Perils of a Restless Planet: Scientific Perspectives on Natural Disasters [Paperback]

Ernest Zebrowski Jr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 1999

From epidemics and earthquakes to tornados and tidal waves, the overwhelming power of nature never ceases to instill humankind with both terror and awe. As natural disasters continue to claim human lives and leave destruction in their wake, Perils of a Restless Planet examines our attempts to understand and anticipate such phenomena. Now available in paperback, this highly acclaimed book draws on actual events from ancient to present times. Coverage focuses on basic scientific inquiry, technological innovation and, ultimately, public policy to provide a lucid and riveting look at the natural events that have shaped our view of natural disasters. While shedding light on the elusive quality of nature's intermittent tantrums and the limits scientific study and laboratory replication impose on our understanding of its mercurial ways, the author extrapolates from the history of science to suggest how we may someday learn to warn and protect the vulnerable populations on our small, tempestuous planet. Compelling and informative, this book will find readers both in and outside of the scientific community.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Johnstown flood of 1889, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the pan-European bubonic plague epidemic of 1347-51--all of these events left deep impressions on contemporary history and are remembered even today. We have yet to gauge the effects of more modern disasters--for instance, the Kobe earthquake of 1995, which killed 5,000 Japanese--but we recognize their significance. Many scientists are now engaged in developing means to forecast natural disasters more accurately and to put in place more effective safety measures. Ernest Zebrowski tracks their work through history, noting that even the most current of ideas about, say, the dangers of wind shear will almost certainly be proven obsolete in the years to come. Students of technological history, geology, and climatology will find his work stimulating, and general readers will find it highly accessible. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Zebrowski's (Pennsylvania Coll. of Technology) examination of natural disasters, ancient and modern, provides a unique look at the intersection of humanity and earth processes. Descriptions of famous and not so famous disasters ranging from tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes to epidemics and tornadoes are followed by in-depth discussion of why they occurred. In each case, examination of the effects of these phenomena upon human habitations and structures provides insight into the nature of living on a dynamic planet. The mechanisms for forecasting and their shortcomings are included. This book is well written and interesting, and, although preachy at times, it provides an excellent look at the science behind disaster prediction and prevention. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.?Jeanne Davidson, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521654882
• ISBN-13: 978-0521654883
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stories with the science behind them, August 31, 2001

By 

Duwayne Anderson (Saint Helens, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perils of a Restless Planet: Scientific Perspectives on Natural Disasters (Paperback)

I picked up this book while in Cambridge, strolling through one of the bookstores in town. Thumbing through the pages, it looked like a collection of stories about natural disasters - something I thought would be interesting reading in the evening, after poking around old cathedrals, castles, and local pubs. Anyway, it was father's day and my wife offered to get it as a present - I gladly accepted and began reading it right away.

It wasn't the book I expected. Sure, it has lots of stories about notable natural disasters, but it's much more than just sensational accounts. It's actually a well-thought-out science book with some excellent material about the nature of science in general, complete with basic tutorials on such things as strengths of materials, wave propagation, the weather, and chaos.

The book begins with an account of the 1755 disaster that virtually destroyed Lisbon. The catastrophe consisted of an offshore earthquake that leveled much of the city (especially the un-reinforced buildings of stone masonry) followed by a tsunami and fires that basically destroyed what was left. This chapter also tells the story of the destruction of Thera (today called Santorin or Santorini) in the Aegean Sea. This island volcano erupted catastrophically, destroying most of it approximately 1600 B.C. An interesting part of this story is the conjecture that the catastrophe led to the eventual downfall of the civilization on Crete, not far away.

The book then switches modes, temporarily, with a very nice expose on the evolution of science, and what science is. I especially appreciated Zebrowski's illustration of the basic assumptions in science, and how the philosophy and methods of science have evolved since Aristotle.

Have you ever wondered at the differences in casualties between different cities? Well, you should. Zebrowski compares two remarkable catastrophes to make a point. One was the earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1906, and the other was an earthquake that hit Messina in 1908. Both earthquakes were of roughly the same magnitude, but the death toll was far greater n Messina than in San Francisco. The difference? Construction. In Messina the buildings were made primarily of un-reinforced stone masonry, while in San Francisco they were mostly made of wood. This serves as the introduction to a chapter that illustrates many important and basic ideas about the strengths of materials, and how the proper selection of such materials can make tremendous differences in how buildings survive earthquakes. If you live in earthquake country this chapter will be particularly relevant.

One of the things I liked best about this book is how it takes the reader through so many different topics. There are examples of deep lakes with dissolved carbon dioxide. When disturbed by something like a landslide, this deep water can be rolled to the surface, and with the pressure released, belches large quantities of carbon dioxide across the countryside. The carbon dioxide hugs the ground, displacing oxygen and causing death by suffocation.

Zebrowski has one of the best basic descriptions of exponential population growth that I've seen, and he follows it up with a real-life example of what happens when human population growth goes unchecked, with the example of Easter Island. The basic lesson here is that, with rapid doubling times, by the time you realize you have a problem it's probably already out of control. Quite possibly the greatest threat facing the human race today is our unchecked population growth. And by the time everyone realizes - or is finally forced to admit - that it's a problem, it could be too late to do much about it. Every government and religious leader needs to be familiar with the arguments that Zebrowski puts forward in this chapter.

There are too many other examples to go into much detail. Zebrowski discusses things like evolution, and how natural disasters affect the evolution (and extinction) of species. Other topics include the bubonic plagues, epidemics, discussions about tsunamis (including some good stuff on wave motion and tides), earthquakes, different scales for measuring the energy released in earthquakes, volcanoes, and asteroid impacts. In all these cases the author makes a point of illustrating the effect of these catastrophes by recounting historical examples. But what I liked best was the way he delves into the science behind each type of natural catastrophe.

The last chapter on natural disasters deals with hurricanes and tornadoes. This leads naturally to the book's closing topics of irreproducible phenomena and chaos. There are better books on chaos, but this was not Zebrowski's primary topic. His chapter makes a nice introduction to the subject. The point of his closing remarks is that the science of natural disasters is intermingled with the unpredictability of chaos, and that some fundamentally new science is needed to make additional significant progress in dealing with predictions of things like earthquakes and hurricanes. Some of the material in this last chapter might be a bit difficult to understand if you haven't had some prior exposure to the subject (it tends to be a little abbreviated).

Overall, this is a wonderful book. It's informative, well written, nicely illustrated, heavily referenced, has a complete index, and (most importantly) the practical information within it might even save your life. It's well worth reading, in my opinion, if you like science and are a little bit curious about our restless planet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down, August 5, 2004

By 

Andreas Mross (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perils of a Restless Planet: Scientific Perspectives on Natural Disasters (Hardcover)

One of the best books I've read in a long time. This is popular science done right! For a start, the writing is very clear and the author manages to explain some complicated subjects in a straightforward manner.
A book on natural disasters wouldn't be complete without exciting tales of death, mayhem and general destruction. In this book, the author proves himself a first rate yarn spinner. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what happened when Mont Pelee exploded or when Lisbon was swamped by a tsunami.
This is the kind of science book I like. It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, yet also assumes the reader is intelligent and can grasp new concepts. For example, the second chapter (in a book on natural disasters) is titled "The Evolution of Science" and provides a lucid and compact summary of the history and philosophy of science, no less! Bravo! Another great thing is the auther is always ready to point out the limitations of current science or current techniques. Some authors tend to gloss over the unknowns and pretend they know everything.
You can learn a lot from this book. Each page is dense with scientific information, with no filler. What to do if involved in an earthquake, hurricane, tsunami or volcano. How to build a house. How the richter scale works. Its all in there. And the author isn't afraid to throw a few equations into the mix to illustrate the science behind the discussed phenomenon.
If you are a thinker, you will love this book. Guaranteed!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perils is a beautiful marriage between science& storytelling, May 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Perils of a Restless Planet: Scientific Perspectives on Natural Disasters (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating book. The stories of blood and gore are captivating enough, but the real thrill is in the mystery of how and why nature chooses to destroy. The science behind disasters is not traditional textbook science, instead it is science at the cutting edge, full of more questions and speculations than answers. This is a book that causes the reader to pause and say *Hmm....* at least once, it seems, every page. There are a few typographical errors that the publisher ought to fix, but this is a minor complaint. Anyone with a curious mind will finish this book wishing it were longer. I hope the author writes a sequel!