Disaster Deferred: A New View Of Earthquake Hazards In The New Madrid Seismic Zone

Disaster Deferred: A New View Of Earthquake Hazards In The New Madrid Seismic Zone

In the winter of 1811-12, a series of large earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone-often incorrectly described as the biggest ever to hit the United States-shook the Midwest. Today the federal government ranks the hazard in the Midwest as high as California's and is pressuring communities to undertake expensive preparations for disaster. Coinciding with the two-hundredth anniversary of the New Madrid earthquakes, Disaster Deferred revisits these earthquakes, the legends that have grown around them, and the predictions of doom that have followed in their wake. Seth Stein clearly explains the techniques seismologists use to study Midwestern quakes and estimate their danger. Detailing how limited scientific knowledge, bureaucratic instincts, and the media's love of a good story have exaggerated these hazards, Stein calmly debunks the hype surrounding such predictions and encourages the formulation of more sensible, less costly policy. Powered by insider knowledge and an engaging style, Disaster Deferred shows how new geological ideas and data, including those from the Global Positioning System, are painting a very different-and much less frightening-picture of the future. Review "Seth Stein's book is fun to read and has a compelling story to tell. There is no book quite like it out there." -- Stephen Marshak, University of Illinois "A must-read for all involved in such issues." -- Orrin Pilkey, Duke University, author of Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future "A masterpiece of how to present often complicated and complex scienti?c ?ndings to the general public in a way easy to understand." Pure and Applied Geophysics "The book is, I think, rather accessible to readers who have a minimum of knowledge of geology. There's very little math (and it's well explained), and I think anyone with the slightest of interests in the area should pick this book up. Parts of it are actually funny." - Terry Pinder, Daily Kos, Dec 16, 2011 "This fascinating book is straightforward yet exciting: a high-school freshman can read it but a scientist of any discipline will be roused by it. The book is part story, part science, and part how scientists think. I recommend this book to anyone interested in science." - Engineering & Science About the Author Seth Stein is the William Deering Professor of Geological Science in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University. He is the author of Disaster Deferred (CUP 2010) among several other titles and over 100 articles.