Natural Disasters [Paperback]

Patrick Leon Abbott (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073376698 | ISBN-13: 978-0073376691 | Publication Date: December 8, 2008 | Edition: 7

Natural Disasters, 7th edition, focuses on how the normal processes of the Earth concentrate their energies and deal heavy blows to humans and their structures. It is concerned with how the natural world operates and, in so doing, kills and maims humans and destroys their works. Throughout the book, certain themes are maintained:

energy sources underlying disasters

plate tectonics and climate change;

earth processes operating in rock, water, and atmosphere;

significance of geologic time;

complexities of multiple variables operating simultaneously;

detailed and readable case studies.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pat Abbott is a professor at San Diego State University

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 7 edition (December 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073376698
• ISBN-13: 978-0073376691
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geology
  • #22 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Nature Travel > Adventure
  • #40 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for beginners interested in this topic!!!, January 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Natural Disasters (Paperback)

I just finished taking a course at Florida International University having to do with natural disasters and this book was the required text. I found the book very interesting and informative. The different forms of natural disasters were seperated by chapters and were very well explained. I found it very easy to learn about natural disasters using this book.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Natural Disasters makes geology interesting!, October 27, 1999

By 

Fred Schroyer (Waynesburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Natural Disasters (Paperback)

As a developer of geology and earth science college textbooks for major publishers, I've worked with a lot of excellent books. Patrick Abbott's Natural Disasters, second edition, is one of the most interesting, readable, informative, and engaging books available. It doesn't have all the four-color diagrams and photos, and doesn't need them. The book tells many fascinating stories that engage students (e.g., the Lisbon earthquake of 1755), relates these natural events to humanity, and offers outstanding short summaries of geologic phenomena and events (e.g., the K-T extinction). This is one of the few books I keep on my desk to illustrate geologic events and principles for friends and coworkers. Highly recommended!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Natural Disasters, May 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Natural Disasters w/bind in OLC card (Paperback)

I used this book for one of my Earth and Ocean Science courses at the University of British Columbia. Although I enjoyed the many good examples, I found that the text did not have a very good flow to it. I found some of it to be choppy, and some of the sentences to be quite unclear. I agree, the examples are interesting, but it seems like the text relies on those examples to be interesting. I think a lot of processes could have been explained better, as I thought the point from class notes I received from my professors did a lot better than the text in helping me understand certain processes. I definetely agree it's a beginner text though as the examples give a good indication that natural disasters only occur because humans have inhabited locations that often times threaten lives.