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. He describes in gripping detail some of the most important natural disasters in history. His clear and straightforward explanations of the forces that caused them 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.
Donald R. Prothero is a professor of geology at Occidental College and coeditor or author of many books, including Horns, Tusks, & Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals and The Evolution of Artiodactyls, both published by Johns Hopkins.
"If you want to learn more about these disasters than just what's in the news headlines, this is the book for you."
– Ian Paulsen, Birdbooker Report 2011