Books : Devastation! The World's Worst Natural Disasters
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.349
EAN: 9780789435187
ISBN: 0789435187
Label: DK ADULT
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: September 15, 1998
Publisher: DK ADULT
Studio: DK ADULT
Alternate Versions: Click to Display
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
Devastation! covers all the natural disasters you might want to know about in one handy place. Lesley Newson describes everything from the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact to mad cow disease in vivid prose illustrated by some of the most astounding photographs ever printed. The book includes a gazetteer mapping more than 550 disaster sites around the world and giving information on historic disasters at each location. Newson covers the standard dangers from earth, air, water, and fire, but adds diseases, droughts, famines, ice ages, and mass extinctions--every large-scale threat to human life except war. Devastation! gives far more evenhanded coverage of disasters around the world than is usual for works of this type; it describes storms in Bangladesh as well as Florida, floods in China as well as Iowa, and fires in Australia as well as Yellowstone. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu said: "When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster"; the pictures and text in this book may not actually prevent disaster, but they are guaranteed to inspire awe. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Product Description:
Our understanding of the natural phenomena that cause these tragedies has made huge strides in the last 30 years. Devastation! Provides riveting accounts of what happened during the world's most spectacular natural disasters accompanied by stunning you-are-there photography. More than 400 color illustrations. Gazetteer of dates and details of more than 500 major natural disasters.
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
When this was first published, I gave it a look and found it unsatisfactory. Clearly it was the kind of book that publishers come out with every few years; full of color pictures but short on text. Much like a chicken salad that has one small piece of chicken and a lot of shiny green salad. In any event, I received a copy as a gift shortly thereafter. It turned out much as expected. There is little in here most interested readers won't already know (earthquakes involve a violent shaking of the ... Read More
Rating:  -
It is ironic that the publisher lauds this book as "expertly researched". Yet, I have never seen a book so rife with what are either typographical errors, plain misstatements of fact, erroneous map locations, and the like. I seriously wonder if anyone proofed this book before rushing it to publication.
For instance, the Soufriere volcano on Guadeloupe did NOT erupt in 1908 nor, obviously, did it kill 1,600 people that year. Hibok Hibok volcano is located in the Southern Philippines, ... Read More
Rating: -
The thing that attracted me to this book was the blurb on the back cover: "Easy-to-follow explanations help you understand the underlying causes of all types of disaster, from volcanic eruptions and tornadoes to runaway fires and worldwide epidemics."
Alas, the easy-to-follow explanations never go deeper than the Sunday-supplement level, but 'Devastation!' is a very cheerful (if that adjective can be applied to disaster books), colorful, quick read with lots of photographs.
The ... Read More
Rating:  -
Beautifully illustrated with color photos, this book vividly describes various catastrophic events that have occurred and continue to happen throughout the world. The events showing nature's often-horrific power include hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, fire, etc. Also discusses plagues, including AIDS, the Black Plague, as well as other diseases. Provides an international perspective on these events and discusses their causes, in addition to documenting their history and geographic areas where they ... Read More
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