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misajane79 's review for:
I had really high hopes for this book. . .
I loved his earlier book, The Professor and the Madman
Generally speaking, I enjoy disaster history (Isaac's Storm, The Children's Blizzard, etc).
But the science bits, explaining plate tetonics and exactly what kind of earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906 too far too long. I ended up skimming quite a bit of it, something I rarely do. His trip across the US, checking out fault lines, also got skimmed.
The stuff about the actual disaster was good--there just wasn't enough of it. Not near enough about the aftermath and the human stories and the rebuilding.
And then more pondering on other earthquakes and future earthquakes and. . .
When I read in his bio that the author was trained as a geologist, it all made a lot more sense. It just wasn't what I was expecting, and I still don't feel like I have a good grip of the San Francisco disaster--unlike the masterful Isaac's Storm--where there's plenty of science, but also plenty of history.
I loved his earlier book, The Professor and the Madman
Generally speaking, I enjoy disaster history (Isaac's Storm, The Children's Blizzard, etc).
But the science bits, explaining plate tetonics and exactly what kind of earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906 too far too long. I ended up skimming quite a bit of it, something I rarely do. His trip across the US, checking out fault lines, also got skimmed.
The stuff about the actual disaster was good--there just wasn't enough of it. Not near enough about the aftermath and the human stories and the rebuilding.
And then more pondering on other earthquakes and future earthquakes and. . .
When I read in his bio that the author was trained as a geologist, it all made a lot more sense. It just wasn't what I was expecting, and I still don't feel like I have a good grip of the San Francisco disaster--unlike the masterful Isaac's Storm--where there's plenty of science, but also plenty of history.