The Wizard of Sun City: The Strange True Story of Charles Hatfield, the Rainmaker Who Drowned a City's Dreams |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Hurricanes > Item 322
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The Wizard of Sun City: The Strange True Story of Charles Hatfield, the Rainmaker Who Drowned a City's Dreams
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by Garry Jenkins
Sales Rank: 718528
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List Price: $24.00
$24.00
At Amazon
on 9-15-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 272 pages
Published by: Basic Books June 10, 2005
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 1560256753
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1560256755
Book Dimensions:
8.5 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
Weighs: 15.2 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Journalist Jenkins (Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral) has carefully researched the career of Charles Hatfield (1875–1958), the man fictionalized in R. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker, whom some still credit with precipitating the San Diego flood of 1916. Beginning on January 5 of that year, a series of torrential storms filled the Morena Reservoir and flooded the surrounding area; the Lower Otay Dam overflowed, washing out farms and causing dozens of deaths. Hatfield had long been experimenting with chemical combinations he believed could produce rain; he built a windmill tower and heated a secret formula (still under lock and key), launching vapors into the clouds. The controversial rainmaker was hired by San Diego officials during a 1915 drought to fill the city's reservoir. The rains came, but Hatfield was refused his $10,000 payment by the City Council. Since there were widespread storms all over southern California during this period, meteorologists doubt that Hatfield caused the storms. Although Jenkins successfully evokes a sense of time and place and recounts a wealth of detail about rainmaking, his portrait of the charming but highly private Hatfield lacks vitality. Photos. (July 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
In the early years of the twentieth century, long before Doppler radar and satellite imagery, weather forecasting was more art than science. Meteorologists relied on a wish and a prayer, and those whose livelihood depended upon their forecasts looked elsewhere for the results they needed. Enter the rainmaker, that combination snake-oil salesman and self-taught scientist, who convinced desperate people that he alone could do what Mother Nature could not. Perhaps the most noteworthy of the rainmakers was Charles Hatfield, whose fame would soon turn to infamy in light of the devastation wrought upon San Diego in January 1916. After prolonged droughts, Hatfield was hired to bring on the rains that would fill the city's reservoirs. This he did, and then some: an unheard-of 35 inches of rain fell, flooding the area and inflicting some $3.5 million in damage. As captivating as any tale of contemporary catastrophic events, Jenkins' investigation thoroughly exposes the historical tragedy surrounding a natural disaster that may have had unnatural causes. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader Reviews
The cover of this book, line drawings of flood victims anxiously retreating in the advance of a wall of water, foretell the ultimate result of the efforts of professional rainmakers Paul and Charles Hatfield. What lies between the covers is a very fascinating tale, almost an inversion of the Pied Piper saga, in a time when faith in near-science and pseudo meterology was not only believed, but (at least for a bit) sanctioned by the powers that be. This story provides a cautionary tale for those self-styled business folk who unfortunately believe a man's word is his bond, and a handshake forms an unbreakable contract. Author Jenkins recreates the time and the mood of Southern California in the early 1900's and recreates an atmosphere of a blossoming community pinning its hopes on a sophisticated businessman with a simple proposition: Hatfield will fill a resevoir to its 15 BILLION gallon capacity for $10,000, or San Diego owes him nothing. Surely a sucker's bet, since annual rainfall for the area is less than a foot, Hatfield is given tacit approval to proceed with his venture. The results far exceeded the imaginations of all parties involved, and the aftermath surely challenges one's belief in pseudo science and the unpredictability of the atmosphere. The book's release date of July 2005 (a mere month or so prior to Hurricane Katrina) is almost eerie in its timing, in describing a cataclysm seemingly unimaginable for a town with a bright future and numerous prospects. I'd highly recommend this book to fans of the turn of the last century, to municipal engineers and officials, to weather spotters and emergency planners, or even to just plain folk who like an enjoyable tale that still has a few surprises and twists to keep things interesting. Happy Reading!
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The Wizard of Sun City: The Strange True Story of Charles Hatfield, the Rainmaker Who Drowned a City's Dreams
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Price: $24.00
Updated on 9-15-2008.
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