Larson's gift

On the western coast of Africa, a butterfly flits around the left side of a tree instead of the right; a teeny ripple of a breeze begins.

This simple act of nature resulted in the deaths of 8,000 to 12,000 persons in Galveston, Texas, as a hurricane, born of a gentle African wind, hit the island on 8 September 1900.

In 1999, I ordered a book because Entertainment Weekly had named it the non-fiction book of the year. The title, bearing the name of my father and brother, caught my eye.

Erik Larson is not just a storyteller; he pulls you into the story with him, and he doesn’t let you go until the last page and maybe not even then.

“Isaac’s Storm” is not just the story of Galveston’s “weather man” and its people: it is the story of the hurricane itself – from little breeze to killer blow - in breathtaking detail.

Larson cannot write books fast enough for me! In 2003, his “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America” was equally engaging.

The major player in this true tale is a Chicago racing from Gilded Age into the 20th Century and daring to host the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, “The White City.”

Against that backdrop Larson tells the stories of the indefatigable architect who brought the fair to glory and of the serial killer whose macabre hotel brought only horror to his young female victims.

The perfect blending of history and humanity - it’s Larson’s gift.

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