California's Deadliest Earthquakes: A History

by Abraham Hoffman

A detailed look at the state’s most terrifying and destructive disasters—photos included.   Home to hundreds of faults, California leads the nation in frequency of earthquakes every year. And despite enduring their share of the natural disasters, residents still speculate over the inevitable “big one.”   More than three thousand people lost their lives during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Long Beach’s 1933 earthquake caused nearly $50 million in damages. And the Northridge earthquake injured thousands and left a $550 million economic hit. In this book, historian Abraham Hoffman explores the personal accounts and aftermath of California’s most destructive tremors.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2017

Reviews

[Ginny Goldberg]

If you are interested in reading about earthquakes in California, this is a brief overview of some of the bigger ones. It started out good with the earlier earthquakes and became less with the newer ones. I could have found out more using the web. If you are interested in the 1906 SF earthquake, check out Winchester's book.

[Glenn]

Easy read. Mostly a quick overview. Didn't update info such as number of lawsuits still remaining from 1989 World Series Quake. Provides a 1991 number. Perhaps an update could have been offered. And there is really nothing about the geography or fault lines in the state.

[Angela Soto]

Interesting! As a life-long California resident, I could relate to some of the stories. A good book for anyone who enjoys facts and descriptions.

[Dorothy A. Parkel]

A very good read

Although earthquakes are not a great concern in Atlanta, the phenomenon is quite interesting. This account gave human details that fleshed out the history.

[Scoop Erickson]

I have an avid interest in anything about seismology and vulcanology. I have read quite a few books on these subjects. From the description, this book looked like it would be interesting. I was wrong. The author goes through the history of major California earthquakes (mag. 5+), but provided little information I didn't already know. For all I know, he researched newspaper articles and nothing else. Its basically a list. This broke no new ground (pun intended). Don't waste your time.

A much better book, although not focused primarily on California, is "Quakeland: On the Road to America's Next Devastating Earthquake," by Kathryn Miles. It is an excellent study of the seismic threats that face all of the United States.