The storm of the century Tragedy, heroism, survival, and the epic true story of America's deadliest natural disaster : the great Gulf hurricane of 1900

With hurricanes Sandy in 2012 and Katrina in 2005 still fresh in the collective American memory, it may be hard for most people to imagine that a hurricane far more deadly and devastating than either of these two storms struck the Gulf Coast on September 8, 1900. In this vivid and absorbing account of the infamous Great Galveston Hurricane, a landmark in meteorological history, beloved NBC weatherman Roker (Never Going Back, 2012) covers both the larger international story surrounding the disaster and the individual stories of Galveston citizens who survived it. In addition to chronicling the events leading to the Texas tourist town's vulnerability to violent weather, Roker also recounts his version of the tragic fate befalling Isaac Cline, the Galveston meteorologist profiled in Erik Larson's best-seller Isaac's Storm (1999). Unlike Larson, however, Roker also describes the heroic struggles of Galveston residents, such as painter Boyer Gonzalez and schoolteacher Daisy Thorne, to rescue themselves as well as other townspeople. History buffs and climate watchers alike will find Roker's work both spellbinding and informative.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2015 Booklist

In this chronological account, TV meteorologist Roker revisits the "worst natural disaster of any kind, ever to hit the United States": the category-four hurricane that pounded Galveston, Tex., on Sept. 8, 1900. The storm killed more than 10,000 people, caused nearly $20 million in damages ($700 million in 2015 dollars), and left "a great city reduced overnight to miles of rubble." Roker introduces readers to such local figures as Galveston's chief meteorologist, Isaac Cline, "a nationally recognized weather expert" who nevertheless failed to prepare the city for disaster; Annie and Ed McCullough, newlyweds whose home "lay two short blocks from the gulf beach"; and police chief Edwin N. Ketchum, a "proud Yankee veteran" who hosted popular annual picnics. He sets the stage for the drama with a comprehensive, but accessible history of Galveston, at the time "Texas's greatest metropolis" and "one of the world's greatest ports." However, readers are left in the dark as to why Roker decided to retell this story now, and whatever resonances may exist with more recent events are left implied, rather than explored explicitly. Without more context or connection, readers will be left wondering what Roker's goal might be. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Endeavor. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This is the story of the Galveston, TX, hurricane of 1900, considered to be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Focusing on the human experience of the storm, weather forecaster and author Roker (Don't Make Me Stop This Car) follows survivors before, during, and after the hurricane in order to elucidate what people on Galveston Island encountered as the storm raged through the city. Unlike other books devoted to the subject, such as Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm, -Roker's account investigates the race relations of the time and the impacts of minorities living in Galveston both during the city's rise and in the aftermath of the disaster. While discussions of meteorology (and meteorological history) are broached, they are not the primary focus. Rather, -Roker succeeds in presenting a broad overview of the event, emphasizing the individual experiences of residents. VERDICT Readers who are new to the subject would be well served in choosing this compelling work. However, those who are familiar with the event or who are looking for a more scholarly treatment should consider Larson's Isaac's Storm. [See Prepub Alert, 2/23/15.]-Laura Hiatt-Smith, Conifer, CO © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Today weather anchor Roker (Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle for Good, 2012, etc.) recounts the hurricane that leveled Galveston, Texas, during September 1900, killing an estimated 10,000 people. The narrative of the storm and its gruesome aftermath moves along briskly, but some readers may wonder why the author decided to devote his celebrity name and his time to an account that has been told better in Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History (1999) and John Edward Weems' A Weekend in September (1957). In his "Note on Further Reading," Roker acknowledges those two books as vital sources for his version of the historical record. He also states that his book is the first to use the oral histories collected in Izola Collins' Island of Color (2004), "which preserves the history of Galveston's African American community from Juneteenth to the post-segregation era." How the oral histories collected by Collins fit into Roker's narrative, however, is unclear. Roker's accounts of the suffering of hundreds of individuals are, for the most part, compelling. Most are tragic, and some are uplifting. But they drift throughout the book, with little sense to the order in which they appear, disappear temporarily, and then reappear. Roker's weather-forecasting experience serves him well, and the narrative is strongest when he turns from the seemingly random minidramas of individuals to explain the forces of nature at play. The grimmest portion of the book, understandably, deals with how the Galveston residents who survived labored to bury the deadfirst in the ocean, which proved difficult to accomplish, and then by cremation via open fires. The stench was pervasive and potentially deadly. Roker's account will interest readers who previously knew nothing about the Galveston hurricane. However, Isaac's Storm is not out of date and deserves its place as the recommended version. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.