Amazon.com
Jennifer Weiner, whose novels Good in Bed and In Her Shoes earned her a place among women's book club aficionados everywhere, proves she still has the touch with Little Earthquakes, a tale of love, heartbreak, redemption, and friendship. Weiner's novel centers around four new mothers, all of whom must learn to adjust their lives and their marriages to deal with the challenges of raising children.

Ayinde is a beautiful, biracial newscaster who moves to Philadelphia after her husband, a star player for the NBA, is traded to the 76ers. She meets Becky, an overweight chef who plays the "pregnant or just fat" game every time she passes a mirror, and Kelly, an overachieving event planner who has her whole life mapped out down to the most minute details, after going into labor at a prenatal yoga class. The three become fast friends, and come to rely on each other for everything from burping techniques to intense emotional support. The group grows to include Lia, a semi-famous Hollywood starlet who leaves her husband and returns to Philly after a sudden tragedy.

While Little Earthquakes may leave little to the imagination, and some of the characters are laughably stereotypical (the Mama's boy Jewish doctor and the cheating ball player, to name a few), it is Weiner's gift for creating compelling characters with whom her readers can identify that make her such a successful storyteller. --Gisele TouegBook Description

Bestselling author Jennifer Weiner creates a tale of romance, forgiveness, and extreme sleep deprivation, as four very different women navigate one of life's most wonderful and perilous transitions: the journey of new motherhood.

Rebecca Rothstein Rabinowitz is a plump, sexy chef who has a wonderful husband, a restaurant that's received citywide acclaim, a beautiful baby girl and the mother-in-law from hell.

Kelly Day's life looks picture-perfect. But behind the doors, she's struggling to balance work, motherhood and marriage, while dealing with an unemployed husband who seems content to channel- surf for eight hours a day.

Ayinde Towne's already on shaky ground, when her basketball superstar husband breaks her trust at the most vulnerable moment in her life, putting their marriage in peril -- and thrusting their new family further into the public eye.

Then there's Lia Frederick, a Philadelphia native who has left Los Angeles behind, along with her glamorous Hollywood career, her husband, and a tragic secret.

With her trademark warmth and humor, Weiner tells the story of what happens after happily ever after.Download Description
"First comes love. Then comes marriage. And then things start to get really interesting... In Good in Bed, Cannie Shapiro conquered public heartbreak and shaky self-esteem. In In Her Shoes, Rose and Maggie Feller learned about family secrets and the ties that bind. Now, in Jennifer Weiner's richest, wittiest, most true-to-life novel yet, this highly acclaimed storyteller brings readers a tale of romance, friendship, forgiveness, and extreme sleep deprivation, as three very different women navigate one of life's most wonderful and perilous transitions: the journey of new motherhood. Rebecca Rothstein-Rabinowitz is a plump, sexy chef who has a wonderful husband, supportive friends, a restaurant that's received citywide acclaim, a beautiful baby girl...and the mother-in-law from hell. Kelly Day's life looks picture-perfect. But behind the doors of her largely empty apartment, she's struggling to balance work and motherhood and marriage, while entering Oliver's every move (and movement) on a spreadsheet, and dealing with an unemployed husband who seems content to channel-surf for eight hours a day. And Ayinde Towne is already on shaky ground, trying to live her life to the letter of a how-to guide called Baby Success, when her basketball superstar husband breaks her trust at the most vulnerable moment in her life, putting their marriage in peril -- and their new family even more in the public eye. Then there's Lia Frederick, a Philadelphia native who has just come home, leaving Los Angeles behind, along with her glamorous Hollywood career, her husband, and a tragic secret, to start her life all over again. With her trademark warmth and humor, Weiner tells the story of what happens after happily ever after...and how an eight-pound bundle of joy can shake up every woman's sense of herself in the world around her. From prenatal yoga to postbirth sex, from sisters and husbands to mothers and mothers-in-law, Little Earthquakes is a frank, funny, fiercely perceptive Diaper Genie-eye view of the comedies and tragedies of love and marriage." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (233)

Dragged me back to some awful times
Although I have loved some other titles by this author, I did not enjoy this book.I agree, its fairly well-written.However, the details of the agonizing days of dealing with a newborn are something I would like to forget.This book forces you to relive those awful moments (why won't my baby nurse? How can I avoid having post-baby sex?Will I ever get a full nights' sleep again? etc.)This might be a good book for someone who is closer to those days, but my kids are 10 and 14.I've moved on, happily.

Great for the childbearing years
I couldn't put this book down. The author kept the story moving with short, intriguing chapters devoted to each of the four main characters. It's not a super deep novel, but it touches on many issuses women encounter as they get beyond their 20s and start feeling that tug to give birth and raise children. It's more intense than customary chick lit, in that some of the themes revolving around womanhood kept me thinking well beyond the last page of the book.

Even for the single too!
"Little Earthquakes" may seem like a book that only new mothers could enjoy. But even the single gal will be able to connect with the beauty of frienship in this book. One of the few chick lit books that have depth and warmth to it while still being an entertaining read. So you must pick this book up even if you have never had a child but who has a friend or friends that seems like a sister.

Fun, light read--especially for new moms
I'm a big fan of Jennifer Weiner...loved Good in Bed and In Her Shoes. Little Earthquakes was a lot of fun...the looney mother-in-law stories made me giggle. And the very different women and the struggles they faced as they entered the new phase in their life of motherhood was great fun for me to read during baby naps.

I wanted to really like it
I tried very hard to like this book - and it was a pretty easy read.However, I really didn't care for any of the characters.Lia is basically a stalker with a sad story.Becky is a larger than life character that refuses to stand up to her mother in law.Kelly is a perfectionist micromanager that doesn't realize her world is crumbling and the other girl I spent most of the time trying to say her name.I understand she is exotic - but how about a name I don't have to phonetically read?

I can't believe the characters bonded so tightly after just one yoga class.Do they not have any other friends?And they all just love each other - no disagreements, catty backstabing - anything.I think Becky wants to make fun of the exotic one for following certain guidelines - but that never develops.

I guess this would be a great book if it were your first baby. ... Read more

Book Description
New Look! Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of new text!

Here is an exciting and informative guide to the violent eruptions and tremors that shape our planet. Superb color photographs of lava flows and clouds of ash, plus specially built 3-D models, offer a unique "eyewitness" view of volcanoes and earthquakes, from the forces that drive them to the devastation they cause.See streams of red-hot lava, the earliest seismographs, rocks that float in water, the bodies of people killed by the great eruption of Vesuvius, and pools of bubbling mud.Learn how animals can detect earthquakes before people, what causes a fire fountain, how buildings are made to withstand earthquakes, where to hide during an earthquake, and why the earth shakes.Discover how the Mercalli scale works, how new islands are formed, why the sands of Hawaii are black, how volcanoes affect the ozone layer, what makes magma explode, what a pyrolcastic flow is, and much, much more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

book review
The book I purchased is an excellent investment. I am VERY pleased.

I LOVE VOLCANOES AND EATHQUAKES
THIS DK BOOK IS IN FIRST PLACE.
I AM VERY INTERESTED ABOUT VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES ALOT.
THIS BOOK WAS JUST THE BEST ONES I READ IN MY DK BOOK
COLLECTION.DK BOOKS ARE THE BEST.AND VOLCANOES ARE THE BEST
FOR KYLE ADRIAN VENTURA

[...]

Pleasant coverage of the subject
This is one of the better DK ýEyewitnessý books Iýve read.It contained a pleasant mix of hard science, accounts of sensationalistic disasters, and the effects on the environment / cultures.The usual mind-boggling amount of details and facts are accompanied by numerous pictures and drawings to keep younger and more mature readers interested.One oddity is that this ended on a seemingly odd topic--the role of gods and religion in peopleýs interpretation of volcanoes and earthquakes.Just prior to this the study of volcanoes, and improvements in detection / building codes had been addressed (a very forward-looking topic) but then the last page is about gods (a historical perspective topic).Whatever. ... Read more

Book Description
When Jonathan and his family go camping on Magpie Island, they look forward to a fun, relaxing weekend. But their fun quickly vanishes when Jonathan, his sister, Abby, and their dog, Moose, find themselves in the middle of a natural disaster. A devastating earthquake has hit, destroying their camper, knocking out the only bridge to the mainland, and leaving Jonathan, Abby, and their dog with no food, water, or shelter. Alone in the woods, can Jonathan manage to keep calm and save Abby and Moose—and stay alive himself? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

One of my favorites....
I liked this book because it was very exciting, you get nervous when you read it, as you don't know what will happen next.But it all turns out with a perfect ending.

A boring,non interesting book!
I had to read this book for school and it was soo boring.This book was soooo stupid!

Earthquake terror
The book starts on a hot summer day on Magpie island when Jonathan 's mom breaks her ankle.So Jonathan's dad takes his mom to the hospital and leaves Jonathan and his sister Abby and the dog on the island.Then the earthquake hits breaking the bridge to the city, smashing the home, and making the river flood over the island.So Jonathan puts his sister, and his dog, and him on two trees that had fallen from the earthquake and floated to the city and was taken to the hospital.

Magpie Island Mania
Earthquake Terror by Peg Keheret is probably the best fiction book I have ever read so far. I liked it most because ig is very dramatic, and the part when they figure out that Magpie Island, the island that the Palmers are camping on, is about to have an earthquake!When the earthquake is over, they discover the island is sinking.what will the kids do? Mean while, their parents are trapped in a car, and they don't know how to get out.
The palmers son, Jonathon, who is my favorite charachtor, is very creative with his decisions. He knows how to get off of the island, but he dosen't know if it will work. But why he can't just swim off of the island is what I don'tunderstand. But Abby, Jonathon's disable sittle sister can't swim, but she allways complains, which becomes very annoying. And when Jonathon is eating lunch in the hospital, he has an average lunch, but it felt like a royal lunch because he hadn't eaten in days. It was a great book, I never wanted to stop reading it, and that's why I'm writing a review on it.

Mother nature isn't always on your side....
During a camping trip, Jonathan and his sister, Abby, are put into a surpring situation that turns for the worst. The two children find themselves fighting for survival after a devastating earthquake hits. Alone, they must learn to survive and overcome their greatest fears.

Man vs. Nature

I read this book around maybe two or three years ago, but it still sticks in my mind as entertaining and great. If your into nature disasters, pick this book up. ... Read more

Amazon.com
The year is 1906, the place is San Francisco. Annie and her brother,Jack, have just traveled here in their magic tree house, on a mission fromMorgan le Fay, the mysterious magical librarian from King Arthur's time. In aneffort to save Camelot, the children have already found three special kinds ofwriting for Morgan's library: something to follow (Civil War on Sunday), somethingto send (Revolutionary War onWednesday), and something to learn (Twister on Tuesday). Now it'stime to find "something to lend." It's a quiet, peaceful morning in SanFrancisco, and Annie is eager to start exploring. So eager, in fact, that shepulls Jack away from his research just before he would have learned a veryimportant piece of information... All too soon, the siblings figure it out forthemselves: they have arrived in this lovely city a moment before one of thebiggest earthquakes the U.S. has ever known shakes the Bay Area to pieces!Stunned, Jack and Annie wander the streets, but quickly find a purpose. Lots ofpeople need help transporting goods to safety, and many more are left withoutany idea where to go or what to do. But what about their mission? Will the kidsfind something to lend before the entire city goes up in flames?

Mary Pope Osborne's tremendously popular Magic Tree House series offers youngreaders a chance to immerse themselves in spellbinding adventures even as theylearn about history. The terrible San Francisco earthquake is described withgreat historical accuracy, but with admirable age-appropriateness. (Ages 5 to 8)--Emilie CoulterBook Description
Jack and Annie travel back to the morning of the great San Francisco earthquake. While they are there, they meet a reporter and help get some kids to safety. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Books
My children love these booksI didn't know if they would like them because they don't have alot of pictures. They just can't get enough

took over a month to receive it
waited for a month to receive the book.

Earthquake in the Early Morning
This book is fabulous.
One of the reasons I like it is because it talked about fires, earthquake and natural disaster. Another reason is because it was near our city! The last reason I liked it is because they lost their city but still had hope. I learned some exellent facts. I learned the fire burned 28,000 buildings! They had half a millon people there. The earthquake was called "The Great Shake". It was one of the biggest earthquakes ever! I would recommend this book for three reasons. The characters are fun. Jack likes the realistic and Annie likes the magic. The second reason is the excitement and learning wonderful facts.
Earthquake in the Early Morning is a excellent book.

MYBOYLOVESREADINGIT
My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

Earthquake in the early morning
I like this book because it is interesting.
It keeps you wondering whats going to happen next.
It is also very funny.
So you might want to read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Exceptional nonfiction for children from two of the most trusted names in science education: Seymour Simon and the Smithsonian Institution.

Book Description
It's April 18, 1906, and a powerful earthquake has just rocked San Francisco. Photographer Edith Irvine and her assistant, Daisy Valentine, survive the tragedy. Armed with Edith's camera, the two women set out to document the devastation--even as buildings crumble around them and soldiers promise to shoot anyone trying to photograph the crippled city.
Based on the real-life experience of photographer Edith Irvine, this harrowing tale of bravery and survival includes many of Irvine's now-famous photographs.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Earthquake at Dawn
This book was great from the very beginning. It is a story about a young photographer , Edith Ivrine, and her assistant, Daisy Valentine, traveling the world to take pitures an show Ediths prints of yosemite at a convention. Their first stop is in San Fransisco where they were planning to leave straight away to sail to Australia. But isntead they found themselves enduring the overwhemliing tragedy of the San Fransisco earthquake and fire. Edith uses this disaster to record the events happening, with her camera against the will of the police officers. This novel has you feel like you are walking the streets covered in crumbled buildings alongs side these two girls.

Book Riview
This book was exellent. Earthquake at dawn, while maintaining the readers interest through highly interesting events, is quite informative, giving information about the earthquake and a firsthand view of what it was like through the eyes of Daisy Valentine, Edith Irvine(a famous photographer)'s assistant. Daisy and Edith arrive in San Francisco hoping to catch a boat to Australia and travel around the world. Unfortunately, disaster strikes right before they dock, and the women find themselves in the middle of one of the biggest earthquakes in history. With the help of the McGregor and Somers families and their friend, Mary Exa, the women are forced to survive in the city by any means possible. Edith does her best to capture the ruins by photograph, but the mayor threatens to shoot anybody who dares to take pictures. An exciting, informative story, Earthquake at Dawn is the perfect book for anyone who wants to learn about the earthquake, or somebody who just wants something to read.

A great historical fiction novel
Earthquake at Dawn is a great book. It is about Edith Irvine, a dedicated photographer, and her 15-year-old assistant Daisy. On their way to Europe, the earthquake hits and they have to stop in San Francisco, which is mostly destroyed and collapsing. After the quake, a great fire erupts and several of the city's houses and buildings they had not already fallen burn to the ground. The two are separated from Edith's father, who was traveling with them, and they become friends with a few other survivors. Meanwhile, the mayor is creating even more trouble. Men and women are threatened to being shot for using toilets or electricity, and dynamite, in an attempt to stop the fire, is being set off. But, Edith documents the trip with her photographs, even though that could mean death if she was caught by the mayor, who doesn't want the rest of the country to know the real disaster that is happening in San Francisco. In this incredibly realistic novel, Kristiana Gregory tells the exciting story, based on a letter written by survivor Mary Exa Atkin Campbell and the real photographs taken by Edith Irvine. I would highly recommend this book.

Earthquake at Dawn
Kristiana Gregory really brings out Edith Irvine as a devoted photographer. Even in the midst of all the turmoil, she snaps 60 photos, possibly more! In this true-to-life novel, the famous San Francisco earthquake takes place, however, the quake is not the worst that happens! The fire that the quake created was. It lasted three days and killed an estimated five to ten thousand people. The mayor exploded dynamite to try to get rid of the fire, but the dynamite only created more. This novel also illustrates the annoying floor length dresses that the ladies of 1906 had to wear and the automobiles of Daisy's time. In some books earthquakes are made up just for entertainment. Not this one! This earthquake was real. The first shock was on April 18, 1906 and was recorded at 5:12:05 a.m. and it lasted for 45 seconds. There were 27 earthquakes that were actually recorded that day. Mary Exa Atkins Campbell told the earthquake's story.

An excellent historical fiction book
I really enjoyed the book Earthquake at Dawn. It's about the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake/fire that happened at dawn (hence the name Earthquake at Dawn). Even though it is historical fiction, it had a lot of true thingsthat made it incredibly believable. Kristina Gregory definitely made thestory good by adding some subplots that kept your interest. The subplotswere real things too, like Edith and Daisy getting separated from theirfather, and Molly dying of lack of healthcare. This was a really good,captivating book which I think many people will cherish for years to come. ... Read more

Amazon.com
From aa to Yellowstone, if it's got anything at all to do with earthquakes or volcanoes, you're likely to find within the pages of this updated encyclopedia from science journalist David Ritchie and Rutgers geology professor Alexander Gates.

The 1,000-plus alphabetical listings range from historical volcanoes and quakes (both famous and obscure) to entries on specific seismic phenomena (everything from parasitic cones to jökulhlaup) and general geological principles, including a few excellent in-depth discussions on topics like plate tectonics and seismic wave types. The encyclopedia also contains a lengthy bibliography, a list of Internet resources, a chronological listing of notable quakes and eruptions, and a handful of unforgettable eyewitness accounts (after the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, apparently Pliny the Elder's party went out "having pillows tied upon their heads with napkins; and this was their whole defense against the storm of stones that fell around them").

With its clear, newspaper-style entries, the Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes will be navigable even to geo-newbies, but its a-to-z organization makes it more useful as a reference than as a stand-alone text. (Then again, given its liberal cross-referencing, you can easily find yourself led to a long, enjoyable read.) --Paul HughesBook Description
The Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes explains the specific terms and concepts associated with the sciences of catastrophe-seismology and volcanology-and covers the places in the world where these destructive phenomena have occurred. Entries include terms and concepts such as: caldera, stratovolcano, S-waves, liquefaction, harmonic tremors, and much more.

The revised edition contains:
Updated geographic locations and damage estimates for certain areas
Enhanced content on the geologic processes, with clear and up-to-date diagrams to articulate these processes
New definitions of geologic terms
An updated chronology of important earthquakes and eruptions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent reference covering specific earthquakes/volcanoes
It's exactly what the title says.Very dry, just the facts, but very extensive and detailed.If you're looking for a great reference book or if you like to read concise factual summaries....then you'll love this book.

A work in progress
This encyclopedia begins with an entry for `aa' (a particular type of lava flow) and ends with a page-worth of data on Yellowstone National Park.In between, all geophysical phenomena associated with earthquakes and volcanoes are covered alphabetically, including anecdotes on many individual eruptions or shakings, e.g. the Kobe earthquake in Japan.

I enjoyed reading the "Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes" but thought it must be a work in progress (I have the new edition) as there were many typos and one astronomical quibble:

* "Io is the hottest place in the solar system outside the sun (p. 105)"---actually I believe that honor belongs to Venus.Io's average surface temperature is 130 K whereas the surface of Venus averages 740 K (hotter even than Mercury).

Another interesting oddity concerning earthquakes, is that the authors tend to favor the Mercalli Scale, which is based on ordinary human observations, rather than the Moment magnitude.

Not all of the black-and-white photographs are dated, and the cover photograph of a volcanic eruption is not identified (although a friend of mine from Oregon swears it is Mt. St. Helens).Ideally, a newer edition of this book will label all of the photographs, and perhaps include a few in color.

All quibbling aside, this is an interesting book that fills a useful niche. It will definitely remain in my reference library.

"Appendix B" which includes "Eyewitness Accounts of Major Eruptions and Quakes" is absolutely fascinating, and it alone is worth the price of the book.

I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK!
Hi, I really like this book. It's bben helpfully to me for my carrer. Thanks, Michelle Trzecisnki

Excellent introduction.
In a unique and very handy A-Z format, here in one volume is all the information you are ever likely to need on these most dramatic natural phenomena.
The great earthquakes and famous volcanic eruptions are comprehensively covered, with clear explanations of the geologic concepts and terms, interesting photos and maps, and thumbnail biographies of leading figures in the study of these majestic forces of nature. A particularly interesting feature is the inclusion of each state with an evaluation of its seismic potential. (There are some surprises here). Highly recommended as a very useful single-volume introduction for libraries and interested individuals.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.) ... Read more

Book Description
An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes and Earth Structures is an introduction to seismology and its role in the earth sciences, and is written for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students.

The fundamentals of seismic wave propagation are developed using a physical approach and then applied to show how refraction, reflection, and teleseismic techniques are used to study the structure and thus the composition and evolution of the earth. The book shows how seismic waves are used to study earthquakes and are integrated with other data to investigate the plate tectonic processes that cause earthquakes. Figures, examples, problems, and computer exercises teach students about seismology in a creative and intuitive manner. Necessary mathematical tools including vector and tensor analysis, matrix algebra, Fourier analysis, statistics of errors, signal processing, and data inversion are introduced with many relevant examples. The text also addresses the fundamentals of seismometry and applications of seismology to societal issues. Special attention is paid to help students visualize connections between different topics and view seismology as an integrated science.

An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure gives an excellent overview for students of geophysics and tectonics, and provides a strong foundation for further studies in seismology.

• Multidisciplinary examples throughout the text - catering to students in varied disciplines (geology, mineralogy, petrology, physics, etc.).
  
• Most up to date book on the market - includes recent seismic events such as the 1999 Earthquakes in Turkey, Greece, and Taiwan).
  
• Chapter outlines - each chapter begins with an outline and a list of learning objectives to help students focus and study.
  
• Essential math review - an entire section reviews the essential math needed to understand seismology. This can be covered in class or left to students to review as needed.
  
• End of chapter problem sets - homework problems that cover the material presented in the chapter. Solutions to all odd numbered problem sets are listed in the back so that students can track their progress.
  
• Extensive References - classic references and more current references are listed at the end of each chapter.

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Introduction
This book covers the essentials and then some.It goes beyond what can reasonably be covered in an introductory course.There is a good deal of derivations and presentations from several viewpoints.Covers seismology, interpreting seismograms, inverse theory, basic equations, earthquakes, earth structure.Loads of pictures, mathematics, and real-life discussions.Puts everything in a cohesive package.Expect a challenging read!

Good intro textbook to seismology
I have used this textbook for an intro to seismology class in college and have found it to be very detailed and covered a wider range of topics compared to other seismology textbooks. This book focus a great deal on deriving equations, so if you are a math person, it'll be a great way for you to learn. Problem sets at the end of each chapter are challenging but not totally impossible; and like most textbooks, only some of the answers are on the back. There are a few mistakes I found in the diagrams, but not it's not a big deal. Overall, I do recommend this book as an intro text book geared towards the upper level undergraduates or graduate students.

Excellent text for undergrad/grad course.
I used this book in a course on earthquake kinematics.Previously I had used the Aki/Richards book 'Quantitative Seismology' and found myself rethinking my major!Fortunately I slugged through it and my fascination with seismology was rekindled by this book.It explains a lot of the concepts well enough for those with only a few semesters of calc/physics under their belts to easily understand.I was even able to use this book as a more clear reference for an Inverse Theory course I took.The examples are great, the diagrams clear and concise and the tone is relaxed.This book actually explains concepts that are not explained in the Aki/Richards book.I particularly like the section on Green's functions, waveform inversion, and moment tensors.There is even a chapter on Fourier analysis!This is a book I can go back to for clear & concise explanations of otherwise abstract subjects.My copy is heavily tabbed since I use it often.My only gripe is the size of the font and the layout.There are two columns per page so it makes for some tiny print and everything seems squeezed together and slightly busy.The authors do provide a nice web-site where you can look at all the diagrams in the book as huge images....free!The link can be found on Dr. Wysession's homepage at Washington University St. Louis.
All in all a great book on a great subject!

Fun with FORTRAN
This book is not an opportunity to use the earth to explain continuous media.Continuum mechanics explains much of the behavior that is observed on the earth.S&W is hardcore geophysics - not for the faint-hearted!The book does still use FORTRAN - can we please move on?But the derivation of the wave equation in the second chapter is a key for any PhD wanna-be to learn for their comps. ... Read more

Book Description

On November 1, 1755--All Saints' Day--a massive earthquake struck Europe's Iberian Peninsula and destroyed the city of Lisbon. Churches collapsed upon thousands of worshippers celebrating the holy day. Earthquakes in Human History tells the story of that calamity and other epic earthquakes. The authors, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, recapture the power of their previous book, Volcanoes in Human History. They vividly explain the geological processes responsible for earthquakes, and they describe how these events have had long-lasting aftereffects on human societies and cultures. Their accounts are enlivened with quotations from contemporary literature and from later reports.

In the chaos following the Lisbon quake, government and church leaders vied for control. The Marquês de Pombal rose to power and became a virtual dictator. As a result, the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order lost much of its influence in Portugal. Voltaire wrote his satirical work Candide to refute the philosophy of "optimism," the belief that God had created a perfect world. And the 1755 earthquake sparked the search for a scientific understanding of natural disasters.

Ranging from an examination of temblors mentioned in the Bible, to a richly detailed account of the 1906 catastrophe in San Francisco, to Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, to the Peruvian earthquake in 1970 (the Western Hemisphere's greatest natural disaster), this book is an unequaled testament to a natural phenomenon that can be not only terrifying but also threatening to humankind's fragile existence, always at risk because of destructive powers beyond our control.

Customer Reviews (6)

Lots and lots, some speculative, about volcanoes
"Volcanoes in History" offers what its authors call a "vibrating string" metaphor for the interaction of volcanoes and people.
When there's a big, explosive eruption -- say, at Mount St. Helens -- the immediate effects are dramatic but then everything slows down.
The blast lasts just hours; the cooling of the climate, famines and epidemics last years; the recovery of the landscape takes at least decades; and the cultural effects can continue working their process for centuries.
It is not unlike the damping of the amplitude and lengthening of the frequency that happens after a taut string is twanged.
Not all the effects have to be bad. Scientists now think that most, perhaps all the water on the planet was produced through volcanoes.
Besides killing people, volcanism has destroyed empires (maybe), and, more trivially, kept Mary Shelley indoors, where in her idle moments she wrote "Frankenstein."
Zeilinga de Boer teaches a course about the interaction of volcanoes and humans at Princeton that he says "demonstrates to liberal arts students that the sciences are not 'bloodless'."
In this effort, he quotes a lot of poetry about volcanoes by Tennyson and otherwise attempts to show that volcanoes can be interesting, if not for themselves, then for the exaltedthoughts they inspire.
This approach suggests that the Princeton undergrad is a dull fellow. Volanoes are complicated enough to be interesting for their own sakes.
There is a lot we still don't know about them. What we have learned -- most of it only recently -- is more interesting than the musings of an elderly Englishman who never saw a live volcano in his life.
For example, it was only in 1985 that the geologist Harold Stearns persuaded his colleagues that Haleakala crater on Maui -- the world's biggest volcanic crater(about the size of Manhattan Island) -- is an artifact of erosion, not eruption.
That seems firmly nailed down now. Some of the authors' other ruminations are more doubtful, as they stride through history in seven-league boots.
No one doubts any more that Thera (Santorini) blew up explosively about 3,500 years ago, causing much trouble in the eastern Mediterranean. But whether we can link Thera's blast to the origin of Greek literacy is a stretch.
And Zeilinga de Boer and Sanders' attempt to cross-date Thera and the Israelite exile in Egypt will not persuade Biblical scholars, many of whom no longer believe there ever were any Israelites in pharaonic Egypt , because not a single artifact there can be associated with them until many centuries later.
Nevertheless, the concept of looking at the big social picture is novel and entertaining. For people who worry about global warming, the ability of volcanoes to cool the Earth ought to be a comfort.
For people who live on a volcano -- even such placid ones as in Hawaii -- "Volcanoes in Human History" combines well with Alwyn Scarth's 1999 book "Vulcan's Fury," which takes what might be called a civil defense approach to volcanism.
Both use the casebook approach, with similar but not identical lists of famous eruptions. Both are full of information that might be useful to know at some unpredictable point in the future.
For example, if you decide not to evacuate from a volcano that is erupting and throwing big rocks into the air, it is helpful not to have to relearn the lesson that Icelanders picked up while trying to save their houses during the extended eruption at Vestmannaeyjar in 1973: "Red-hot lava bombs continually rained down upon Vestmannaeyjar, plunging through the roofs of buildings and keeping firefighters busy. As in wartime, people out of doors kept an eye peeled for incoming missiles. They learned not to run from them, but to simply watch until they were sure of their trajectory, then step aside if necessary."
Although most of "Volcanoes in History" is devoted to violent eruptions, which almost never occur in Hawaii, there is a long chapter on Hawaiian volcanoes, used to illustrate the forces that cause volcanoes to wax and wane.
And, you never know, every once in a while even Hawaiian volcanoes act up.
The last serious killer eruption was from Kilauea in 1868, but at intervals of some hundreds of thousands of years, Hawaiian volcanoes tend to fall apart, generating tsunami of unbelievable proportions -- one swept the soil off of Lanai up to a height of 900 feet above present sea level.

Not just the best, but the only book that does what it does
Earthquakes are not just natural events; they are messages to our civilizations. "Earthquakes in Human History" is a look at how these 'acts of God' have changed the affairs of mankind from biblical times to the twentieth century. Not just calamities, great earthquakes have also been agents of regime change, sometimes in surprising ways. We are lucky to have their stories told so well here; maybe our own civilization can do better the next time the ground shakes. On About.com I rate this book with five stars, and maybe I'll look for the same authors' similar book on volcanoes.

History Lesson Extraordinaire
This work was more than I expected. I learned as much about anscient history as I did about earthquakes! It is well written and focuses on specific earthquake events rather than over-generalizing on the broad topic. I only wish all the metric distances and measures would have had U.S. conversions in parentheses.

All in all, a worthwhile read.

History of Quakes
I have a baccalaureate degree in geology with an emphasis in paleontology, and although I have never actually used the degree, I enjoy reading about various aspects of geology.Earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, all of which are interrelated phenomena, are particularly intriguing as they so often impact human society where ever they occur.Probably one of the most poetic and stirring artifacts of this very fact are the ancient footprints of two of what are believed by some to be our prehistoric ancestors, preserved in the ash of a volcanic eruption at Leotoli inTanzania, Africa.

De Boer and Sanders' book, Earthquakes in Human History goes a long way to pulling together the geology and sociology of various seismic events through recorded time. Without a doubt the frailty and vulnerability of the human being is graphically demonstrated in the face of these catastrophic events.

The authors begin by examining ancient literature for evidence of earthquakes and earthquake damage in human terms.They look to the authors of the Biblical narrative for evidence of seismic activity in the Levant, and it's effects on the course of history there.Although many of the stories they analyze are very likely to have seismic components irrespective of their ultimate cause, I think that some might well be attributable to volcanic explosions as well.Although not familiar with the geologic activity in the area beyond its part in the rifting activity in the Afar triangle in Africa, I believe that volcanoes are customarily associated with such rifts.Certainly they are in the mid-Atlantic system of which Iceland is a part and in the Rift Valley in Africa itself.Although the Levant/Dead Sea portion is considered a "failed" arm of the rifting system, it might still partake of volcanism.Whatever the cause, the geologic activity in the Levant had a major journalistic impact on the narrators that witnessed them, and on the redactors that structured the Bible as we know it today.

DeBoer and Sanders also discuss the various earthquakes and geological phenomena in the Greek world of the pre-classical and classical authors.Both the Trojan epics and the historic narratives of Herodotus and others are examined for the effects of geology on mankind and the course of history.Although they discuss several episodes, they missed my favorite, the massive tsunami that swept away a sizeable portion of the Persian land army when it was about to attack a coastal city-Potidea, as I recall.Seeing that the city was fortified everywhere but on the seaward side from which the sea was rapidly receding, the general determined to attack the city for that side.No sooner did he embark on the attack than a massive wave swept them all away.

The authors discuss modern era quakes in England, the southeastern colonial US-an area most of us would consider tectonically quiescent-San Francisico-everyone's favorite earthquake story--Peru, Chili, Nicaragua, and Japan.All these stories are placed into retrospective history with a discussion of the social and political events of the times, and how the earthquake derailed things one way or another.My guess is that most of the changes would have occurred anyway, they were just hurried along by the unexpected intercession of mother nature.

I was disappointed in that nothing was mentioned of China, whose quakes can be formidable and have caused some greater devestation by virtue of the fact that China achieved a denser population at an earlier stage of its historical career.It is also interesting, because a quake prediction that turned out correct, saved thousands, if not millions from death.Oh well, another book, perhaps.

The volume discusses the geologic aspects of each of these quakes as they are presented.I found it particularly interesting that some of the epicenters for very serious quakes, like that which occasionedthe destruction ofLisbon and of San Francisco were actually located out at sea and far under ground.These of course also included tsunamis which sort of "topped" everything off and produced more widespread devastation.It was also interesting to note that the substrate of buildings, not justhow they were constructed had a direct impact upon their capacity to survive the encounter.


That building codes are the key in earthquake prone areas seems abundantly apparent. Lloyd Wright's hotel in Tokyo was a brilliant case in point.The fact that most of the civil supports such as water, electricity, power, communication, emergency care and effective fire control can all be hampered or even prevented is of great concern, as most of the cities that have been hit in the past with such catastrophic effect, are still where they were and are now much more densely settled.The authors point out that many schools, hospitals and even nuclear plants have been built on the San Andreas Fault, despite the fact of the quake of 1906, and the very strong likelihood that it will rift again with a magnitude like that of 1906 or higher.It will certainly cause more damage.

This is a very interesting book.It is accessible to anyone who can read at grade 5 or above.Since the world seems to be sustaining a fair number of earthquakes recently in heavily populated areas with little or no quakeproofed buildings, it seems appropriate that the population of the world recognize the danger of unpreparedness and of disinterest.Furthermore, just because it doesn't occur in your own back yard, doesn't mean it doesn't have some kind of impact on you, as the authors occasionally point out.

A really great reference
This book covers some of the most infamous quakes in the world's history, along with the sociological and economical impact that isn't always considered in historical review.Each chapter details the society that is about to be hit with disaster, describes the quake and damage, and how (or if) the society recovers.From the demise of Sparta, to the fall from grace of the Roman Catholic church in Portugal, to the rise of San Francisco from the ashes, this book is an entertaining and informative read.The unpredictable effects of these disasters is interesting and valuable knowledge, as future disasters can and will present some of the same issues.I couldn't put it down! ... Read more

Book Description
The first indication of the prolonged terror that followed the 1906 earthquake occurred when a ship steaming off San Francisco's Golden Gate "seemed to jump clear out of the water." This gripping account of the earthquake, the devastating firestorms that followed, and the city's subsequent reconstruction vividly shows how, after the shaking stopped, humans, not the forces of nature, nearly destroyed San Francisco in a remarkable display of simple ineptitude and power politics. Bolstered by previously unpublished eyewitness accounts and photographs, this definitive history of a fascinating city caught in the grip of the country's greatest urban disaster will forever change conventional understanding of an event one historian called "the very epitome of bigness."
Philip Fradkin takes us onto the city's ruptured streets and into its exclusive clubs, teeming hospitals and refugee camps, and its Chinatown. He introduces the people--both famous and infamous--who experienced these events, such as Jack and Charmian London, Enrico Caruso, James Phelan, and Abraham Ruef. He traces the horrifying results of the mayor's illegal order to shoot-to-kill anyone suspected of a crime, and he uncovers the ugliness of racism that almost led to war with Japan. He reveals how an elite oligarchy failed to serve the needs of ordinary people, the heroic efforts of obscure citizens, the long-lasting psychological effects, and how all these events ushered in a period of unparalleled civic upheaval.
This compelling look at how people and institutions function in great catastrophes demonstrates just how deeply earthquake, fires, hurricanes, floods, wars, droughts, or acts of terrorism can shape us. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Disjointed, Poorly Written, Useless Info
I have no idea what the folks who highly rated this book were reading/thinking. This is not a good book about the 1906 SF earthquake. All over the map with useless info, particularly the post-earthquake SF government graft trials. This last info was pointless, long, boring and was never tied in by the author to either the 1906 earthquake or the direction of SF government since then. Stilted writing. Not an enjoyable read.

fact-filled, but overwritten.
I'm halfway through, and it's getting harder to choke down sentences such as:
"Like tufts of hair atop a bald head, two groups of structures would survive within the fire zone because of the actions of residents and employees."
I get it, but seriously, we're not far from "It was a dark and stormy night" territory here.

Time and time again, the author reaches for the cookie jar of bad metaphor without benefit of an editor to slap his hand away. The book, as a result, is bloated. (pardon me for adding my own, but I couldn't resist.)

Such writing, and the inclusion of apparently every anecdote the author could locate make the book a third longer than it needs to be.

Worth reading, but I wish a tough editor had read it before me.

Disjointed, not very compelling book.
After reading the above reviews, I choose this 1906 book over several others I had been looking at.This book is rather disjointed, nor does it capture the horror of that day in San Francisco.It does deal with the politics of the time, but this too skips about.I got to the end of the book without realizing the book was coming to a close, it just stopped.Overall, a boring overview of a national disaster.

Among the best and most thorough on the subject
I have nearly a complete degree in geology and one of my favorite topics was earthquakes and volcanoes.Like most individuals who enjoy studying this subject, the earthquake of 1906 is a must since it is one of the most heavily documented, particularly in photographic history, of any such event.I've read a number of books on the San Francisco quake, but this has got to be the best of its kind.

The author spent some time working though the material evidence that has been kept in libraries since the event in order to recreate a thorough account of the earthquake, as much a human event as a geological one. While many works on the 1906 earthquake cover the impressions of famous people present during the disaster-Barrymore, Caruso and others-and describe the deaths and the firestorms, few cover the details of the political situation before and after the earthquake and the denial mentality that worked to create this disaster and in fact that of the 1980s quake--and will probably pave the way to the disaster of the next one as well.The earthquake was downplayed to the point where the question was "what earthquake?We don't have earthquakes here,"while the firestorm which occurred after it as a result of broken gas mains and power lines in the presence of a failed water distribution system was emphasized.After all, everyone has fires, and measures can be taken to prevent them.Nothing can be done about earthquakes, even their prediction remains elusive. Unfortunately the efforts of commercial and financial interests in restoring the areas' reputation as a good investment site competitive with neighboring cities in the area, contributed extensively to the boom that put San Francisco on the map again so soon.Destroying whole forests as far north as Washington state and the lives of thousands of horses, literally worked to death in order to rebuild the city in record time, these politically powerful individuals managed to create another risky city.

Amazing too was the political waltz that occurred both during and after the earthquake and fire storm.Pro- and anti-labor parties had been at one another's throats for some time, and the 1906 quake provided the impetus for a change in government that swept some people from power and others into office.As so often happens after a natural disaster-hurricaine Katrina being a case in point-much finger pointing occurred, an investigation was conducted, and at least one person was sent to jail.

Interesting especially is the author's citation of a number of personal accounts collected years later by a professor interested in the psychological impact of the earthquake on young people's lives.These reveal that what we call post-traumatic stress syndrome was a common event following the earthquake.

The book is a sweeping story of the end of an era for a California boom town.Now as ever, the weather is fantastic, the living leisurely--and the clock is ticking.

Santayana Was Wrong
It seems we are all doomed to repeat history whether we learn from the past or not.

I started reading The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906 a few days before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. As a native Northern Californian who has experienced many earthquakes including the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989 (in which a portion of the Bay Bridge and a freeway overpass in Oakland collapsed), I found that the first part of the book made me recall my own experiences and wonder uneasily what I would do when the next catastrophic quake strikes. By the time I finished the book, all I could think about were the similarities to the 2005 hurricane and its aftermath.

Author Philip Fradkin states right away that "San Franciscans, not the inanimate forces of nature, were primarily responsible for the extensive chaos, damage, injuries, and deaths in the great earthquake and firestorms of 1906. Despite ... warnings, they were dismissive of the past and failed to prepare for the future. During the earthquake and fire, military and civilian officials reacted foolishly under great duress."

One aspect of both tragedies that seemed to strike a chord with many people was the reporting of widespread looting. While people were still stranded on their roofs or trapped in flooded hospitals and nursing homes in New Orleans in 2005, and while the fires raged in San Francisco and people were without shelter and water in 1906, many officials could only focus on the theft of personal property. Mayor Schmitz of San Francisco illegally issued military, police, and civilian deputies to shoot looters on sight. In San Jose, the mayor announced looters would be hanged.

Not surprisingly there were tragic consequences, including an account of a grocer who, seeing that his store was in the path of a fire, opened the doors and announced that anyone could take whatever they wanted before the fire destroyed everything. Some grateful people did and were bayoneted by a national guardsman who didn't know what was going on. The only widespread looting that could ever be verified turned out to be that of Chinatown by "respectable" (white) citizens. Law enforcement officials including national guardsmen didn't discourage the Chinatown looters and were even seen to be appropriating items for themselves. Although the Chinese consul-general complained to the governor, nothing was done to stop that looting. On the other hand, price gouging all over the Bay Area was rampant, but it was not considered looting, and no one was punished for it.

Chinatown was destroyed. It was a neighborhood many white San Franciscans resented and they saw an opportunity to move the Chinese population to the outskirts of the city. In scenes reminiscent of thousands of New Orleaneans being moved from the Superdome to the Astrodome to even more distant shelters, the Chinatown refugees were relocated several times immediately after the earthquake because white San Franciscans did not want Chinese neighbors, even temporarily. The Chinatown residents resisted moves to relocate them permanently to a less desirable part of town. They threatened to move away from San Francisco entirely and take their lucrative businesses and tax revenues with them. In the end, Chinatown was rebuilt exactly where it had been before the earthquake.

The story of the heroic efforts of the firefighters to put out the horrific fires has been told before but Fradkin tells it well, with some unexpected details. Water was at a premium with the intense heat of the fires turning streams from hoses into steam. Firefighters used any liquid they could find including vinegar, wine (it was Northern California, after all), and even soda water siphons.

About half of The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906 concerns the aftermath of the disasters: the relief effort, the rebuilding, the insurance claims, the political fallout, the blame, the effect on the people of the Bay Area.

Another truism is that history is written by the victors. Of course, there is no victor in a natural disaster, but the corollary is perhaps that history is written by the wealthy and the powerful. There are few first-hand accounts of the events of 1906 written by the poor or by the minorities. But Fradkin has pieced together a history that includes the stories of many who had been forgotten until now.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wholly Unoriginal Work by A False Prophet
In the old testament when a prophet made a prediction that didn't come true they were exposed as a false prophet, taken out and stoned to death.I'm certainly not recommending it- just putting some perspective on our extreme tolerance for people that are consistently WRONG in their predictions.Only God knows what's going to happen, and it's GOD not government, or even we ourselves that provides for us.Burkett and a whole host of "Christian financial advisors" put WAAAAYYYYY too much stock in "planning and preparation".I don't discount it, but they do it and recommend it to the point of pride and idolitary.Do what YOU are supposed to do, and let God do the rest. Quit WORRYING (as worry is a sin) and trying to predict the future and get on with your life!!!

A Future Warning
Those some of his predictions (such as 2000) about an economic earthquake hasn't happened yet nor are we that close even with the largest deficit in history. Although it's hard to predict such things...But Larry Burkett makes valid warnings about huge goverment and public deficits and it's impact on the economic that normally leads to hyper-inflation. My impression from the data contained in the book and history thereafter, the government deficit will not have a negative impact such as hyper-inflation till most of the baby boomers are retired. I wish Larry would have updated this topic! The book is still worth buying as it has valuable information, it's super cheap...

Interesting information - Good read!
The revised edition of The Coming Economic Earthquake has some interesting information.For a somewhat different view you should check out "TheChristian Financial Crisis" by James L. Paris.

Economics solid, Timing off
While Mr. Burkett's timing for the economic collapse is off the principals remain solid.Our economy will collapse and his book fortells how and why, while still offering hope.Much thought to chew on. ... Read more

Book Description
Contains practical, easy-to-read explanations regarding the issues and problems encountered in designing for these natural disasters. This edition includes important code updates from the 1994 Uniform Building Code as well as more detailed information on engineering computations and lateral force construction. Increased attention is paid to the relationship between building design and seismic response. Features a discussion of the latest CAD products for lateral design work. Serves as a major reference for anyone preparing for seismic and wind design test sections of State Board Examinations (for licensing purposes). ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Terrific read; entertaining and educational
This book satisfies on several levels.It's wonderfully entertaining and at the same time manages to clearly explain important scientific concepts. I finished the book with a much better understanding of ecological issues - and a deeper appreciation for this marvelously complex world in which we live.

Unusual stories of animals and birds in the wild
Unusual stories of animals and birds in the wild form the foundation of professor H.H. Shugart's survey of ecology in How The Earthquake Bird Got Its Name And Other Tales Of An Unbalanced Nature. Ecology's most important principles are illustrated within these stories of selected birds and mammals and their fates and interactions with the environment in a discourse which seamlessly smoothes together such disparate topics as GIS prediction of environmental climate changes and species effects to complex disturbances in bird habitats.
... Read more

Book Description
An understanding of the behavior of structural systems must be acquired before engineers can effectively design a complex building system. Wind and Earthquake Resistant Buildings describes the typical process of designing a building, from the determination of design loads to the evaluation of its behavior for unusual effects. Chapters cover a broad range of topics, including wind effects, seismic design, traditional and newer types of bracing systems, and the restoration of damaged or seismically vulnerable buildings. The information is presented in a user-friendly format that allows a fundamental understanding of the behavior of steel, concrete, and composite building structures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fifth edition brings a good book up to date
"Earthquakes" by Bruce Bolt has been the classic textbook for many years for a non-technical discussion.The fifith edition properly orders the material, and tosses out some outdated material, on earthquake prediction and reservoir-induced seismicity, for example.

It is fairly clear, contains colorful stories from Bruce's decades as Director of the Berkeley Seismological Station, and has a firm scientific grounding.Reading it is no walk in the park, as befits a subject of moderate complexity, but neither is it a dark and stormy night.The accompanying web notes are sketchy, and I just noted some stale links.

This book is California-centric, Bob Yeats has a more Pacific Northwest-centric "Living with earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest", Brumbaugh's "Earthquakes - Science and Society" is more rudimentary in both graphics and prose, and Yanev's "Peace of mind in earthquake country" is more engineering oriented and has been out of print.Susan Hough's "Earthshaking Science" is better written but with far fewer graphics.

Reading this book remains the easiest way to understand earthquakes.

Good update, but illustrations are better in 3rd ed.
Well, the title says it -- I'm keeping my copy of the 3rd edition because the illos in the latest edition look soft and disturbingly unsharp.Maybe the publisher, having lost the original artwork for the 3rd edition, simply scanned a copy.Or maybe the quality got skimped when the work was made all-electronic.I don't know.

In any case, the content is fine.

Recommended: A verygood book on Earthquakes.
This book provides a very good coverage on Earthquakes, from how and why they happen to their effects and safety concerns. You can learn about faults, plates, how earthquakes are sized, how much can be forecasted, howstructures are affected, ground acceleration, soil conditions, etc. Thoughthere are numerous examples from California, this is not one of those books which try to provide earthquake checklists to Californians. The levelof technicality is one reason I recommend the book. You don't have to be aseismologist to understand the book, but you won't get bored if you aretechnically oriented. You will get a quantitative feel of concepts inaddition to the clear explanations.

The updated and expanded Fourth Edition just published
The new 4th edition has a new chapter on Plate Tectonics,recent earthquake descriptions,connections with Web pages,and colored illustrative plates.Fresh historical text has been included and more help with seismicsafety.

If you only buy one earthquake book, this should be the one.
I spent a lot of time searching for a book explaining earthquakes that wasn't too simple or a text book. Bolt's book is more toward the textbook end of the scale, but is still quite readable. This is not a simple"what to do" book but an explanation of how quakes happen, howthey cause damage, what we can do, etc. ... Read more

Book Description

Read and find out about one of nature's most mysterious forces—the earthquake. Some earthquakes are so small that you don't even feel them, while others can make even big buildings shake! Learn why earthquakes happen, where they are most likely to occur, and what to do if one happens near you.

Customer Reviews (1)

Earthquakes Read and Learn Book
Another great book in the Lets Read and Find Out Science series.The right amount of detail for young, curious minds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

His predictions never came true...
I read this book back in the late 1970's when it first came out. It predicted that California and much of the West coast of the United States would suffer massive earthquakes and fall into the ocean by 2000. He based this on the predictions made by different psychics, whose predictions all seemed to point to the same pattern of future events. It seemed pretty scary at the time, but as the years rolled on, none of his predictions ever came true. There are, of course, still others out there making various psychic predictions of massive disasters. While massive disasters can and do happen, I think the lesson of this book is that we should take psychic predictions with a grain of salt. We're probably better off looking at scientific predictions, although they are not infallible either (has your local weather-person ever been wrong?). In the end, we all have to live with the fact that we cannot know the future for sure. Yes, tomorrow something could happen and any one of us might die, but we just have to accept that this is a part of all life and make our peace with that. ... Read more

Book Description
This is the first book on the market focusing specifically on thetopic of geotechnical earthquake engineering. The book draws from thefields of seismology and structural engineering to present a broad,interdiciplinary view of the fundamental concepts in seismology,geotechnical engineering, and structural engineering. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Franklin A. Moore (Geotechnical-earthquake engineer)
To my knowledge this is one of the best (if not the best) book on the specific subject of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering. The author manages to present in a concise and clear manner an overview of the latest on earthquake engineering, and then proceeded to the geotechnical engineering field covering all the main topics, including examples and problems of applications that complements and clarifies the subject. As a geotechnical and earthquake e