Earthshock: Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, and Other Forces of Nature, Revised Edition [Paperback]

Andrew Robinson (Author), A. G. Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

What causes an earthquake? When will another big shock shake Tokyo or Los Angeles? Can people create deserts and eventually wipe out a civilization? Or are deserts and droughts entirely beyond human control? How are ozone layer and greenhouse effect interlinked? Is global warming a force of Nature - or of man? This revised edition comes complete with key websites, illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned artwork, and presents the updated scientific insights into these fiercely debated, life-and-death questions. Our predecessors, such as Newton and Einstein, built science gradually upon their faith in some fundamental simplicity in Nature: what they called Nature's laws. Today our view is one of chaos and complexity, as we grapple with the intricacies of how everything - natural and human - interacts. But understanding these interactions has never been more urgent: for we now find ourselves increasingly at the mercy of planet-threatening upheavals unleashed by our own actions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A look at the causes and effects of natural disasters on Earth and its inhabitants from the beginning of time. -- Science News

Mixing lively nature with informative graphics and spectacular photographs, Robinson has produced an absorbing book. -- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Andrew Robinson is literary editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement. Among his other books are The Shape of the World: The Mapping and Discovery of the Earth and The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs and Pictograms.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Rev Sub edition (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500283044
• ISBN-13: 978-0500283042
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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