The Big Ones : How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them)

By The World-renowned Seismologist, A Surprising History Of Natural Disasters, Their Impact On Our Culture, And New Ways Of Thinking About The Ones To Come Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Volcanoes--these All Stem From The Same Forces That Give Our Planet Life. It Is Only When They Exceed Our Ability To Withstand Them That They Become Disasters. Viewed Together, These Events Have Shaped Our Cities And Their Architecture; Elevated Leaders And Toppled Governments; Influenced The Way We Think, Feel, Fight, Unite, And Pray. The History Of Natural Disasters Is A History Of Ourselves. In The Big Ones, Renowned Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones Offers A Bracing Look At Some Of Our Most Devastating Natural Events, Whose Reverberations We Continue To Feel Today. Spanning From The Destruction Of Pompeii In Ad 79 To The Hurricanes Of 2017, It Considers Disaster's Role In The Formation Of Our Religions; Exposes The Limits Of Human Memory; And Demonstrates The Potential Of Globalization To Humanize And Heal. With Temperatures Rising Around The World, Natural Disasters Are Striking With Greater Frequency Than Ever Before. More Than Just History Or Science, The Big Ones Presents A Call To Action. Natural Hazards Are Inevitable; Human Catastrophes Are Not. With This Energizing And Exhaustively Researched Book, Dr. Jones Offers A Look At Our Past, Readying Us To Face Down The Big Ones In Our Future-- Brimstone And Fire From Out Of Heaven : Pompeii, Roman Empire, Ad 79 -- Bury The Dead And Feed The Living : Lisbon, Portugal, 1755 -- The Greatest Catastrophe : Iceland, 1783 -- What We Forget : California, United States, 1861-1862 -- Finding Faults : Tokyo-yokohama, Japan, 1923 -- When The Levee Breaks : Mississippi, United States, 1927 -- Celestial Disharmony : Tangshan, China, 1976 -- Disasters Without Borders : The Indian Ocean, 2004 -- A Study In Failure : New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, 2005 -- To Court Disaster: L'aquila, Italy, 2009 -- The Island Of Ill Fortune : Tohoku, Japan, 2011 -- Resilience By Design : Los Angeles, California, Sometime In The Future. Dr. Lucy Jones. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. By the world-renowned seismologist, a riveting history of natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes—they stem from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes give us natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. In The Big Ones , leading seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones offers a bracing look at some of the world's greatest natural disasters, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. At Pompeii, Jones explores how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged prevailing views of religion. She examines the California floods of 1862 and the limits of human memory. And she probes more recent events—such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the American hurricanes of 2017—to illustrate the potential for globalization to humanize and heal. With population in hazardous regions growing and temperatures around the world rising, the impacts of natural disasters are greater than ever before. The Big Ones is more than just a work of history or science; it is a call to action. Natural hazards are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and exhaustively researched book, Dr. Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future. By a veteran seismologist of the U.S. Geological Survey, a lively and revealing history of the world's most disruptive natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come Natural disasters emerge from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes have provided us with natural springs. Volcanoes have given us fertile soil. A world without floods would be a world without rain. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together, these colossal events have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we reason, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. The Big Ones is a look at some of the most devastating disasters in human history, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. It considers Pompeii, and how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged and reinforced prevailing views of religion for centuries to come. It explores the California floods of 1862, examining the failures of our collective memory. And it transports us to today, showing what Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami can tell us about governance and globalization. With global temperatures rising, natural disasters are striking with greater frequency. More than just history, The Big Ones is a call to action. Natural disasters are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and richly researched book, Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future. "By the world-renowned seismologist, a surprising history of natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes - these all stem from the same forces that give our planet life. It is only when they exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Viewed together, these events have shaped our cities and their architecture ; elevated leaders and toppled governments ; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. In 'The Big Ones', renowned seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones offers a bracing look at some of our most devastating natural events, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. Spanning from the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79 to the hurricanes of 2017, it considers disaster's role in the formation of our religions ; exposes the limits of human memory ; and demonstrates the potential of globalization to humanize and heal. With temperatures rising around the world, natural disasters are striking with greater frequency than ever before. More than just history or science, 'The Big Ones' presents a call to action. Natural hazards are inevitable ; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and exhaustively researched book, Dr. Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future."-- Provided by publisher "By the world-renowned seismologist, a surprising history of natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes--these all stem from the same forces that give our planet life. It is only when they exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Viewed together, these events have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. In The Big Ones, renowned seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones offers a bracing look at some of our most devastating natural events, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. Spanning from the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79 to the hurricanes of 2017, it considers disaster's role in the formation of our religions; exposes the limits of human memory; and demonstrates the potential of globalization to humanize and heal. With temperatures rising around the world, natural disasters are striking with greater frequency than ever before. More than just history or science, The Big Ones presents a call to action. Natural hazards are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and exhaustively researched book, Dr. Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future"-- Site web de l'éditeur A riveting history of natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come Natural disasters emerge from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes create natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. The Big Ones is a look at some of the most impactful natural disasters in human history, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. It considers Pompeii, and how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged and reinforced prevailing views of religion. It examines the California floods of 1862 and the limitations of memory. And it transports us to today, showing what Hurricane...