Storms Floods And Sunshine

More than six thousand souls perished in the September 8, 1900, hurricane that devastated the island town of Galveston, Texas. Men and women, rich and poor, black and white struggled alike in what was to that date the worst natural disaster in American history. Many more would have lost their lives, however, if it wasn't for the efforts of Dr. Issac Monroe Cline, section director at the Weather Bureau Headquarters. It was Cline who decided to raise the flags over the Weather Bureau, signaling an impending hurricane. He also spoke to large crowds of people in low-lying areas of the island, correctly predicting the unexpected force and direction of the storm. This detailed autobiography, originally penned by Cline in 1945, chronicles his life and education before and after the deadly events at Galveston. It is a complete picture of him not just as a weather forecaster, but also as a small boy, a student, a survivor, and a meteorological scholar. It is supplemented with antique photographs and information from his textbook Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones. More than one hundred years after the hurricane that would forever mark his career, Cline is still revered as a pioneer in his field. His work charting hurricanes, measuring their direction, speed, and precipitation, helped build the foundations for modern meteorology. Storms, Floods and Sunshine preserves the science and emotion behind the man the Associated Press called "the smiling, genial, climatological genius."

Commemorating the centennial of the great Galveston hurricane of 1900, this is a fascinating look back at the life of the storm's hero.

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.

"Massive buildings were crushed like egg shells, great timbers were carried through the air as though they were of no weight, and the winds and the waves swept everything before them until their appetite for destruction was satiated and their force spent." --From the foreword by Richard Spillane, editor of the Galveston Tribune The many personal tragedies and triumphs come to light in this full and thrilling account that is made even more evocative and jolting by its profusion of photographs taken immediately after the disaster. In the storm, S. W. Clinton lost his wife and six children, including two sons he could not save from drowning before his very eyes. Yet others survived. Long engaged, Ernest A. Mayo and Bessie Roberts decided it was better to face the daunting tasks ahead of them together, and were married a mere five days after the flood. Their stories, and the stories of all who survived the great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, attest to humanity's ability to overcome even the most horrific of disasters.

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.