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

&quot;Presents an account of the legendary hurricane to assess its destruction of Galveston, role in thousands of deaths, and influence on American history and culture&quot;--Publisher's description.<p>On the afternoon of September 8, 1900, 200-mile-per-hour winds and fifteen-foot waves slammed into Galveston, the prosperous and growing port city on Texas's Gulf Coast. By dawn the next day, when the storm had passed, the city that existed just hours before was gone. Over 8,000 corpses littered the streets or were buried under the massive wreckage. Roker brings this legendary disaster and its aftermath into brilliant focus. Exploring the impact of the disaster on a rising nation's confidence, he illuminates both the energy and the limitations of the American Century, and of nature itself.