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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. Dr. Young notes that all the signs are present for a _____________ the days before the hurricane.

2. What is the age of Isaac's oldest daughter at the opening of the book?

3. How old is Isaac?

4. What immigrant group makes up one-third of the Galveston population in 1889?

5. What does Moore ban from Cuba?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What happens to the weather in Galveston two days before the storm?

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

5. How was weather recorded before the creation of the weather service?

6. What characteristics do they know in 1900 that all hurricanes have in common?

7. What was Isaac's childhood like?

8. What is unusual about the summer of 1900 across the world?

9. Why does hail become an obsession of Isaac's?

10. How did Isaac do in the initial part of his training for the weather service?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What elements of human nature are captured in the "Spectacle" potion of the book? How is this shown to be intertwined with the ferocious beauty in nature?

Essay Topic 2

Isaac said this in relation to deciding on a career: "I then made up my mind that I would seek some field where I could tell big stories and tell the truth." Discuss what he means by this as well as whether he accomplished this goal. What is prophetic about this quote in relation to the hurricane?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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