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I approached the reading for this week, Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson with an excitement that I had yet not experienced in our previously assigned class readings. As a history major I absolutely love details in stories and this reading did not disappoint. I was initially intimidated with the introduction of so much new weather forecasting terminology. By the end of chapter 1 I found myself eased into level of comfort in Larson’s style of historical writing that the deluge of meteorological facts, numbers, codes and information that he provided enhanced the story he told. Prior to this reading I had only heard of Galveston, Texas; but I had no background knowledge on the area, so I thoroughly appreciated the details that Larson provided on the original purpose, planning and geographical layout of the town. I agree with my classmate @armando35 that Larson’s writing style created a flow for the reader that personalized the storytelling process. Larson simultaneously correlated several very important chronological streams of historical information into his narrative, which included understanding storms, mariner concerns, weather agencies, familial rivalry and Galveston history. Isaac’s Storm is a historical soap opera in print, which created a strong sense of visual imagery. I became completely immersed into Larson’s writing like my classmate @ joshuadw88 who expressed that the author’s ability to engage the reader is a mark of a great historiographical writer. The Galveston flood has been humanized in Larson’s narrative, and now also in my own mind. The scope of disasters that Larson recounted; such as the English cyclone of 1703, the Great Hurricane, Solano’s Storm, Coringa cyclone of 1789, Calcutta cyclone, Indianola flood, Galveston flood and other events detailed the severity of weather fatalities throughout the world in past times. Larson’s writing has also assisted me in seeing these past events as not only a matter of historical record, but also as personal life- changing events for all involved whether their personal stories have ever been told or not.
