Reviews (3)

Sociology must
This was an excellent book, well-written and informative. Using Buffalo Creek as the fulcrum, Erikson provides readers with a good introduction of communities and trauma. It is interesting to note the similarities and differences between the aftermaths of Sept 11 and Buffalo Creek. Erikson's book is a must read for social scientists and anyone interested in creative non-fiction writing.

Excellent description of a tragic disaster in West Va.
Excellent descriptions of how survivors dealt with the total destruction of everything they had built and accomplished in their entire lives. All of this was taken from them by a "man made" damn and wall of water within minutes. Mr. Erikson did a wonderful job of relating to the people from the coal camps and realizing what their lives had been about......he truely shows the suffering involved in this disaster.

An excellent description of the disaster and its' effects
One of the better books I've read detailing the issues involved in natural disasters and their aftermath. Erikson describes in detail what the survivors went through and how they dealt with the destruction of their community. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

americans shot black hawk down
Grown-ups should know that journalists rarely get their stories right. This book, presented as a straightforward examination of the NGO's 'Aid-Game' and their complementary 'Aid-Circus', ends up being all the more poignant when it targets Western misconceptions and the Neo-colonialism that has installed itself in the Western media and elites under the catchphrase 'Humanitarian Intervention'. You don't have to believe me - just read this fantastic book, written by a former member of the NGO's international, and find out how and why famines really start and really end, as opposed as what you hear on newspapers and TV. If you wanna know why Black Hawk went down, this is the book to start. If you remember those Ethiopian children you thought you saved by buying tickets for charity concerts, maybe you wanna know the truth.

A thought-provoking,worthwhile read.
This is a managable text,even for the novice in African current afairs and is written by the co-director of the Africa Rights group,based in London. De Waal contends that the causes of famine are invariably political and avoidable.He is critical of the activities to date of many aid agencies and observes that they have in many cases paradoxically perpetuated the very crises they have been seeking to end. This work has raised many questions for me and is a starting point for further reading on the subject of how aid to developing countries can be best delivered. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great Insight on the fireline
Probably one of the best wildland fire books I have ever read. In my 25+ years of firefighting this one captures the scenes of a wildland fire the best. The pictures are great and the narration and stories truly catch you up in the whole fire scene. Buy it for the pictures or the stories--but get a copy, You will enjoy it for years to come.

Excellent
This coffee-table sized book has some incredible photos and a great human-interest slant on the world of wildland firefighting. There is a bit on the history of wildland fire in America and on tactics and fire ecology, but the author really shines when he describes the subculture of those who fight wildland fire, and why many of them forsake "normal" careers or social status to come back year after year. Wildland fire in rural America is one of the few paths to genuine adventure still available in the modern world, and is probably the closest thing to a positive rite of passage there is today. It is an opportunity to live and work in the wilderness which most people will never have. I've been there, done that myself and found this book of much interest. Although, with the catastrophic fire seasons of 2000 and 2002 this book is no longer quite up to date. Looking forward to a revised and updated edition.

A Firefighter's View...
When I first picked up a copy of Michael Thoele's Fire Line, I was quite skeptical, having served 5 years in the late 1990's as a Region One Firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana while working my way through college to earn an engineering degree at Montana State University. All too often, Books, Documentaries, and movies leave much to be desired when it comes to correctly describing the world of Wildland Firefighting and the characters that inhabit that world. After having read the work completely, I must say that I am very impressed. I have read it now more than a few times, and still return to it when I feel the need to keep alive all the wonderful memories of the unique people that I met and the experiences that we shared.

Having started out as an "Engine Slug" on the Gallatin National Forest, and having worked my way up and around the fire eschelons-- serving as a helitack crew member, eventually earning my quals as an Incident Commander, and serving my time as a Rookie Smokejumper in Missoula, I have seen and done much that Mr. Thoele accurately describes. I think what makes the book work so well is that the author lets the book be itself. By this, I mean that many of the stories and photos are those related to and given to the author. The research for this book is absolutly top-notch, [as it MUST be], and takes nothing away from the fast-paced, hard-hitting, gritty and spine-tingling stories related by the author.

In my opinion, this is the finest book currently on the market that documents Wildland Firefighting in the western United States, both in scope and depth. It is a fitting tribute to all Wildland Firefighters, Past, Present and Future.

Now More than Ever
It's been several years since Mike Thoele wrote his fine book, but it's still a valuable primer on the people who fight wildland fire. With catastrophic fires burning across the West this summer of 2000, the worst fire season in half a century, it's worth taking another look at Fire Line. When we venture into the woods, especially to build a home or cabin, we should remember who we put at risk. Thoele's book puts faces on firefighters: they could be neighbors or friends; they could be ourselves. Making a dwelling fire-safe is not the most expensive or difficult job in the world, but it gives firefighters like the ones in Thoele's book a better chance of making it home at the end of a 14 day shift, some of those days 24 hour days. Thoele's book is a colorful, readable and pleasant telling of the story of the wildland firefighter.

The very best book available on Western wildfires
Mike Thoele is one of the few humans truly qualified to write a book that accurately portrays the culture and the people of wildland fire. And he has done a spectacular job of it with this fine book.

Since the major rager fires of 1910, Americans have fought wildfires in the forests and grasslands and deserts of the West. The summer warriors who take on these battles are a breed apart, and Thoele explains why. He shows us, with an impressive collection of photos, and tells us, with well-crafted stories, who they are and what they do. From tanker pilot Laddie Lash's breath-taking canyon dives, to exhausted firefighters sleeping in a pile in the dirt, to the "generals" plotting strategy in the command center of the war on wildfire, Thoele takes us there.

If you've made a 20-year career of it, or if you know nothing of wildfire and have not even seen a wilderness fire camp, you will learn from this book what it's all about. Thoele portrays the people who are bitten by the fire bug, the men and women who go back, year after year, to do battle with the dragon of fire, both accurately and dramatically. Every bit of this impressive book is right-on and readable, even for those who have but a passing interest in wildfire.

Perhaps the best reviews, though -- or the most credible reviews -- are those of the firefighters themselves, and I have heard from dozens of them what they think of this book. They call it a masterpiece. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Reliving The Great Galveston Disaster
Galveston Island, Texas - A massive hurricane strikes the Island on a Saturday afternoon in September 1900. Paul Lester, along with an introduction by Richard Spillane, Editor "Galveston Tribune" and Associated Press Correspondent who survived the storm in Galveston, give eyewitness accounts of the death and destruction that surround this natural disaster. Written in 1900, immediately after the storm passes, and with the sensational overtones so prevalent of newspapers then, this book engrosses the reader and enables one to experience along with victims, their overpowering sufferance. Many lives were lost, many families torn apart, many children left orphaned. Paul Lester gives the thrilling accounts of heroism, and what life was really like immediately following such a life-altering event. It is amazing to read these stories, which take the reader back in time, when the Gulf Coast of Texas was a growing and thriving area of the South. The survivors must overcome their grief of losing loves ones, their shock of seeing such massive amounts of dead bodies everywhere, to clean up the remnants of a city that was completely destroyed in one night. Each chapter gives eyewitness accounts by many different Galvestonians, visitors and tourist that were there on that fateful Saturday. The stories by outsiders and various government agencies that had to overcome washed out wagon bridges, and railroad bridges to bring the island city much needed food, water, medical supplies, disinfectants and manpower. The tales of having thousands of bodies that were dumped at sea only to wash back up on the beaches the next day. The loss of everything these people owned and their survival is indeed thrilling and fascinating. The spirited stories and accounts of the destruction that tore through the state of Texas as told back in 1900 makes one shudder. There are old pictures that show the actual unbelievable devastation and ruin of this thriving island city. The gross and unimaginable stench of death, visions of total desolation and ruin are all described in this captivating book. ... Read more

Book Description

Thousands of people die every year from floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes and typhoons.Yet compared to what the Earth endured in prehistoric times-lethal volcanic winters, deadly asteroid collisions-our civilization has developed against a backdrop of relative geological calm. Will this calm last? A Brief Guide to the End of the World looks at the frightful prospects that await us in the 21st century and beyond.Bill McGuire, a leading expert in the field of geological hazards, admits that the omens are less than encouraging. Only 10,000 years after the last Ice Age, the Earth is sweltering in some of the highest temperatures it has ever seen.Overpopulation and the relentless exploitation of natural resources, combined with rising temperatures and sea levels induced by greenhouse gases, are increasing the likelihood of natural catastrophes, from continuing El Ninos, to large-scale glacial melting, to mega-tsunami. Even more disturbing is the near certainty that we are headed towardanother asteroid or comet collision on the scale of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. In this provocative and immensely readable guidebook, McGuire discusses when these catastrophic events are likely to take place, how they will effect our global society, and what we can do to increase our chances of survival--from emissions reductions, to massive geo-engineering schemes, to the colonization of space. Illustrated with photographs and diagrams, and backed by meticulous research, A Brief Guide to the End of the World sheds new light on the extraordinarily vulnerability of our planet, and on our capacity to withstand the dramatic changes Mother Nature has in store for us in the distant--or not so distant--future. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Chicken Little was right
There's a lot to worry about here, and frankly I'm worried. The main disaster that I didn't know about until I read this intriguing little book is the volcanic "super-eruption." Take your standard volcanic blast and multiply it by something like a thousand and one begins to get the picture. Not only that, but a super-eruption isn't necessarily going to happen around the old fault lines or Vulcan sites. No, a super-eruption with enough power to usher in a "volcanic winter" can happen suddenly without warning virtually anywhere.

The really scary thing about super-eruptions is that not only can't they be predicted, they can't be prevented. In this sense they are worse than an earth-crossing asteroid or unleashed Oort Cloud comets. We might be able to see a meteor coming our way and with current technology nudge it off its course or blast it into smaller pieces, but there is absolutely nothing we can do about a super-eruption. Even if the super-eruption takes place halfway around the world, its effects, possibly leading to a civilization-ending volcanic winter, will be felt everywhere. With the social disruption, the disease, and the cold and starvation, the living (to recall a phrase from the Cold War) may very well envy the dead.

McGuire, who is Benfield Greig Professor of Geophysical Hazards at University College London, recalls for our delectation, "perhaps the greatest volcanic explosion ever" that took place at Toba in northern Sumatra 73,500 years ago. It qualified as a Volcanic Explosivity Index 8 (VEI 8) event, which means it was about one thousand times as powerful as the VEI 5 1980 blast at Mount St. Helens. It tore a hole in the ground one hundred kilometers across and sent an estimated 3,000 cubic kilometers (that's kilometers)of debris into the atmosphere, enough "to cover virtually the whole of India with a layer of ash one metre thick." (pp. 98-103) A volcanic winter of perhaps six years followed with "up to 5,000 million tonnes of sulphuric acid aerosols" in the air, enough to "cut the amount of sunlight reaching the surface by 90 per cent." (p. 104) An ice age followed, perhaps triggered by the mammoth eruption. McGuire goes on to speculate that so many humans died world wide that humanity went through a "population bottleneck" that almost sent us the way of the dinosaurs. (pp. 105-107)

McGuire, who sometimes refers to himself as "Disasterman" (p. 131), also looks at "The Threat from Space" (Chapter 5). He separates the asteroids from the comets and guesses that our chance of being killed during an asteroid or comet walloping is "750 times more likely than winning the UK lottery." To me, the really scary "from outer space" scenario is a hoard of comets being dislodged from their normal orbits to fly toward mother earth, so many that we would have no ability to ward them off.

Global warming and the coming ice age are also topics explored by the good professor. Earthquakes and tsunamis have their chapter and there is an Epilogue (in which he notes, e.g., that come the year 2100 "an extraordinary 50 per cent or so of the people in Japan and western Europe will be 60" years old or older). There are a couple of appendices showing "threat" and geological timescales, and a modest index. The chapter on global warming, I must say, left me somewhat confused. Clearly McGuire believes human activity is a factor in making the nineties the hottest decade ever recorded, but whether our pollution will melt the ice caps or help to usher in an ice age is not clear.

Some other items of interest in this very readable book:

There was a geological episode in the earth's history referred to as "the Cryogenian" in which the earth was covered by "a carapace of ice a kilometre thick." McGuire calls this "Snowball Earth" and when it finally melted 565 million years ago, the Cambrian explosion of life followed. (p. 69-71)

An earthquake in the Tokyo-Yokohama region similar in intensity (8.3 on the Richter Scale) to that which struck in 1923--a reprise, McGuire says, is "thought to be only decades away"--would cripple the Japanese economy and have disastrous world wide effects. (pp. 123-131)

The so-called "Contraction & Convergence" plan "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions" that would require monitoring and billing polluters for their emissions on a per capita basis: to me, this requirement would reveal the true cost of various enterprises and would help us to move toward renewable production and ecologically sound business practices.

Not to be picky, but on page 18 McGuire reports that Hurricane Andrew of 1992 "brought to bear on the city" of Miami "wind speeds of up to 300 kilometres per second." That's about 670,000 miles per hour! (I suspect he meant wind speeds of 300 kilometres per HOUR.)

Bottom line: fascinating, a little flippant at times, but a full-out good read by a man who knows what he is talking about. ... Read more

Book Description

This book focuses on natural disasters: how the normal processes of the Earth concentrate their energies and deal heavy blows to humans and their structures. "Natural Disasters" is concerned with how the natural world operates and, in so doing, kills and maims humans and destroys their works.

Throughout the book, certain themes are maintained:

* energy sources underlying disasters

* plate tectonics and climate change

* Earth processes operating in rock, water, and atmosphere

* significance of geologic time

* complexities of multiple variables operating simultaneously

* detailed and readable case histories.

The text aims to explain important principles about the Earth and then develop further understanding through numerous case histories. The book includes recent happenings such as the Western United States wildfires during the summer 2000 and the Los Alamos prescribed burn, also occurring in 2000. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Natural Disasters makes geology interesting!
As a developer of geology and earth science college textbooks for major publishers, I've worked with a lot of excellent books. Patrick Abbott's Natural Disasters, second edition, is one of the most interesting, readable, informative, and engaging books available. It doesn't have all the four-color diagrams and photos, and doesn't need them. The book tells many fascinating stories that engage students (e.g., the Lisbon earthquake of 1755), relates these natural events to humanity, and offers outstanding short summaries of geologic phenomena and events (e.g., the K-T extinction). This is one of the few books I keep on my desk to illustrate geologic events and principles for friends and coworkers. Highly recommended!

A great book for beginners interested in this topic!!!
I just finished taking a course at Florida International University having to do with natural disasters and this book was the required text. I found the book very interesting and informative. The different forms of natural disasters were seperated by chapters and were very well explained. I found it very easy to learn about natural disasters using this book.

excellent book
you will learn everthing from tornadoes to earthquakes, this book will take you to an exciting adventure into natural disasters. ... Read more

Book Description

Before storm sirens, before the Weather Channel, before Doppler Radar, a tornado "dropped out of a troubled May sky and twisted its way into our lives forever." On the evening of May 20,1957 three communities south of Kansas City, Missouri were destroyed by a seventy-one mile, F-5 twister. This monstrous storm left in its path five hundred injured, forty-four dead and over a million dollars worth of property damage.

Nothing defines a community more than its reaction to disaster. Caught In The Path is a story of fear and courage, suffering and resiliency. The hardest hit area, four year old Ruskin Heights, was the first post-war tract housing development in the Kansas City area. Like so many of their generation, its residents, mostly first time home buyers in their twenties and thirties, came to Ruskin to raise their baby-boom families with the optimism of the fifties. When the tornado scattered their dreams along its path, they came back, and changed a housing development into a community.

Author Carolyn Glenn Brewer's family was among those caught off guard by the tornado. Most of the houses on her block were leveled to the foundation. She combines her story with extensive interviews from nearly one hundred survivors and period media coverage. The narrative flow of this book reads like fiction, but makes the tornado, and the summer that followed, pulse with reality. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

The raw human side of a violent tornado

Smudging our national fabric are stains of disaster like the one smeared across the southern suburbs of Kansas City one muggy night in 1957. Through her own experiences as a child survivor, and those of dozens of living witnesses, Brewer has compiled a rich and true tale of the impact, recovery, and lingering torment from a multiple-vortex, F5 tornado. Warnings weren't too accurate or timely then; the weather bulletin advised residents only of the threat of high winds and hail. When the vortex struck, 44 people died, over 500 others lay injured, and thousands of families' lives were torn loose from the security of bustling, post-war, Levittown-style suburbia. As the stories unfold, one can almost see the smoldering rubble, and smell the aroma of electrical ozone and shredded trees.

Concurrent parts of the survivors' inverviews are excerpted together in each chronological chapter, from the tornado's first sightings to recollection from the 1990s. The book could have used another diligent proofreader or two. Its organization is rather choppy; and there are too many misspellings. The research, however, was resoundingly thorough, rendering a richly endowed anthology of personal tales from a single evening of terror long ago.

Tornado survivors, disaster historians and Kansas City residents alike will appreciate Caught in the Path; however, its most needed audience may be severe weather aficionados: storm chasers, storm spotters and professional meteorologists. To them (and me, a former NSSFC forecaster), Brewer shows the side of severe weather we too often fail to appreciate when we research, forecast, or observe storms. Through these pages, the survivors of Kansas City's last violent tornado teach us lessons about what happens beneath those radar echoes and dark clouds. Their tales of survival show us why we do what we do -- to minimize such carnage and horror whenever the big one hits again, anywhere, anytime.

A time warp to my childhood
Carolyn Brewer's book took me on a journey to my past, Her recounting of the Ruskin Heights tornado through interviews with survivors made those intense Summer evenings come rushing back like the storm winds themselves. No one who grew up in "Tornado Alley" could read this book and not be moved. I applaud her courage and that of the people who shared that night of terror with all of us.

Ruskin Revisited
The book was perhaps more interesting since I have not been back to Ruskin. I was also a classmate of Judy Hembree and others in the book. We did not dwell on the tornado aftermath in the 60s, but now realize that it shaped our reaction to crisis.

Nice read.

Great content, could have used better editing
This book is a gripping and compelling story of the May 20 1957 tornado in the words of the survivors 20-30 years later. It has personal interest to me as a life-long Kansas City resident, tornado obsessor and '50s buff. In the mid to late 1980s, I resided in apartments which were adjacent to the railroad tracks and just south of the Ruskin shopping center. I figuratively could not put the book down once I started. My only criticism would be the large number of spelling and grammar errors.

A roaring success!
I came across this book on a visit to St. Louis and grabbed it. It may just be the best book ever written about a tornado--it's riveting start to finish and the spotlight is on people and their lives. It's a great movie in print with a terrific plot, memorable characters and a lot of heroism mixed in. ... Read more

Book Description

This publication outlines the health sector's role in reducing the impact of disasters, laying out a framework that an administrator can rely on to make effective decisions in managing the health sector's activities to reduce the consequences of disasters. It describes the overall effects of disasters on health, highlighting myths and realities, and summarizes how the health sector must organize itself to cope with disasters. The book emphasizes the multisectoral nature of disaster preparedness and sets forth guidelines for preparing health sector disaster plans, means of coordination, and special technical programs before a disaster hits. The book also includes ground-breaking information on the management of supplies in a disaster.

The book is primarily aimed at health sector professionals who participate in disaster preparedness, response, and mitigation. Disaster management has become such an intersectoral enterprise, however, that anyone interested in disaster mitigation will find here a useful primer. Public health students and professors also can rely on this book in formal and informal courses. ... Read more

Book Description

In the past decade over ten major tsunami events have impacted on the world's coastlines, causing devastation and loss of life. Evidence for past great tsunami, or 'mega-tsunami', has also recently been discovered along apparently aseismic and protected coastlines. With a large proportion of the world's population living on the coastline, the threat from tsunami can not be ignored. This book comprehensively describes the nature and process of tsunami, outlines field evidence for detecting the presence of past events, and describes particular events linked to earthquakes, volcanoes, submarine landslides and meteorite impacts. While technical aspects are covered, much of the text can be read by anyone with a high school education. The book will appeal to students and researchers in geomorphology, earth and environmental science, and emergency planning, and will also be attractive for the general public interested in natural hazards and new developments in science. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Good Read on the Subject But Fairly Technical
In a lot of science books written for the general reader, the complaint is that the material is sensationalistic and over-simplified. Edward Bryant almost errs in the other direction. His evidence that very large Tsunami have played a key role in shaping many coastal regions is extremely well-presented and will contain lots of new information for even dedicated followers of Earth Science news.

On the other hand, while reading information about landscapes re-arranged by truly massive "mega-tsunami," one sometimes longs for livelier prose. The book may also be something of a slog now and then for people with no background in Earth Science.

I would recommend this book highly to anyone with a serious interest in the subject, and certainly to anyone who needs to consider tsunami from a policy-making point of view. ... Read more

Book Description

In June of 1994 a dangerous "bomb" storm caught dozens of cruising sailors by surprise as they voyaged north from New Zealand. This is the true story of how nine yachts struggled to survive the hurricane-like conditions. Boats were battered by fierce winds and capsized by seas towering well over 50 feet high. Equipment was ripped loose, and water penetrated every weak point. Masts collapsed, rudders broke, and sailors lost steering control when they needed it most. The crews coped as best they could with injury, fear, exhaustion, and illness. Their electronic calls for help were picked up by satellites and radio operators, who initiated a massive air and sea search. This is the story of heroic rescues, human endurance, and tragic loss. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

GET IT! BUY IT! READ IT!
Experiences of different crews in heavy weather and the courage of those that rescued them. To trail warps or not? Those and other questions are answered at the end in a very valuable 'lessons learned' chapter. I don't know about painting the deck orange, but I would carry a large orange swatch of fabric to tie to the deck. Don't skimp on flares and EPIRBS that may save your life etc. Great book on what can go wrong and how to survive it. What could the crew of Quartermaster have done to survive the ordeal? Think before you sail!

I was there.
As capitan of the Destiny and having experienced this storm first hand, I can say that Tony's work is by far the most accurate of all the articals I have read. This is the book I recogmend when asked for my story. For those of you planning an ocean crossing, I would suggest that there are lessions learned during this storm that will prove of great value to you should you ever find yourselve in "the wrong place at the wrong time". My views of survival in extreem heavy weather were forever changed. It's a good read.
Dana Dinius

More compelling than A Perfect Storm
A real page-turner. I couldn't put it down. The suspense was spellbinding. Unlike A Perfect Storm, you don't know the outcome. Well written and true according to a friend who married a pilot who knew the rescuers.

Excellent book!
This book is a definite "Must Read". A little difficult to follow at first, as it covers the entire search and rescue operations involving several boats and their crew. I felt as if I was right there in it with them, and you can't put the book down until you know how it comes out in the end. This book is well written, with plenty of suspense and drama to keep your interest well into the wee morning hours. It was so good, I'm reading it again.

Couldn't put it down!
This book kept me on the edge of my seat for hours! I ended up reading it in one sitting! Any sailor dreaming of a blue water cruise should read this book. Non-sailors will enjoy this book also. Don't get bogged down by some of the sailing terms... this book is about the life and death struggle these people faced out in the Pacific and how they managed to survive. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

Check this out if you like Edward Tufte (Envisioning Info.)
A great overview of how to convey information through cartography. The author chooses to focus on mapping environmental hazards to demonstrate this; their may be other topics that would lend itself to the exercise but the chosen subject seems a perfect fit. Entertaining and accessible.

A useful tool for evaluating environmental risk.
Monmonier, a professor of geography at Syracuse University, discusses the art and science of hazard-zone mapping, "a momentous adaptation of electronics and numerical analysis", in this clearly-written explanation of the possibilities and limitations of the new cartographic genre.
Assuming no special cartographic knowledge on the part of the reader, the author begins with the basics of scale in map-making, and proceeds to explore the ways in which tornadoes, earthquakes, environmental pollution hazards, crime, and other risks are analyzed and translated into usable graphical form.
Noting that "it is wise to question the map maker's motives", Monmonier also encourages the reader to view risk-maps with some healthy skepticism as "partly rhetorical,,,social constructions" which "can always be manipulated".
With numerous charts, graphs, and maps, Monmonier's work is highly recommended as a clear exposition of geographic hazards and a useful tool for evaluating one's own level of risk.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.) ... Read more

Book Description

A crucial tool for professionals, teachers, and student architects and engineers, this important volume belongs on the desk of anyone involved in the construction of buildings in areas that are vulnerable to earthquakes.The world's most seismically active locales are represented in the projects profiled, where techniques for resisting catastrophic earthquake damage have been applied to many different types of buildings. Sites studied are in countries along the Pacific Rim-the west coasts of North, Central, and South America; Australasia and the east coast of Asia and all its islands, known as the "Ring of Fire"; and less-affected areas in Eastern Europe, Greece, and Turkey.Some projects show the latest techniques in earthquake resistance conceived by architects such as Rafael Mono and Arata Isozaki. Others deal with post-disaster situations; for example, a Polshek & Partners project to retrofit and add a new wing to a museum that suffered great damage in California's 1989 earthquake.Many sizes of buildings are viewed, from very small projects, like a house by Shigeru Ban designed for the homeless after the Kobe disaster of 1995, to huge buildings such as the San Francisco Main Library by I. M. Pei. Categories of construction are wide-ranging: residential, commercial, religious, medical, and cultural facilities are all considered in this comprehensive report on life-saving construction strategies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Analyzes trends in disaster
World Disaster Report 2002: Focus On Reducing Risk is a solid and comprehensive look at not only the natural disasters that have troubled the world, but also the crucial importance that adequate preparations can have in saving lives. From earthquakes in urban Europe and South America to cyclones in Bangladesh, World Disaster Report 2002 also analyzes trends in disaster, and human rights, duties, and accountability in the wake of environmental tragedy. A solid, meticulously researched, and highly informational presentation, World Disaster Report 2002 is a welcome and much appreciated addition to academic, governmental, and professional Environmental Studies and Emergency Preparedness Studies supplemental reading lists and reference collections. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1969, five young men from Montana set out to accomplish what no one had before: to scale the sheer north face of Mt. Cleveland, Glacier National Park's tallest mountain, in winter.Two days later tragedy struck: they were buried in an avalanche so deep that their bodies would not be discovered until the following June.The White Death is the riveting account of that fated climb and of the breathtakingly heroic rescue attempt that ensued.
In the spirit of Peter Matthiessen and John McPhee, McKay Jenkins interweaves a harrowing narrative with an astonishing expanse of relevant knowledge ranging from the history of mountain climbing to the science of snow.Evocative and moving, this fascinating book is a humbling account of man at his most intrepid and nature at its most indomitable. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Makes you think twice before skiing again
Throughout history, mountains have held a certain irresistible appeal, an unknown feeling of holy ascendence. That appeal has held through the ages, and envelops people who have already done something important with their lives, those who haven't, and older people as well as young people. Being close to nature, risking everything for the beauty of the view from the top of a mountain, for the physical prize after a hard climb, for the closeness a peak brings heaven or any sentient all-powerful being; these are all rewards from a successful climb, and these are not all. But there is also so much to risk - life itself, which, being already so short, is worth more than anything imaginable. People risk themselves constantly through mountain climbs or extreme sports, believing the rewards far outweigh the losses. The White Death is a well-told story of five boys who risked it all for the climb of a lifetime.

McKay Jenkins transforms the elusive and unknown world of avalanches to an intriguing story of mountain rescues. Don't read this book expecting it to focus on the lost boys; it won't. But you'll learn all about avalanche rescue techniques, types of snow and how to test them for avalanche safety, helicopter rescues, et cetera. You get my point.

I would completely recommend this book to any skiier, boarder, hiker, climber, or person interested in the outdoors and rescues. I picked this book off the shelf because I liked the cover, then read the flap and borrowed it. It is definately worth the time to read "The White Death".

A Scary and Scientific Read
I am not a mountain climber, nor a skier, but I love the outdoors and the mountains, thus my interest in this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the author's flowing writing style and the way he seamlessly incorporated historic details about avalanche disasters and the science of snowflakes and snowpack. This book offers a wide breadth of fact while expertly narrating the gripping story of the plight of these five climbers, and the lives of those they left behind. If you enjoyed "The Perfect Storm" or "Into Thin Air", you will not be disappointed at all with this book. This ranks up there with the finest natural disaster books I have read, and I highly recommend it.

A valuable read for skiers and climbers
This book does a great job of blending snow science and the history of human avalanche experience with a compelling personal story of five unfortunate young climbers. If the scientific and historical perspectives in this book had been available to these climbers, their story would likely be a different one. Anyone interested in skiing or climbing in mountainous backcountry should find this book to be informative, intriguing, and, if not for the tragedy, enjoyable. This book presents the dry text of snow science in a package that will hold your interest. Though flawed in its accuracy regarding personal history, details of mountaineering and local geography, it provides knowledge about the nature of snow and its metamorphosis that any mountain adventurer should be aware of. I am sending a copy to a friend who teaches avalanche awareness classes, as I know he'll thoroughly enjoy it...in spite of the tragedy.

An extraordinary book
I spent several years as the book critic for Outside magazine, during which time I had the opportunity (and sometimes misfortune) to read dozens of books about mountaineering tragedies and triumphs. The White Death is one of the genre's very best, in part because of Jenkins' considerable skills as a storyteller and wordsmith, and in part because--unlike the professional climbers who typically write such tomes--he has healthy skepticism about the sport itself. This is not simply a tale about "tragedy and heroism," as the subtitle indicates, but also about hubris, teen angst and dumb luck. It's also a paean to an extraordinary place (Glacier National Park) and an endlessly fascinating and mysterious phenomenon (snow). Written with flair and suspense, it unfolds with the power of a wall of white cascading down a slope.

Sensationalized
I read this book with great interest for a number of reasons; I grew up next to the Andersons and consider them family, I am a avid climber and backcountry skier, and I myself have survived an avalanche and lost a best friend, a dog, and nearly another best friend in an avalanche. The author's approach is one of a scolding mother, with the clarity of hind sight, and an I-told-you-so attitude. It's sad to see the story of the climbers who lost their lives trivialized and sensationalized in such a way. ... Read more

Book Description

On November 1, 1755-All Saint's Day-a massive earthquake struck Europe's Iberian Peninsula and destroyed the city of Lisbon. Churches collapsed upon thousands of worshippers celebrating the holy day. Earthquakes in Human History tells the story of that calamity and other epic earthquakes. The authors, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, recapture the power of their previous book, Volcanoes in Human History. They vividly explain the geological processes responsible for earthquakes, and they describe how these events have had long-lasting aftereffects on human societies and cultures. Their accounts are enlivened with quotations from contemporary literature and from later reports.

In the chaos following the Lisbon quake, government and church leaders vied for control. The Marqu-s de Pombal rose to power and became a virtual dictator. As a result, the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order lost much of its influence in Portugal. Voltaire wrote his satirical work Candide to refute the philosophy of "optimism," the belief that God had created a perfect world. And the 1755 earthquake sparked the search for a scientific understanding of natural disasters.

Ranging from an examination of temblors mentioned in the Bible, to a richly detailed account of the 1906 catastrophe in San Francisco, to Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, to the Peruvian earthquake in 1970 (the Western Hemisphere's greatest natural disaster), this book is an unequaled testament to a natural phenomenon that can be not only terrifying but also threatening to humankind's fragile existence, always at risk because of destructive powers beyond our control.

... Read more

Reviews (17)

superb book!!!
I picked this book up as a gift for a friend who lived through the flood and I became so engrossed in it I never put it in the mail! (I bought another copy for my him. ) As well as being hugely infomative, there was a richness of detail and character that gave it the feel of a gripping novel.

The book brought home for me the true devastion of the flood, which I had of course heard about, but could not truly fathom until Red River Rising.

I was surprised to read another Amazon reviewer (and local) say: "There is a sense throughout the book that North Dakota residents are hicks waiting on federal hand outs, too stupid to purchase flood insurance, and too easily swayed by a newspaper column."

It's a strange comment. You could only conclude the person read a different book. Red River Rising reads as nothing less than a moving tribute to the intelligent, proud, generous and above all courageous people of Grand Forks.

I recommend it highly!

Over-sensitive Idiots Rising
I enjoyed this book. As a life-long resident of North Dakota, I love getting an impartial analysis from outside the state on such a major event, and heartily enjoy the ball-busting this author gives the area. The simple fact is, people did look desperately for scapegoats in the form of the National Weather Service or the Army Corps of Engineers or what have you, and I think the same story is likely repeated every year in similar disasters in this country. People do and think foolish things in times of calamity, and I wish more people in this area would own up to our own displays of idiocy.

Fabulous journalist, fabulous journalism.
This is a book about Democracy and the roll of government. Increasingly, as taxes, tensions and the everday involvement of government slowly rise, we ask ourselves and our leaders: Where should personal responsibility end and regulation begin?

Do taxpayers owe anything to disaster "victims" who willingly live, year after year, uninsured, at the constant verge of mortal danger?

And the rich social and political subtexts abound. Anyone who wonders why no qualified leader in his or her right mind would enter public service in America needs only read "Red River Rising." Shelby's descriptions of the government, the press and the people and their interactions -- from the origin of questionable information under the strict rigors of flawed government mandates, to its botched transfer through the hands of under-educated reporters, to the public's inability to assimilate and use it, is priceless.

Aside from being an amazing book about strife, courage and recovery, this is a text so socially relevant to our country's current struggles that it can be extrapolated to relate to any issue on any level. From imposing a recycling tax, to going to war, this book describes how every public decision in America transpires -- right down to the last militant holdout spitting in the face of The Man.

Every leader, voter and reporter needs to read this book.

Bryan Harris
Journalist

I couldn't stop reading!
Red River Rising offers great journalism and an enthralling read in the same package. I kept saying to myself, "Just one more page..." Shelby presents a masterful overview of the disaster and brings all of the people to life, too. A terrific book.

Gripping Journalistic Work
Although I traditionally steer away from books related to science and politics, I found myself enthralled with the story of the 1997 Grand Forks flood and recovery in Ashley Shelby's "Red River Rising." Shelby's lucid prose and talent for storytelling kept me turning the pages. What I found so fascinating was not only the series of mishaps that led to the flood itself, but the reaction of the community after the flood waters had receded.

This book has clearly generated some strong reactions, as evident by a couple of the reviews here on amazon. But what bothered me about one review in particular is that a few of its comments are misleading.

First, the claim that "the author failed to interview any Herald editors who served at the time of the flood" is deceptive. Shelby does interview Tom Dennis (see note 183 in the back of the book), who, though not living in Grand Forks at the time of the actual flood, was the Herald's opinion editor during the time of the city's reconstruction (the focus of Shelby's discussion of the Herald). Dennis was present at a number of the meetings that Shelby describes in the book.

Second, to call Shelby a "pretentious fiction writer," is erroneous. I fail to understand how this book is pretentious (because there is a reference to Joyce? or is it the hydrological charts?). A glance at the book jacket also reveals that Shelby has an MFA in non-fiction (not fiction) writing from Columbia University. She has also been published in "The Nation." Has Shelby published fiction as well? Yes. It's not unusual for an author to write in both genres.

I could go on and refute the rest of the aforementioned amazon review, but I'll let readers come to their own conclusions.

Needless to say, I highly recommend "Red River Rising." It's fascinating, well-researched (endorsed by Douglas Brinkley), and if it generates this much controversy, it certainly can't be dull! ... Read more

Book Description

Beginning on a front porch in Duluth, Minnesota, and ending three months later in Hudson Bay, author Scott Anderson took every canoeist's dream trip. Filled with humor, mis-adventure, and ultimate success, Distant Fires is a must-read for anyone who has ever picked up a paddle.

An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults ... Read more

Reviews (4)

True account of an uncommon adventure
"Distant Fires" was published in 1990 and is the true account of a summer canoe trip from Duluth Minnesota to Hudson Bay Canada by two men in their early 20's. More than anything else, this book speaks to the modern charisma and abilities of the author, who planned and accomplished the journey, then, wrote such a wonderful and humorous account of it. Chapter by chapter, the reader is taken to the water, along the route, and into the perspective of the adventure. This book is testomony to what's in the future and beyond the horizon. It cannot be over-recommended for young and old. Thank you Scott Anderson for sharing your uncommon knowledge and insight of "Distant Fires" on earth and in our lives.

Great Book
I think this book was great. It was so great because it told a true story of courage. I recommend it to anyone who wants adventure.

Two young men who tackle the elements by canoe- and win.
This is an astonishing book about two young men who want so much to have a great adventure experience before they get too old and can't go. So, they set out in their canoe to recreate an adventure 50 years ago, by Eric Sevareid, to canoe 2000 miles, from Duluth, Minn. to the Hudson's Bay. Every step along the way they encounter adversity, bugs, hardship, danger- yet they press on with a determination and will to complete this task, and win. They do so with much humor and dry wit. I found myself laughing out loud in many places. Where else can you read about two young men moving at the speed of a canoe paddle, going upstream, battling headwinds, eight foot waves that could easily swamp their canoe, rapids, portages through dense growth, beaver dams, and of course, mosquitos, mosquitos and more....?

It seems that they must have never been dry or warm over this journey that took them over three months to complete. But they never lost their sense of humor and never gave up, even though the odds were immense.

I greatly reccommend this book. It reads easily, and will be an excellent choice for young as well as older readers who enjoy a good travel adventure. It is a wonderful inspiration to all who read the book.

A "must read" for anyone who loves the North Country
This is the book I read when I feel "displaced" from wherever the Air Force has me at the present time. If you are familiar with the outdoors lifestyle of northern Minnesota, this book will refresh any memories you have of trips up "The Shore" (north shore of Lake Superior) or the Boundary Waters. The author is a Duluth, MN native who tells his story of an extended canoe trip that started at his home and ended in Hudson Bay. The reading is light, and is enhanced with a lot of local color humor. ... Read more

Book Description

"the hand of God and the lack of fire escapes"

In 1916, poet Carl Sandburg wrote about a young girl who jumps to her death in a Chicago factory fire, attributing her tragic end to "the hand of God and the lack of fire escapes." Sadly, the lesson of Anna Imroth's untimely demise would go unheeded.Instead, thousands of times in Chicago and elsewhere, the circumstances of her loss would be repeated.

Perhaps no other city in America identifies itself with fire quite like Chicago does; certainly no other city cites a great conflagration as the cornerstone of its will and identity. Yet the Great Chicago Fire was not the only infamous blaze the city would see. Rather, as Chicago changed from agrarian outpost to industrial giant, it would be visited time and again by some of the worst infernos in American history-fires that sparked not only banner headlines but, more importantly, critical upgrades in fire safety laws across the globe.

In Great Chicago Fires, acclaimed author and veteran firefighter David Cowan tells the story of the other "great" Chicago fires, noting the causes, consequences, and historical context of each-from the burning of Fort Dearborn in 1812 to the Iroquois Theater disaster to the Our Lady of the Angels school fire. He also explores lesser-known fires such as fatal tenement and flophouse blazes that often underscore how poverty and poor living conditions set the stage for these urban catastrophes.

Along the way, Cowan follows the colorful evolution of Chicago's firefighting forces from early 19th-century citizen bucket brigades to the armada of the modern day fire department, lacing his narrative with the dangers of his profession, including a vivid account of the worst day in American fire service history when twenty-one firefighters died battling a fire at Chicago's Union Stockyards.

In transporting readers beyond the fireline and into the ruins, Cowan brings readers up close to the heroism, awe, and devastation generated by the fires that shaped Chicago.

This book contains over 80 stunning historic photos. ... Read more

Book Description

A massive compendium of survival stories and technical survival information. 21 chapters cover everything from emergency medicine, lifeboat navigation, psychology of survival, cold weather, sharks, being marooned, much more. 300 illustrations ... Read more