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Americans at Risk: Why We Are Not Prepared for Megadisasters and What We Can Do
This important book by one of our leading experts on disaster preparedness offers a compelling narrative about our nation’s inability to properly plan for large-scale disasters and proposes changes that can still be made to assure the safety of its citizens.
Five years after 9/11 and one year after Hurricane Katrina, it is painfully clear that the government’s emergency response capacity is plagued by incompetence and a paralyzing bureaucracy. Irwin Redlener, who founded and directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, brings his years of experience with disasters and health care crises, national and international, to an incisive analysis of why our health care system, our infrastructure, and our overall approach to disaster readiness have left the nation vulnerable, virtually unable to respond effectively to catastrophic events. He has had frank, and sometimes shocking, conversations about the failure of systems during and after disasters with a broad spectrum of people—from hospital workers and FEMA officials to Washington policy makers and military leaders. And he also analyzes the role of nongovernmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross in the aftermath of Katrina.
Redlener points out how a government with a track record of over-the-top cronyism and a stunning disregard for accountability has spent billions on “random acts of preparedness,” with very little to show for it—other than an ever-growing bureaucracy. As a doctor, Redlener is especially concerned about America’s increasingly dysfunctional and expensive health care system, incapable of handling a large-scale public health emergency, such as pandemic flu or widespread bioterrorism. And he also looks at the serious problem of a disengaged, uninformed citizenry—one of the most important obstacles to assuring optimal readiness for any major crisis.
Redlener describes five natural and man-made disaster scenarios as a way to imagine what we might face, what our current systems would and would not prepare us for, and what would constitute optimal planning—for government and the public—in each situation. To see what could be learned from others, he points up some of the more effective ways countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have dealt with various disasters. And he concludes with a real a nine-point proposal for how America can be better prepared as well as an addendum of what citizens themselves can do.
An essential book for our time, Americans at Risk is a devastating and realistic account of where we stand today.
Five years after 9/11 and one year after Hurricane Katrina, it is painfully clear that the government’s emergency response capacity is plagued by incompetence and a paralyzing bureaucracy. Irwin Redlener, who founded and directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, brings his years of experience with disasters and health care crises, national and international, to an incisive analysis of why our health care system, our infrastructure, and our overall approach to disaster readiness have left the nation vulnerable, virtually unable to respond effectively to catastrophic events. He has had frank, and sometimes shocking, conversations about the failure of systems during and after disasters with a broad spectrum of people—from hospital workers and FEMA officials to Washington policy makers and military leaders. And he also analyzes the role of nongovernmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross in the aftermath of Katrina.
Redlener points out how a government with a track record of over-the-top cronyism and a stunning disregard for accountability has spent billions on “random acts of preparedness,” with very little to show for it—other than an ever-growing bureaucracy. As a doctor, Redlener is especially concerned about America’s increasingly dysfunctional and expensive health care system, incapable of handling a large-scale public health emergency, such as pandemic flu or widespread bioterrorism. And he also looks at the serious problem of a disengaged, uninformed citizenry—one of the most important obstacles to assuring optimal readiness for any major crisis.
Redlener describes five natural and man-made disaster scenarios as a way to imagine what we might face, what our current systems would and would not prepare us for, and what would constitute optimal planning—for government and the public—in each situation. To see what could be learned from others, he points up some of the more effective ways countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have dealt with various disasters. And he concludes with a real a nine-point proposal for how America can be better prepared as well as an addendum of what citizens themselves can do.
An essential book for our time, Americans at Risk is a devastating and realistic account of where we stand today.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2023
3.5 - the section for avian flu was creepily predictive of Covid-19. Overall, it’s a bit disturbing how unprepared we are as a collective and how much we need to rely on our community to help… not sure I walked away from this book with a better sense of well being or preparedness.
September 25, 2022
In 2006, Irwin Redlener accurately described the devastating impact a national health crisis would have on our infrastructure and our healthcare system. In fact, Redlener described the impact of 5 different megadisasters on an economy dependent on international trade and commerce; an easily overwhelmed, understaffed and poorly stockpiled healthcare system; and a complacent population who believes the government's disaster response planning will protect them. But the onus is on us, the American people. We are the ones who elect and reelect government officials into positions of power and then fail to hold them accountable. Change starts with us. If Redlener could accurately predict our inability to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe we should heed his warnings and implement some of his suggestions as they pertain to the other disasters capable of crippling our nation. Whether we educate and advocate for change at the polls or simply ensure our own families know what to do, where to go, and how to calmly navigate the aftermath of a disaster, we can all make changes that will build a more resilient American people. Every American needs to read Irwin Redlener's Americans at Risk.
January 16, 2011
Wow...in the realm of books that makes one think, this one ranks very high for me. As someone who has worked for several years on the "ground level" of emergency preparedness, I have been wanting to read what a number of "experts" have to say about the subject. "Americans at Risk" was my first foray into this personal initiative.
Reading this book with an open mind can open one's eyes to the risks that surround us. Everyone should understand that these risks are not insurmountable, so I'm not saying that everyone should go around getting all paranoid.
I tried to read this as a student, not an emergency preparedness professional. Sometimes, when we dedicate a large portion of our lives to a certain cause, we tend to get a little personal when someone else says something with which we disagree. So, I made every attempt to give Irwin Redlener the benefit of the doubt. I agree with much of what he says, particularly when he talks about the need for greater coordination between federal, state, and local partners as well as the need to integrate emergency preparedness and homeland security into a number of other, more "routine" initiatives (e.g., upgrading our roadway and water distribution infrastructure as a means of ensuring preparedness). I don't necessarily agree with other aspects of his opinions, but that is not important. We are all smart human beings and can arrive at our own opinions so long as we do it through a rigorous personal education process and maintain the utmost respect for those that are doing the same thing .
What is much more important, though, is the "thought process" that Redlener employs and implores every citizen and preparedness professional to employ. Ask "what if". Work your though process beyond what is your comfortable limit. For example, if you know that your capabilities will get you through the most probable emergency in your community, add another wrinkle to it and strengthen your capabilities to meet that new wrinkle.
Redlener's message is to never get complacent. This is good advice - not only for emergency preparedness, but also for life in general.
Reading this book with an open mind can open one's eyes to the risks that surround us. Everyone should understand that these risks are not insurmountable, so I'm not saying that everyone should go around getting all paranoid.
I tried to read this as a student, not an emergency preparedness professional. Sometimes, when we dedicate a large portion of our lives to a certain cause, we tend to get a little personal when someone else says something with which we disagree. So, I made every attempt to give Irwin Redlener the benefit of the doubt. I agree with much of what he says, particularly when he talks about the need for greater coordination between federal, state, and local partners as well as the need to integrate emergency preparedness and homeland security into a number of other, more "routine" initiatives (e.g., upgrading our roadway and water distribution infrastructure as a means of ensuring preparedness). I don't necessarily agree with other aspects of his opinions, but that is not important. We are all smart human beings and can arrive at our own opinions so long as we do it through a rigorous personal education process and maintain the utmost respect for those that are doing the same thing .
What is much more important, though, is the "thought process" that Redlener employs and implores every citizen and preparedness professional to employ. Ask "what if". Work your though process beyond what is your comfortable limit. For example, if you know that your capabilities will get you through the most probable emergency in your community, add another wrinkle to it and strengthen your capabilities to meet that new wrinkle.
Redlener's message is to never get complacent. This is good advice - not only for emergency preparedness, but also for life in general.
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November 9, 2007MEGADISASTERS!!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews