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Pages:
3 pages/≈825 words
Sources:
1 Source
Style:
MLA
Subject:
History
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
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Date:
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Topic:

The Deadliest Hurricane in History

Essay Instructions:

Questions to answer:
Why did Larson write this book? What was the main point he was trying to get across? Was he effective in convincing you about his point? There is more to this book than simply telling the story of the Galveston hurricane.
Besides Mother Nature, of course, who or what do you think was most at fault for the tragedy in Galveston? Was such a large loss of life preventable? How do the ideas of the late Gilded Age and the “certainty” of technology play into the disaster? Give specific examples from the book with citations...
Which story or vignette (short account or story) of the hurricane did you find most intriguing, engaging, or perhaps terrifying? Explain what happened with citation. Why did Joseph and Isaac become estranged after the storm? Back this up with details from the book.
Besides just being a history of a tragedy, what can be learned from Isaac’s Storm? Is there a lesson or at least a warning in the book? Back this up with an example and citation.
Imagine you were a film director and you had to cast a movie adaptation of your book. Pick three people from your book and explain who you would cast as actors for them and describe why. The key to this question is understanding the character of the historical figures. Use citations and examples from the book when depicting the people.
Finally, in a concluding paragraph, briefly write what you thought of the book. Did you like or dislike it? What worked and what did not? Be honest here. I like to get feedback to decide if I will continue to use the book in the future.
All citations need to be listed as in-text citations
You can ONLY use the book as a source.

Essay Sample Content Preview:
The Deadliest Hurricane in History Question 1
Erik Larson wrote the book because of his interest in Isaac Cline’s role, disregard, and denial of the occurrence of Isaac’s Storm, its catastrophe, and its aftermath. Larson analyses the science of storms and all the unusual factors that led to Isaac's storm that plagued Galveston, Texas, on the night of September 7, 1900, just at the turn of the century. While Larson follows the storm to Galveston, he observes the city's people and buoyancy. Galveston was very progressive and prosperous. Isaac Monroe Cline was a chief meteorologist at the United States Weather Bureau from 1889 to 1901. From this study, Larson proves that the carelessness of an individual holding a position of influence can cause damage and death.
In November 1893, two years after Isaac Cline’s arrival in Galveston to establish the Texas Section of the Weather Bureau, a government inspector praised his work ethic. Cline was the head of the forecast group and reported the weather as the chief meteorologist (Larson 4). Despite having this position, Cline could not foresee the impending disaster or sufficiently alert the region. Larson's main objective is to portray an unfortunate event that resulted in multiple deaths and massive damages. The study shows that too much faith leads to unusual tendencies, arrogance, pride, and misfortune across history. Consequently, the catastrophe was preventable with necessary action and adherence to the information shared.
Question 2
Two key factors led to the Galveston tragedy. One is the arrogance of Isaac Cline, thinking the hurricane would not get to the city, and the Meteorological Bureau for ignoring the warnings received from Cuban Meteorologists. Cline argued no cyclone could create a storm wave that would obliterate Galveston. He maintained that water coming to the city would flow towards the extensive lowlands on the Texas mainland, where the land was closer to sea level. Also, the United States Weather Bureau dismissed the warnings from Cuban experts, claiming their data caused unnecessary worry; thus, it was not worth consideration.
The massive loss of life was preventable. Willis Moore, the United States Weather Bureau director, and the authority from the West Indies team, gave evidence that they despised the Cubans. As a result, Moore asked the War Department to ban all communication to and from the Cuban researchers (Larson and Cline 104). From this sense of pride and irresponsibility, Galveston’s residents did not know what was to follow. If the Bureau had heeded the warnings from the Cubans, it could have warned the residents.
The late Gilded Age gave the United States fast technological development and other scientific innovations. Having this, the Weather Bureau had the advantage of combatting the impending storm, thus preventing massive death tolls (Larson and Cline 264). Agreeably, the mistakes made by the U.S Weather Bureau led to a preventable mis...
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