ISAAC'S STORM A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

One hundred years ago this September, a hurricane blew Galveston, Texas, apart, drowning at least 6000 citizens. U.S. Weather Bureau Station Chief Isaac Cline believed that the city was not in the natural path of storms of deadly strength. Larson's account vividly reconstructs the sights, sounds, and smells of turn-of-the-century Galveston from contemporary letters, diaries, journals, telegrams, photographs, and victim lists to examine the tragic consequences of Cline's misjudgment. Richard Davidson resists presenting the pre-storm context in a naïve tone, but reads throughout with appropriate expressions of imminent danger and, later, of catastrophe. Davidson's sense of measured concern helps pace the listener through some eccentric detail to bring out Larson's thoroughly researched account. A bonus cassette contains an upbeat and informative interview with the author, who discusses, among other things, his technique for turning plausible inferences from primary sources into a unique brand of journalistic history. V.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]