Tropical Surge

Southern Florida, from Miami to Key West, experienced unprecedented growth followed by a catastrophic bust between 1831 and 1935. Miami grew from a tiny frontier outpost on Biscayne Bay to a boom town, while Key West dwindled from an important southernmost port to a poverty stricken hamlet; Henry Flagler’s amazing Overseas Railway between them appears and disappears, washed away by a hurricane-driven tidal wave on Labor Day, 1935. This engaging history tells the story of the dramatic battle between human ambition and the reality of the West Indian hurricane. By 1935, at least, the hurricane had won.