Hurricane (Various)

One hundred years after the hurricane of 1900 devastated Galveston, Texas, it remains the most deadly natural disaster in United States history. Although many heeded the warnings of local weatherman Dr. Isaac Monroe Cline, numerous others did not. More than 6,000 souls perished. Shortly after the storm, author Nathan C. Green set out to share with the world the Story of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane . For those who had lost their lives, he would become their voice; for those who had somehow miraculously survived, he would become their chronicler. To further memorialize the events of the Galveston Hurricane, Pelican has reprinted Dr. Isaac Monroe Cline's Storms, Floods and Sunshine: An Autobiography, which it first published in 1945.

More than six thousand souls perished in the September 8, 1900, hurricane that devastated the island town of Galveston, Texas. Men and women, rich and poor, black and white struggled alike in what was to that date the worst natural disaster in American history. Many more would have lost their lives, however, if it wasn't for the efforts of Dr. Issac Monroe Cline, section director at the Weather Bureau Headquarters. It was Cline who decided to raise the flags over the Weather Bureau, signaling an impending hurricane. He also spoke to large crowds of people in low-lying areas of the island, correctly predicting the unexpected force and direction of the storm. This detailed autobiography, originally penned by Cline in 1945, chronicles his life and education before and after the deadly events at Galveston. It is a complete picture of him not just as a weather forecaster, but also as a small boy, a student, a survivor, and a meteorological scholar. It is supplemented with antique photographs and information from his textbook “Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones”. More than one hundred years after the hurricane that would forever mark his career, Cline is still revered as a pioneer in his field. His work charting hurricanes, measuring their direction, speed, and precipitation, helped build the foundations for modern meteorology. “Storms, Floods and Sunshine” preserves the science and emotion behind the man.

The many personal tragedies and triumphs come to light in this full and thrilling account that is made even more evocative and jolting by its profusion of photographs taken immediately after the disaster. In the storm, S. W. Clinton lost his wife and six children, including two sons he could not save from drowning before his very eyes. Yet others survived. Long engaged, Ernest A. Mayo and Bessie Roberts decided it was better to face the daunting tasks ahead of them together and were married a mere five days after the flood. Their stories, and the stories of all who survived the great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, attest to humanity's ability to overcome even the most horrific of disasters.

"Lost in Katrina is powerful! It is the human experience during the worst storm in America's history. Mike Schaefer has captured the stories of those who not only miraculously survived, but went on to become heroes."--Angela Hill, WWL-TV anchor, New Orleans "Mike Schaefer listens. And because he listens so well, we get to hear the real stories of Katrina and St. Bernard Parish. I've seen the aftermath there with my own eyes and thought what must it have been like when the storm hit, when the floods came? Now we know. And what a story."--Harry Smith, CBS News"When friends ask me what Katrina was really like, this is the book I'll recommend to them. The individual stories Mike tells, of survival and loss, desperation and heroism, perfectly capture the unreal chaos that was Katrina. Even if, like I did, you think you know all about the storm and its aftermath, you'll find something new, and, no doubt, inspiring, in this book."--Tracy Smith, CBS News correspondent This book offers insightful, emotional accounts of life before, during, and immediately after Hurricane Katrina in a parish that seemingly disappeared from the government's sight. While President Bush was shaking hands with FEMA director Michael Browne ("Brownie," as he will long be remembered) on the fourth day after the storm, St. Bernard Parish was struggling to salvage what they could. As the rest of the world watched the worst of humanity emerge on television, ordinary people did extraordinary things to save the parish that found itself almost completely submerged in floodwater. Heart-wrenching stories of the human will to survive offer an inside perspective on what it means to be a survivor of Hurricane Katrina.

"Lost in Katrina is powerful! It is the human experience during the worst storm in America's history. Mike Schaefer has captured the stories of those who not only miraculously survived, but went on to become heroes."--Angela Hill, WWL-TV anchor, New Orleans "Mike Schaefer listens. And because he listens so well, we get to hear the real stories of Katrina and St. Bernard Parish. I've seen the aftermath there with my own eyes and thought what must it have been like when the storm hit, when the floods came? Now we know. And what a story."--Harry Smith, CBS News"When friends ask me what Katrina was really like, this is the book I'll recommend to them. The individual stories Mike tells, of survival and loss, desperation and heroism, perfectly capture the unreal chaos that was Katrina. Even if, like I did, you think you know all about the storm and its aftermath, you'll find something new, and, no doubt, inspiring, in this book."--Tracy Smith, CBS News correspondent This book offers insightful, emotional accounts of life before, during, and immediately after Hurricane Katrina in a parish that seemingly disappeared from the government's sight. While President Bush was shaking hands with FEMA director Michael Browne ("Brownie," as he will long be remembered) on the fourth day after the storm, St. Bernard Parish was struggling to salvage what they could. As the rest of the world watched the worst of humanity emerge on television, ordinary people did extraordinary things to save the parish that found itself almost completely submerged in floodwater. Heart-wrenching stories of the human will to survive offer an inside perspective on what it means to be a survivor of Hurricane Katrina.