Books Set in North America: Texas, USA

Isaac’s Storm, by Erik Larson (1999)

Isaac’s Storm has been on my “to be read” list for a long time.  I finally picked it up to read just as Hurricane Michael stormed through the Florida panhandle.  In September 1900, when a massive hurricane demolished Galveston, Texas, the art of predicting storms was in its infancy.  Somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 people were killed in the storm. Weather forecasting has advanced in the past 118 years, and as I write this review, the death toll in Hurricane Michael is still in the single digits.

Erik Larson outlines the history of weather and hurricane forecasting.  He suggests that Christopher Columbus was the first European to have observed hurricanes on his many voyages across the Atlantic.

Isaac Cline wanted to make his mark in the scientific field.  He joined the Signal Corps Weather Service, a precursor to the national Weather Bureau.  He observed weather patterns.  When he was assigned to Galveston, he was still a young man, with a wife and young children.

Very little was known about the dynamics of hurricanes.  Isaac had seen only one hurricane and the common idea was that no major storm would ever hit the coastline of Texas.

By 1900, Galveston was an up-and-coming city with a rivalry with Houston.  It was a very cosmopolitan city with an opera house, public gardens and a lot of wealth.  Nothing could damage its reputation.  A storm was unthinkable.

Isaac loved his job and took meticulous notes on weather patterns that he telegraphed to Washington.  Unbeknownst to him, however, was the bureaucratic snarl and egos that directed the course of the weather service.  Washington was convinced that the “natives” in Cuba did not understand proper weather forecasting, thus imposed a ban on all Cuban communications with respect to a growing storm in late August 1900.  The Cubans believed the storm was headed across the Gulf of Mexico towards Texas.  The weather services’ employees in Cuba pooh-poohed this idea and assured Washington that the pending storm was insignificant.

As a result, no warnings were issued to Isaac in his Galveston post. Additionally, Washington had explicitly forbade use of the word “hurricane” so as not to falsely alarm the citizens of coastal areas.

When the hurricane struck on September 8, 1900 the city was almost completely destroyed. The after effects of the hurricane’s remnants were felt as far as Chicago, New England and the Maritime Provinces.

This book follows the days before the storm, describes the horrors of living through the storm and the days immediately following.  So many people were killed that the streets were literally covered in corpses.  There were so many bodies that many were simply burned for quick disposal.  The heat following the storm accelerated the decomposition of bodies, adding to the horrendous remains of the city.

The city tried to rebuild, but in 1901, oil was discovered just outside of Houston, making that city outshine Galveston.

As with many of Erik Larson’s books, I found this to be a fascinating insight into a this period of American history.

Read: October 12, 2018

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe

Dead Wake, by Erik Larson (2015)

3 Stars

Read: June 2, 2016

Books Set in Europe: Germany

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, by Erik Larson (2011)

In the Garden of Beasts takes the reader to Berlin, as Hitler, then Chancellor of Germany, began to consolidate his power. The title of the book, which is oddly apt for this dark period of German history, comes from the name of Berlin’s main park, which is called Tiergarten, which literally means the Garden of Beasts.

The book follows William Dodd, the newly appointed United States Ambassador to Germany, and his promiscuous 25-year-old daughter, Martha, during the course of their stay in Berlin.

When the German ambassadorship became vacant, no one the top tier, experienced diplomats in the political circles wanted the position. Seasoned diplomats could sense trouble was brewing in Germany. Dodd was approaching retirement as a history professor from the University of Chicago. It was his dream to complete a scholarly book, and he felt that being in German might afford him time to work on this project. Furthermore, he had studied in Germany as a young man and decided that this opportunity would be good for his entire family, which included his wife and two grown children.

The Dodds arrive in Germany before the world sees Hitler as the beast he will become. Many prominent Americans and Europeans admired him at this time. Others were more fearful, but couldn’t imagine that Hitler and his cronies could remain in power.

Dodd was unsuited for the ambassadorship. He tried to perform his duties while knowing that his scholarship was being brushed aside. In addition, the pay was relatively low and the expense account was almost non-existent. Most diplomats had their own source of income to support the lavish parties they were expected to throw. Dodd, however, was of modest means, and attempted to stay within the meager expense granted to him by the US government.

Martha Dodd, however, was enchanted by Germany. She was a free-spirit divorcée with several affairs behind her, including one with the American poet, Carl Sandburg. She quickly fell in line with young men belonging to the Nazi party. As the ambassador’s daughter, doors were opened to her and she quickly entered into the inner circle of the Nazi party. She partied with top Nazi officials, including Himmler and Goebbels. She also became intimate with the original commander of the Gestapo, the married Rudolf Diehls. She was casual about the politics that was surrounding her.

She found it amusing when her father allowed a Jewish family to live, hidden on the top floor of their Berlin residence. Finally, at the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler arrested and murdered his rivals as well as some of his moderate supporters, the Dodds could no longer look away. Even Martha realized that the Germany scene she had so much enjoyed, had an evil core.

Larson scoured many sources for the writing of this book, including the diaries of William and Martha Dodd. It is a fascinating and horrifying slice of history.

Read: August 8, 2011

Books Set in the United States: Chicago

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (2003)

In 1893, Chicago hosted the Columbian World's Exposition celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the "New World." Chicago was at the time a city struggling to find itself. When it was awarded the honor of hosting the event, it had numerous challenges to overcome. The architectural firm of Burnham and Root had the task of creating the exhibition grounds. Early on in the planning, however, Root, who was the creative partner, died. Burnham enlisted the aid of numerous other well known architects to assist in the project, including Frederick Law Olmstead, of New York's Central Park fame, and Louis Sullivan. The end result was the beautiful "White City" of the exposition grounds.

At the same time Dr. Henry H. Holmes arrived in Chicago and built his own version of the "World's Fair Hotel" adjacent to the exposition grounds. His building, which he was able to create by firing workers after a few days, included random hallways, soundproof rooms, dissection tables, gas chambers and a 3,000 crematorium. Holmes was a psychopath with an uncanny ability to lie his way through any difficulty. He also had an ability to lure young women, who were beginning to leave their farms and come to the city to find work, to stay at his hotel, where he would torture and kill them. He was ultimately captured and incarcerated on insurance fraud charges. The murders came to light when a detective with the Pinkerton Agency began probing into the disappearance of three children and their deaths were linked to him.

This was a marvelous book, well written, and brought the end of the 19th century to life. The Columbian Exhibition helped Chicago become the city it is today, and had many visitors, including Buffalo Bill, Susan B. Anthony, and Theodore Dreiser.

Read: December 27, 2009