Tsunami: Nature and Culture

by Richard Hamblyn

When the earthquake that struck the Solomon Islands in 2013 produced tsunami waves that damaged the country’s infrastructure, it was one in a recent string of reminders of the devastating effects these ferocious waves can have. From the 2011 tsunami in Japan to the giant waves that killed people near the Indian Ocean in 2004, these destructive events can utterly overwhelm an area not just with water but economic, social, and political devastations. But as Richard Hamblyn demonstrates in this cultural, historical, and scientific engagement with these spectacular natural phenomena, tsunamis remain misunderstood―their triggers, from undersea earthquakes to nuclear weapons testing, have only begun to be studied scientifically in the last fifty years.
           
Tsunami explores how these treacherous sea-surges happen, what makes them so powerful, and what can be done to safeguard vulnerable coastlines. Hamblyn details their cultural significance in tsunami-prone places such as Japan, Hawaii, and Chile, while also considering their importance in the more seismically stable West, where their appearances are limited to popular culture and blockbuster films. From the legend of Atlantis to the present day, this book casts new light on these deadly waves.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2014

About the author

Richard Hamblyn studied at the universities of Essex and Cambridge, where he wrote a doctoral dissertation on 18th-century topographical writing. His first book, The Invention of Clouds (2001) told the story of Luke Howard, the amateur meteorologist who named the clouds in 1802; his other publications include The Cloud Book (2008) and Extraordinary Clouds (2009), both published in association with the (UK) Met Office; Data Soliloquies (2009), co-written with the digital artist Martin John Callanan; and Terra: Tales of the Earth, a collection of stories about major natural disasters. His anthology, The Art of Science: A Natural History of Ideas, was published by Picador in October 2011. It is a wide-ranging collection of readable science writing from the Babylonians to the Higgs boson.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was strange that Pratchett's Nation was not included in the chapter about Tsunami's in literature. It is a good overview, however.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the Earth series from Reaktion books.

This one covers everything tsunami and the colour photographs featured show true scenes of devastation.

I've read Hamblyn's books before, he has written a few on clouds which were great. The writing here is similarly impressive and makes for very interesting reading.

A 5 star read for me. My weather shelf is expanding!