At the dawn of the twentieth century, a great confidencesuffused America. Isaac Cline was one of the era's new men, ascientist who believed he knew all there was to know about themotion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that ahurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he wasbased, was to him preposterous, "an absurd delusion." It was 1900,a year when America felt bigger and stronger than ever before.Nothing in nature could hobble the gleaming city of Galveston, thena magical place that seemed destined to become the New York of theGulf. That August, a strange, prolonged heat wave gripped the nationand killed scores of people in New York and Chicago. Odd thingsseemed to happen everywhere: A plague of crickets engulfed Waco.The Bering Glacier began to shrink. Rain fell on Galveston withgreater intensity than anyone could remember. Far away, in Africa,immense thunderstorms blossomed over the city of Dakar, and greatcurrents of wind converged. A wave of atmospheric turbule

Mustang Designer tells the story of American wartime fighterdevelopment, including engines and armaments, as part of anationwide program of aircraft builders and fliers, focusing onEdgar Schmued, the designer of the Mustang. The P-51 Mustang iswidely regarded as the best propeller-driven fighter that everflew. What many might not realize is that the plane's developer wasa German migrant. This book tells of how Schmued created a weaponthat would ultimately prove lethal to the aspirations of those whohad seized control over his native land.