The Disaster Experts : Mastering Risk in Modern America

Scott Gabriel Knowles

ISBN 10: 0812222466 / ISBN 13: 9780812222463

Published by University Of Pennsylvania Press Feb 2013, 2013

About this Item

Neuware - Scott Gabriel Knowles is Associate Professor of History and Politics at Drexel College and Associate Dean and Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry at Pennoni Honors College. He is also editor of Imagining Philadelphia: Edmund Bacon and the Future of the City, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Seller Inventory # 9780812222463

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Disaster Experts : Mastering Risk in Modern America
• Publisher: University Of Pennsylvania Press Feb 2013
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0812222466
• ISBN 13: 9780812222463
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 226W x 152H x 25D millimeters 226 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 25 millimeters depth
• Weight: 612 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, many are asking what, if anything, can be done to prevent large-scale disasters. How is it that we know more about the hazards of modern American life than ever before, yet the nation faces ever-increasing losses from such events? History shows that disasters are not simply random acts. Where is the logic in creating an elaborate set of fire codes for buildings, and then allowing structures like the Twin Towers—tall, impressive, and risky—to go up as design experiments? Why prepare for terrorist attacks above all else when floods, fires, and earthquakes pose far more consistent threats to American life and prosperity?

The Disaster Experts takes on these questions, offering historical context for understanding who the experts are that influence these decisions, how they became powerful, and why they are only slightly closer today than a decade ago to protecting the public from disasters. Tracing the intertwined development of disaster expertise, public policy, and urbanization over the past century, historian Scott Gabriel Knowles tells the fascinating story of how this diverse collection of professionals—insurance inspectors, engineers, scientists, journalists, public officials, civil defense planners, and emergency managers—emerged as the authorities on risk and disaster and, in the process, shaped modern America.

About the Author

Scott Gabriel Knowles is Endowed Chair Professor in the Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). He is also founding coeditor of the Journal of Disaster Studies.