Review:
Devastation! covers all the natural disasters you might want to know about in one handy place. Lesley Newson describes everything from the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact to mad cow disease in vivid prose illustrated by some of the most astounding photographs ever printed. The book includes a gazetteer mapping more than 550 disaster sites around the world and giving information on historic disasters at each location. Newson covers the standard dangers from earth, air, water, and fire, but adds diseases, droughts, famines, ice ages, and mass extinctions--every large-scale threat to human life except war. Devastation! gives far more evenhanded coverage of disasters around the world than is usual for works of this type; it describes storms in Bangladesh as well as Florida, floods in China as well as Iowa, and fires in Australia as well as Yellowstone. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu said: "When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster"; the pictures and text in this book may not actually prevent disaster, but they are guaranteed to inspire awe. --Mary Ellen Curtin
From the Back Cover:
Devastation! The World's Worst Natural Disasters. Enthralling accounts of the world's most catastrophic natural disasters from prehistory to the present day. Spectacular color photographs, graphic illustrations, and historic forces of nature at work. Easy-to-follow explanations help you understand the underlying causes of all types of disasters, from volcanic eruptions and tornadoes to runaway fires and worldwide epidemics. Exquisite nad-drawn maps identify danger zones around the world. A comprehensive gazetteer gives the dates and details of more than 500 natural disasters.
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