the port city, nearly sweeping it from the face of the Earth. The resulting cataclysm, an intersection of personal and communal tragedy, changes the young couple's life forever. Galveston is a compelling, unique love story that will appeal not only to romantics, but history and weather enthusiasts alike. The love story aspect is built on the mystical concept that each of us has a Twin Flame, the other half of our soul energy that is instantly recognizable as self, and much more intense, fulfilling, and clairvoyant than any soul mate relation. Moreover, the novel is constructed on a foundation of thorough research and historical accuracy. By studying books relating to The Storm, survivor memoirs, period photos and maps, by personally studying the city, and by using his healthcare background when dealing with the medical issues raised in the novel, Dr. Mendlovitz interwove actual historical characters that survived the horrors of that night with the fictional ones in a veritable, exact setting and manner. Galveston is also informed by the author's own experience of growing up as a minority in Texas allowing him to pour genuine emotion into the characters. These factors combine to make the novel have a ring of truth and a feel of authenticity that readers will find compelling. Above all, Galveston is a universal and timeless love story
