I've been working through some of Erik Larson's other books since I enjoyed "Devil in the White City" so much. I'm on the waiting list at the library for his newest one but this one was available off the shelf as it is older. I've read a couple other books over the years about the Galveston Hurricane (1900) so I was really interested to read his take on it. Just as in "Devil in the White City" he did a great job of bringing to life what it was like to live during that time period. I cannot imagine dressing according to the style and social norm of that time and living in the gulf coast climate. Having just been in Galveston last August it was interesting to study the maps in the book and visualize what things are built now where some of the former original buildings stood. One of the most startling was that the current Wal-Mart is built on the original site of the orphanage where 90 children were trapped and died.

It dragged in parts a little more than "Devil in the White City" but was still a very good read.