The end is nigh: a history of natural disasters by Henrik Svensen. Available in braille.
You are walking around on your farm, and suddenly you spot smoke and lava spurting out of the ground right in front of you. How do you react? Your town is hit by a tsunami, or perhaps a hurricane. How do you react? You live in London, and you feel a small earthquake. London is not earthquake country, at least not most of the time. How do you react?
This book covers the many factors that influence our reactions, be they religious, political, social, or economic. Even how various countries view global warming, which could lead to more disasters, is discussed.
Several disasters are discussed in detail, including the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the birth of the volcano Paricutin in Mexico in 1943, and Hurricane Katrina in the United States. I discovered that when I read this book I came to realize that in the world of disasters nothing is quite as simple as it seems. How prepared are you, or are you a fatalist? Do you think your government was helpful, if you experienced a natural disaster? Do you tend to think scientifically or theologically, or perhaps a bit of both? I believe you will be fascinated by the work of Svensen, a talented Norwegian scientist and author. You may well find that you may not think about natural disasters the same way ever again.
Thank you to library member Rosalyn Butt from Phoenix, Arizona USA for this review.