Galveston and the 1900 Storm

August 9, 2000
Along with a riveting narrative of the hurricane that smashed Galveston, TX, in 1900 (killing at least 6000 out of 38,000 residents) and the heroic relief efforts afterward, readers will find absorbing the accounts of Galvestonians rebuilding their city, reshaping gender and race relations, altering the environment, and instituting the nation's first commission form of city government. Professional historians Bixel (assistant editor, Journal of Southern History) and Turner (history, Univ. of Houston, Downtown) skillfully show how the hurricane forced changes in the city's civic culture--unfortunately allowing Jim Crow modifications of segregation policy as well as economic boosterism and Progressive Era reforms. Written for both the lay reader and historian, this readable and well-illustrated book tells an interesting story of what people did before, during, and after the storm and shows how much Galveston represented urban America between 1890 and 1920. Academic and public librarians should purchase.--Charles L. Lumpkins, Pennsylvania State Univ., State College

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