The Blessings of Disaster: The Lessons That Catastrophes Teach Us and Why Our Future Depends on It

The Blessings of Disaster: The Lessons That Catastrophes Teach Us and Why Our Future Depends on It

  • Downloads：8207
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-29 16:21:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Michel Bruneau
  • ISBN：1633888231
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Pablo ，

This is a good， long survey of various disasters throughout history， how prepared people were for them， the aftermath， and how that affected future planning。 The theme is that prepared usually comes about after a disaster rather than before， as people as a group are usually hesitant to invest too much in risks with high impact when the likelihood appears low。 The author is an engineer， and as with most of the profession， woudl like to see more planning done up front - but he realizes the economi This is a good， long survey of various disasters throughout history， how prepared people were for them， the aftermath， and how that affected future planning。 The theme is that prepared usually comes about after a disaster rather than before， as people as a group are usually hesitant to invest too much in risks with high impact when the likelihood appears low。 The author is an engineer， and as with most of the profession， woudl like to see more planning done up front - but he realizes the economic and political difficulties involved。You don't have to ba an engineer to read it。 I am， and that was certainly why it appealed to me。 It's not a technical book， though。 He writes for a non-technical audiience， and while it runs long it should hold your interest for most of the way。 If I would've done anything differently， I would've traded some of the examples of disaster for suggestions on how to quantify risk in a way that the public might support。 Don't just tell us what's wrong， in other words。 Tell us if there's a solution （other than jumping at the opportunity after the next disaster）。 。。。more

Steve ，

I loved this book。 Dr。 Bruneau explains the science/engineering very well， in plain language and with a conversational tone。 Aside from the fascinating topic that Bruneau brings to life， I loved the writing style， so much so that it was hard to put the book down。 Even the preface is worth reading。 I really felt that he was talking to me over a cup of coffee。 Bruneau also uses a great deal of humor， with some laugh-out-loud moments。 The debunking Bruneau does is excellent。 Overall this is a great I loved this book。 Dr。 Bruneau explains the science/engineering very well， in plain language and with a conversational tone。 Aside from the fascinating topic that Bruneau brings to life， I loved the writing style， so much so that it was hard to put the book down。 Even the preface is worth reading。 I really felt that he was talking to me over a cup of coffee。 Bruneau also uses a great deal of humor， with some laugh-out-loud moments。 The debunking Bruneau does is excellent。 Overall this is a great book。 Thank you to Rowman & Littlefield， Prometheus for the advance reader copy。 。。。more

Rick Burcik ，

This is a wonderful book that everyone who is interested in earthquakes， volcanoes， hurricanes， floods， etc。 must read。 The author relays the facts but also writes in a jocular tone that makes his book fun to read。 My lone complaint that is certain to be corrected in the final version is that when one is referring to our home planet the word Earth is capitalized。 My overall recommendation is an unqualified thumbs up！