Catastrophes!: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, and Other Earth-Shattering Disasters
Description
Devastating natural disasters have profoundly shaped human history, leaving us with a respect for the mighty power of the earth—and a humbling view of our future. Paleontologist and geologist Donald R. Prothero tells the harrowing human stories behind these catastrophic events.
Prothero describes in gripping detail some of the most important natural disasters in history:
• the New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes of 1811–1812 that caused church bells to ring in Boston• the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people• the massive volcanic eruptions of Krakatau, Mount Tambora, Mount Vesuvius, Mount St. Helens, and Nevado del Ruiz
His clear and straightforward explanations of the forces that caused these disasters accompany gut-wrenching accounts of terrifying human experiences and a staggering loss of human life.
Floods that wash out whole regions, earthquakes that level a single country, hurricanes that destroy everything in their path—all are here to remind us of how little control we have over the natural world. Dramatic photographs and eyewitness accounts recall the devastation wrought by these events, and the people—both heroes and fools—that are caught up in the earth's relentless forces.
Eerie, fascinating, and often moving, these tales of geologic history and human fortitude and folly will stay with you long after you put the book down.
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Choice Review
Geologist/paleontologist/writer Prothero (Occidental College) examines natural disasters from one perspective, by evaluating ideas and theories against the research of paleontologists and biologists. Chapters cover high-profile disasters, plus floods, hurricanes, and blizzards; heat, drought, and sea level changes are not featured. Each topic begins with descriptions of events and moves to a short explanation of the underlying science. Prothero seizes teaching opportunities to differentiate scales for measuring earthquakes and to describe types of landslides. He makes the case for Earth's orbital variations as the cause of ice ages. As the author begins to discuss ice ages and global warming, the presentation becomes more complex. Prothero characterizes the global warming controversy as purely political, with all scientists convinced that warming is occurring as a result of human action, and he disparages the denialists. He rants at politics, religion, and pseudoscientists, as they impeded the development of scientific knowledge and social policies necessary to deal with disasters. He closes with a reality check using statistics to show that, in the short term, heat waves, storms, and severe winter weather are the most dangerous natural disasters. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates. L. S. Zipp formerly, State University of New York College at Geneseo