Earthshaking Science: What We Know (and Don't Know) about Earthquakes (Hardcover)

by Susan Hough (Author) "Our fascination with earthquakes likely dates back to the dawn of human awareness, but efforts to understand them were doomed to failure prior to the..." (more)
Key Phrases: earthquake interactions, paleoseismic results, aftershock triggering, New Madrid, United States, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Integrates state-of-the-art research with explanations of earth quake phenomena and attempts to explain many of the current controversies. -- Sandy Steacy, Times Higher Education Supplement

This book is a major contribution to its field, and an excellent summary of our current approaches to understanding earthquakes. -- William R. Green, The Leading Edge

This is a very ambitious book. . . . Hough does a good job, and the interested non-scientific reader will come away with a solid knowledge of the topic. . . . [T]hroughout the book [Hough] integrates state-of-the-art research with explanations of earth quake phenomena and attempts to explain many of the current controversies. -- Review

Review
Earthshaking Science takes on the difficult task of reviewing the state of earthquake science at a time when the field is evolving rapidly. Its author, Susan Hough, has done an admirable job of clearly and accurately illuminating the boundary between our knowledge and our ignorance. . . . [She] has written a book that is accessible to readers in other disciplines and to a non-technical audience, but provides enough thoughtful commentary and perspectives to hold the attention of specialists.
(Gregory C. Beroza Nature )

A reader with no background in earth science or seismology can easily absorb the material presented. . . . Hough's writing style is easy and engaging, and she makes the subject matter entertaining.
(Mark Zoback American Scientist )

An excellent outline of how, why and where earthquakes happen. . . . It presents a real picture of a lively research field in all its gritty glory, written with a sharp eye for the absurdities of scientific life. . . . This is an intelligent look at a broad field of science that affects many lives. Anyone heading for an earthquake area should buy a copy.
(Sue Bowler New Scientist )

Earthshaking Science is without equal--literally, a book for everyone. . . . Hough's writing style is exceptionally engaging; she asks copious insightful questions to reveal the current state of knowledge and where research and discovery must lead.
(Choice )

Fascinating and clearly written.
(Thomas Jones London Review of Books )

This is a very ambitious book. . . . Hough does a good job, and the interested non-scientific reader will come away with a solid knowledge of the topic. . . . [T]hroughout the book [Hough] integrates state-of-the-art research with explanations of earth quake phenomena and attempts to explain many of the current controversies.
(Sandy Steacy Times Higher Education Supplement )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691050104
• ISBN-13: 978-0691050102
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,292,323 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars readable in a journalistic style, May 7, 2002

By A Customer

Dr. Hough's new book is very readable in a journalistic style, like a set of Scientific American articles, or the NY Times Sunday magazine. There is little jargon and almost no equations to slow down the reader. That makes it suitable for the general public or high school to early college textbook. But it is a little lightweight to be an advanced seismology textbook or reference work.

The first several chapters of the book explain plate tectonics and basic seismology. Then there are some very good descriptions of the state of earthquake prediction and of how the national seismic hazard maps were compiled. These are probably the best current descriptions of these topics in the general science literature and a reason to read this this book. This book also brings seismology into the 21st century, incorporating lessons from large 1990s US quakes and current seismic research.

In some respects the material resembles another journalistic seismology book "The Earth in Turmoil" by her across-the-street colleagues Dr. Sieh (with LeVay). Hough's book progresses in topical order, while Sieh's visits ten geologically active areas in North America. Hough's is slanted more on seismology and the hazards mitigation efforts of the US Geological Survey. Sieh's is slanted more geology and his specialty of understanding pre-historic quakes.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock And Roll!!!, May 13, 2002

By	Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I live in Whittier, California and get to fill out "Did you feel it?" reports on the USGS web site several times a year. As a resident of the earthquake laboratory we call southern California, it's obvious that I should keep abreast of the latest news from the seismology labs. But what about folks in New York, NY? Or Memphis, TN? Or Charleston, SC? Earthquakes don't happen in the eastern United States...do they? Actually, not only do they happen in the eastern US, but a large earthquake in the eastern US today would probably make Loma Prieta or Northridge look like practice runs. Look around your neighborhood and the area where you work. Do you see any unreinforced brick buildings? If I have your attention and you're curious about the latest information about earthquakes, I highly recommend Susan Hough's Earthshaking Science.

Earthshaking Science is a tour to the edge of the scarp of what we do know [and what we'd like to know] about earthquakes. It is NOT a comprehensive guide to earthquakes and plate tectonics. If you're looking for the basic textbook version, try Earthquakes by Bruce Bolt or Living With Earthquakes In California by Robert Yeats. Hough takes off from the basic textbook knowledge of earthquakes and takes the reader to the edges of seismology. She covers everything from studies of ground response to the fledgling science of paleoseismology. She apologizes for a California focus, but she does quite a bit on earthquake dangers in other parts of the United States. I would recommend that potential readers have a basic background in science. If you dream of short term earthquake prediction, this book isn't the good news you've been looking for.

Whether you've read every book on earthquakes or you're a scientifically literate person who has little experience with seismology, I highly recommend Earthquaking Science by Susan Hough.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Earthshaking Science, November 27, 2002

By	Joe Zika "Khemprof" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Earthshaking Science: What We Know (and Don't Know) about Earthquakes written by Susan Elizabeth Hough os a book that tackles the issues at the forefront of modern seismology.

Although earthquarkes have been around for eons, the science of measuring the ground motion has been really around for a few decades. Most of the information about earthquakes has been excellerated by the improvements in earthquake recording capability. This book has a straight forward approach in describing what happens durning and the causal effects of what is entailed by a tectonic event.

This book on seismology addresses earthquake prediction, seismic hazard assessment along with ground motion, magnitude and how earthquakes start. I found this book to be very readable and understandable. Since the science of seismology is so new, not much information is available outside the technical journals, but now in this book the layperson can understand the dynamics of this science.

The book has only seven chapters, but each of them when finished will impart a knowledge of seismology to the reader that you could only piecemeal before. If you want to understand why earthquakes happen where they do, then this is your book.

This book is jargon-free and the author communicates very well to the reader about a complex science in terms that are easily understood. I recommend reading this book if you want to know why the earth shakes, raddles and rolls.