Books : Cartographies of Danger: Mapping Hazards in America
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.340223
EAN: 9780226534190
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0226534197
Label: University Of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 378
Publication Date: October 01, 1998
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Studio: University Of Chicago Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
No place is perfectly safe, but some places are more dangerous than others. Maps can tell us a lot about where we can anticipate certain risks. This book demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards but also perceptions of risk and how risk can be reduced.
Amazon.com Review:
With chapters titled "Death Tracks," "Ill Winds," and "Nuclear Nightmares," Mark Monmonier's book Cartographies of Danger is sure to appeal to anyone interested in natural or manmade disasters. But make no mistake--this book is not just another attempt to profit off of a scary topic. Mark Monmonier is a professor of geography at Syracuse University, and Cartographies of Danger is an in-depth look at the little-known science of hazard-mapping. As Professor Monmonier demonstrates, hazard-mapping is as much art as science; detailed seismic-hazard maps of California, for example, failed to indicate the potential for the disastrous Northridge earthquake of 1994. Yet despite its imperfection, hazard-mapping is a valuable exercise and one that will undoubtedly improve in the coming decades.
Cartographies of Danger doesn't restrict itself to natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, or volcanoes; Professor Monmonier also covers crime, pollution, and radon using the same principles of hazard-mapping. His examples of hazard maps demonstrate the relationships among mapping, scientific understanding of hazards, and the perception of risk. In addition, the book gives practical advice on how to avoid geographic hazards.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I wouldn't describe this book as one that "I couldn't put down" as they say, but it made some interesting points. Maps of dangerous areas can mislead, for example, by giving the impression that a danger is especially great in one area because it is concentrated there, even though it may actually be worse elsewhere where population density is greater. Readers may also overreact to obvious and publicized hazards, such as a power plant, while ignoring more common threats such as auto accidents. ... Read More
Rating: -
I use this book as additional reading for my Technology in Emergency Management course. This is a great book connecting mapping, hazards, and technology. It is written so non-technical types, like me, can understand. If you are interested in disasters, hazards, vulnerability assessments, or familiar with CAMEO, ALOHA, FEMA and NRC, etc. this book should be on your bookshelf.
Rating: -
A great overview of how to convey information through cartography. The author chooses to focus on mapping environmental hazards to demonstrate this; their may be other topics that would lend itself to the exercise but the chosen subject seems a perfect fit. Entertaining and accessible.
Rating: -
Monmonier, a professor of geography at Syracuse University, discusses the art and science of hazard-zone mapping, "a momentous adaptation of electronics and numerical analysis", in this clearly-written explanation of the possibilities and limitations of the new cartographic genre.
Assuming no special cartographic knowledge on the part of the reader, the author begins with the basics of scale in map-making, and proceeds to explore the ways in which tornadoes, earthquakes, environmental pollution ... Read More
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