Earthquake

Planet Earth

by Bryce S. Walker

Explains the causes of seismic activity, traces the history of attempts to measure and predict earthquakes, and looks at the effects of quakes in San Francisco, Alaska, and Japan

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are turning out to be a fascinating collection (yes there are 17 of them on a range of subjects about the planet earth).

They are dated - from the style of the publishing to the material they hold (they were printed early 80s) but it becomes immediately clear they are not new. In the case of this book I have lived through some major earthquakes (not personally) which have significant effects on the world.

However what fascinates me and I think still has relevance today is that too along with the science (which as you can imagine has progressed since it was published) there are focused accounts of world events in some cases with very graphic and harrowing images - which for me creates a powerful sense of reality. In a wold sometimes too sanitised to protect us I think we lose the true raw reality of things. This book was printed in a time when maybe the opposite was true. As a result you feel the destructive power and the effect on life, there is no hiding from it.

So yes these are not up to date but I think the reality of the subject is still there and if anything we maybe a little too dismissive, reading this book I realise I have been.

[Arnold hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

was an educational book about earthquakes and their history through the centuries. How they came up with different ways of detecting earthquakes and where they are going to strike. The different inventors who were involved over the last couple of centuries. It gives you what causes earthquakes and who are likely to get them. They invented an early warning system to alert people when they are coming and to be prepared for them. They talk about tsunamis and how destructive they are which is caused by earthquakes. They can get up to 150 feet and destroy everything in its path.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oldie but a goodie. I love the pictures in this book as they are so vivid, and because there are a lot of older pictures that I haven't seen in other books. I really liked looking at the old siesmometers and siesmographs too.