The Great Galveston Disaster - Paperback

by Paul Lester (Author)

A collection of photographs and stories chronicling Galveston's catastrophic hurricane in 1900, its aftermath�and the lives of those caught in the storm.

�Massive buildings were crushed like egg shells, great timbers were carried through the air as though they were of no weight, and the winds and the waves swept everything before them until their appetite for destruction was satiated and their force spent.� �From the foreword by Richard Spillane, editor of the Galveston Tribune

More than 6,000 people lost their lives in the hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. The many personal tragedies and triumphs of those who survived 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.

S. W. Clinton lost his wife and six children, including two sons he could not save from drowning before his very eyes. 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.

Back Jacket

"Massive buildings were crushed like egg shells, great timbers were carried through the air as though they were of no weight, and the winds and the waves swept everything before them until their appetite for destruction was satiated and their force spent."
--from the foreword by Richard Spillane, editor of the Galveston Tribune

With more than 6,000 souls lost in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, the enormity of the disaster overshadows the ordeals suffered by those individuals who somehow managed to survive.

Yet their stories, their tragedies and triumphs, reveal much--not only about the most devastating natural disaster in U. S. history, but also of the endurance of the human spirit.

Here, rare, powerful, and evocative photographs combine with numerous firsthand testimonials to provide, on a human scale, a picture of what occurred during and after the storm.

During the terrible deluge on the night of September 8, S. W. Clinton lost his wife and six children, including two sons whom 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.

Paul Lester's many other books include Life in the South -West. Also available to commemorate the centennial of the hurricane are: Storms, Floods and Sunshine: Isaac Monroe Cline, an Autobiography; When the Heavens Frowned; and Story of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. All are published by Pelican.

Author Biography

On Saturday, September 8, 1900, one of the greatest storms in United States history hit the small island of Galveston, Texas. Now known as a Texas resort town, Galveston was once a thriving industrial city. It was the first Texas city to have electricity and, as one of its largest ports, was often referred to as the NewYork of the South. Author Paul Lester, Galveston Tribune journalist and editor Richard Spillane, and Isaac Monroe Cline, chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau, watched as the storm destroyed the city. Richard Spillane was ordered by the mayor to warn ships in the harbor and spread the news to other towns. Isaac Monroe Cline raised the hurricane warning flag on Friday, but even he was unable to forsee a storm of such magnitude: a category four by todayís standards. Mr. Cline lost his pregnant wife and children to the hurricane. These stories and the stories of all those who survived the great Galveston hurricane, which cost between eight and twelve thousand Galveston residents their lives and caused more than seven million dollars in damage (approximately seven hundred million today), attest to humanityís ability to overcome even the most horrific disasters. Paul Lester offers firsthand accounts and narratives of Galveston hurricane survivors. Mr. Lester is the author of several other publications on the subject of the 1900 Galveston hurricane.