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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Isaac believes in ___________.

2. Where does Isaac give a speech about weather to a packed crowd?

3. Where do the American forecasters think the storm is headed?

4. How many storms are there in the hurricane season before Galveston?

5. How old is Isaac?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was the creation of the Weather Service controversial?

2. What was Isaac's childhood like?

3. What does Isaac observe when he goes to the beach the morning of the storm?

4. Why is the final payment on the piano a significant accomplishment to Louisa Rollfing?

5. What does Captain J. W. Simmons of the Pensacola experience after his ship leaves Galveston the morning of the hurricane?

6. What is the butterfly effect?

7. How does Larson describe the center of a hurricane?

8. How does Moore treat the weather forecasting being done in Cuba?

9. What does Isaac do for the U.S. Weather Bureau?

10. Why does Isaac believe that no storm could harm Galveston?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the symbolic implications for the modern advances of the telegraph and the train. How are they used throughout the book?

Essay Topic 2

How does Erik Larson present a more nuanced look at the Galveston hurricane than the one that is contained in the National Archives? What is the critical difference between the two?

Essay Topic 3

Was the hurricane truly Isaac's Storm? How much of the blame for the loss of life should lie at Isaac's feet?

(see the answer keys)

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