Isaac’s Storm, by Erik Larson was a very fascinating book because it is difficult to say absolutely what the true subject of the book is. There are three key players in the book, first it is Isaac Cline a meteorologist for the U.S Weather Bureau, The U.S. Weather Bureau itself, and finally the storm of 1900. However, all three elements collaborate with one another in a significant way. The storm of 1900 is the main catalyst for one of the most devastating storms in the United States. However, the Weather Bureau and Isaac Cline both had an impact on the outcome of the catastrophic storm. The book generally focuses on the Galveston Hurricane of 1990, but more so the actions that Isaac Cline takes, or didn’t take rather. It was very tricky to …show more content…
The Devil in the White City one of his best sellers has attracted quite a bit of attention, so much so that one of Hollywood’s biggest star obtained the rights to display the story on the big screen. Before becoming a successful author and writing multiple best sellers, Erik Larson graduated summa cum laude from The University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from The University of Pennsylvania, Larson was hired as an editorial assistant. Larson decided to attend Columbia School of Journalism after seeing the movie, All the President’s Men. Larson’s first journalism job was with the Bucks County Courier Times, but after being passed over for a promotion Larson handed in his resignation and applied to multiple other places. He ended up becoming part of The Washington Post. Larson had a successful career with The Washington Post, but no longer desired to work within the journalism field. He turned down a position as chief editor and not long after was married. Larson would go on to write some novels that were never published and his first published novel, The Naked Consumer. His books combined has won several awards such as New York Times best seller, San Francisco Chronicle best book of the year, and the Edgar Award for best nonfiction crime writing. When taking a close look at his other books compared to Isaac’s Storm, they are all ultimately similar in that …show more content…
Overall, the book was effective in displaying the lack of experience that existed within the U.S Weather Bureau at the time. The book itself doesn’t quite exclaim that it was intended for historians, but more for the public. Larson very clearly expressed distrust in the government that existed in 1900. The strong underlying message nearly sounds as though Larson is saying, don’t trust the government. The book was very good, but one change I would make is to include photos and maps. The book included one map that did not give a good general idea of the events. The book continually talked of photos and maps, and it would have designated more as an extremely destructive
In the late 1800’s America began to take on its own individual identity as a country. The Chicago World's Fair was a great influence for that notion. In Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City he tells a duel nonfictional storyline of one of the fair’s architects and a serial killer living just outside the fair. By using imagery, juxtaposition, and syntax Larson is able to enchant the reader and make the novel read like a fiction.
In the book Storm Over Texas, by Joel H. Silbey the critical controversy of North vs. South is displayed. The book goes into great detail of the wild moments leading into the Civil War, the political dysfunction that ran throughout Texas, and many reasons the American Civil War sparked up in the first place. This book truly captives great Texas history and has valid information and points of our states different point of views on history.
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive hurricane in American history, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of one hundred and twenty-seven miles per hour (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts”). The sheer magnitude of the amount of lives and property lost was enormous, and it was triggered simply by warm ocean waters near the Bahamas ("How Hurricane Katrina Formed"). Nature was indifferent to whether the raging winds and rain would die off in the ocean or wipe out cities; it only follows the rules of physics. A multitude of American authors has attempted to give accounts and interpretations of their encounters with the disinterested machine that is nature. Two authors, Stephen Crane and Henry David Thoreau, had rather contrasting and conflicting interpretations of their own interactions with nature.
Some of the most intriguing stories of today are about people’s adventures at sea and the thrill and treachery of living through its perilous storms and disasters. Two very popular selections about the sea and its terrors are The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Longfellow. Comparison between the two works determines that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” tells a more powerful sea-disaster story for several different reasons. The poem is more descriptive and suspenseful than The Perfect Storm, and it also plays on a very powerful tool to captivate the reader’s emotion. These key aspects combine to give the reader something tangible that allows them to relate to the story being told and affects them strongly.
Once there was, as never before, a hurricane of great might and strength. As never before, there once was a hurricane of many names: storm, cyclone, tempest, typhoon, and flood. Yet it has lived on in history as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Humanity has glorified and immortalized the hurricane. The Great Galveston Hurricane has been the subject of numerous articles, novels, plays, and poems, as well as four major nonfiction studies (Longshore). It is truly one of hurricane lore’s greatest of storms.
The author presented the information in a very solid way and sectioned it out very well. I understood what he was trying to explain. It was somewhat a long book but very much full of knowledge and history that in spirit is still alive today. We may not have slavery like it was then, but we still deal with racism and prejudice daily.
Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States in several years. Harvey resulted in over eighty fatalities and over 150 billion dollars in damages. This proves to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to be recorded. The overwhelming damage was caused by many different aspects; however, three of the greatest aspects are: varying weather patterns throughout the storm, the city structure of Houston, Texas, and the lack of evacuation. Each of these factors affected the city in a different way, but all resulted in a common outcome, devastation.
The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was a natural disaster that left the people of Galveston with an unimaginable and terrifying experience,various personal stories, and a massive cleanup job that led to building the sea wall and raising the elevation of the city. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the biggest natural disaster in American history. When it came there was little warning and once the citizens were warned it was too late to leave. The waves and rain from the hurricane flooded the whole city over fifteen feet high with water. During the storm people experienced many events that would change their lives. Everyone who survived this hurricane had a story, a story that could be tragic, happy, or full of stress. Once the storm was over there was an immense amount of debris that needed to be cleaned up. The people of Galveston had to look for bodies and people who were buried alive. Galveston had to rebuild everything and start all over. The people living there came up with an idea to build a seawall that would protect Galveston from large waves created by another hurricane. They then also raised the city by as much as 17 feet in some areas.
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger was the true story of a mid sized swordfish boat and it’s crew going out of the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts and getting caught in one of the worst hurricanes of the century. The six crew members on the ship were there to catch as many swordfish as they could and return quickly to get as much money as possible. The crew of the Andrea Gail knew there was a large storm coming, but wanted to get back to port before the fish went bad. Trying to avoid the storm, the Andrea Gail ended up right in the middle of it. The crew was presumed dead days after they started searching for them. The book shows these people had a lot of drive to them, but unfortunately they could not survive. Because it is a true story, some parts are unknown. Also, It was controversial at first when Sebastian Junger was writing this, because many felt it was disrespectful to the families of the deceased. Junger was a journalist so he wrote as it is, but could really dig deep and show you every detail he heard from the family members. His descriptions were so vivid it was like you were there.
In James S. Hirsch’s book about Rubin "Hurricane" Cater, Hurricane, the author describes how Carter was wrongfully imprisoned and how he managed to become free. Hirsch tells about the nearly impossible battle for Carter and his friend John Artis for freedom and justice. Both, Carter and Artis, were convicted of a triple homicide, and both were innocent.
“The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson was a mix between two stories that overall worked well together. The stories worked together to convey the true overall meaning of the theme good versus evil. Good and evil are seen everywhere throughout the novel, even in the most obvious of places such as the title. Good and evil, dark and light, they all stand for the same thing. White is normally found to be pure and good. By the author naming the book, The Devil in the White City, he is trying to tell the reader that the novel is about how even in truly pure places evil will follow. Although, good and evil is the main theme of this novel, I found that if you look deeply into the way he tells the story, he is also trying to tell his reader about other themes. These other themes that you can find all throughout the book are things such as pride and determination. These other themes were very prominent and played very well into the plot and the theme of the story.
They walk amongst us, silent and unseen until the ghastly moment of their horrid crime takes root. These are the killers, spawned from the Devil’s own seed, while others are nurtured in the squalid ruins of their environment. Devil In The White City, authored by Erik Larson, is a story that takes a close look at the World's Columbian Exposition, the world's fair that Chicago hosted in 1893 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. The fair was tainted by deaths, a serial killer, and an assassination. The lead architect, Daniel Burnham, and the serial killer, Henry Howard Holmes, play pivotal roles in the events that unfolded before, during, and after the fair. Throughout this novel, we are informed of many possible
Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger is an account of an immense storm and its destructive path through the North Atlantic. In late October of 1991, crews of several different fishing ships left their port for their final haul. Little did they know that they would soon cross paths with one of the greatest storms ever recorded. This particular storm would create huge swells, high winds, and hard rain. The system, was said to be a “perfect storm” because all of the elements were just right to create the worst imaginable storm ever seen, “… a hundred-year event,” claimed some meteorologists. These types of storms are caused when: “Warm air is less dense than cool air; it rises off the surface of the ocean, cools in the upper atmosphere, and then dumps its moisture before rushing back to earth. Huge cumulus clouds develop over the zones of rising air, with thunder, lightning, and terrifically strong rain. As long as there's a supply of warm water, the thunderstorm sustains itself, converting moisture into sheeting rain and downdraft winds. Other thunderclouds might line up along the leading edge of a cold front into a "squall line," a towering convective engine that stretches from horizon to horizon.” (The Perfect Storm Foundation)
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.