"...the portrait suggests vanity, that Isaac saw himself as something bigger than a mere recorder of rainfall and temperature. He was a scientist, not some farmer who gaged the weather by aches in a rheumatoid knee." The Beach, p. 4

"The nation in 1900 was swollen with pride and technological confidence." The Beach, p. 5

"The north wind brought Isaac the perfume of a waking city: the clean, almost minty, smell of freshly cut lumber from the Hildenbrand planing mill; coffee from the bulk roasters in the alley between Mechanic and Market; and always, everywhere, the scent of horses." The Beach, p.15

"'The system, he told Congress, helped explain why Weather Bureau employees had to be committed to insane asylums more often than employees of any other federal agency. He said this with pride." Chapter 1, p. 73

"Thus, he argued, hurricanes could not as a rule strike Texas." Chapter 1, p. 80

"It would...