Amazon.com
To prove their various points, most books on business leadership focus strictly on either a series of standard, contemporary corporate illustrations or a single nontraditional model (such as a specific historic personality or a classic manuscript such as the Tao Te Ching). But Michael Useem, director of the Center for Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, has long used poignant real-life examples of people facing their "moments of truth"--regardless of the setting--to teach students how best to perform under the pressures they will face in the business world. In The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All, Useem presents some of these surprisingly effective profiles to show how others have responded when push truly comes to shove. Among them are: the story of Roy Vagelos championing an unprofitable drug that ultimately wiped out a debilitating disease in Africa; how flight director Eugene Kranz worked calmly and efficiently to return the endangered Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth; and a look at Arlene Blum's pioneering all-woman ascent of the 26,545-foot Himalayan peak Annapurna in 1978. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Are you ready for the leadership moment?
Merck's Roy Vagelos commits millions of dollars to develop a drug needed only by people who can't afford it · Eugene Kranz struggles to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts home after an explosion rips through their spacecraft · Arlene Blum organizes the first women's ascent of one of the world's most dangerous mountains · Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain leads his tattered troops into a pivotal Civil War battle at Little Round Top · John Gutfreund loses Salomon Brothers when his inattention to a trading scandal almost topples the Wall Street giant · Clifton Wharton restructures a $50 billion pension system direly out of touch with its customers · Alfredo Cristiani transforms El Salvador's decade-long civil war into a negotiated settlement · Nancy Barry leads Women's World Banking in the fight against Third World poverty · Wagner Dodge faces the decision of a lifetime as a fast-moving forest fire overtakes his firefighting crew
Download Description
Eugene Kranz returning Apollo 13; Arlene Blum leading the first women's expedition climbing the Himalayan peak of Annapurna; Roy Vagelos committing Merck to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a drug needed only by people who couldn't afford it; Alfredo Christian ending the civil war in El Salvador.
These are just some of the stories in this unusual and important book about leadership. Michael Useem believes that by examining what others have done when a business, a life, or even the fate of a nation is on the line, we all can learn what works and what fails, what hastens a cause or subverts a purpose, and what must be done when we must perform and lead under pressure.
Customer Reviews:
Warren Bennis is right: "It's one helluva read.".......2007-08-23
I read this book soon after it first appeared (in 1998) and recently re-read it, curious to know how well its core concepts and insights have held up. My conclusion? Very, very well. In his remarkably informative Foreword, Warren Bennis acknowledges having several reasons why he admires Michael Useem's book and cites three. First, Useem's selection of "cases" that focus on nine "real people, not stick figures"; the cases deal with what in theater would be called "turning points" (i.e. "life-challenging, morally consequential events fraught with risk and danger"); and third, the principles that Useem examines can be applied to any organization, regardless of size or nature, and the lessons learned from the nine cases are "eternal and universal. "
Useem suggests that leadership "is at its best when the vision is strategic, the voice persuasive, the results tangible." His focus is on exceptionally difficult leadership decisions, "those fateful moments when our goals are at stake and it is uncertain if we will achieve them, and when the outcome depends on mobilizing others to realize success." He examines nine quite different leaders who found themselves in "life-challenging, morally consequential events fraught with risk and danger" and prevailed. Those who have seen the film Apollo 13 are already familiar with Eugene Kranz (portrayed by Ed Harris). However, most of those who read this book were previously not familiar with several others, notably Wagner Dodge, Arlene Blum, and Clifton Wharton. Nonetheless, valuable leadership lessons can be learned from each of the nine.
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is of special interest to me. Briefly, he had assumed command of the 20th Regiment of Infantry, Maine Volunteers, in May of 1863; within four days, they were marching through Virginia. Less than a year before, the 20th had mustered a thousand men at commissioning time; only 358 remained. The situation was soon complicated by the fact that 120 mutineers in the 2nd Regiment had been placed under Chamberlain's command. His orders from his superior, General George C. Meade: "make them do duty or shoot them down the moment they refused." What happened next is best revealed within Useem's compelling narrative but I can reveal that Chamberlain's combined forces played a major (if not the pivotal role) at Gettysburg, securing and then defending their position.
Useem observes that, in a crisis such as the one Chamberlain and his men faced on Little Round Top when under relentless attack, "everything is magnified, for better or for worse." Some rise to the leadership challenge and take effective action as Chamberlain did, others don't. Useem suggests several leadership lessons to be learned from that bloody, decisive day on the fields of Gettysburg. For example:
"Winning the confidence of your people now may well be invaluable in a yet-unforeseen time when you face the ultimate test...[However,] early investments in winning support among even your most stalwart opponents may make the difference between success and defeat when it counts most." This is precisely what President Abraham Lincoln did when forming his first cabinet, one that Doris Kearns Goodwin characterizes as a "team of rivals."
I commend Michael Useem on his brilliant correlation of historical information with an analysis of the leaders he has studied and the lessons to be learned from their encounters with "life-challenging, morally consequential events fraught with risk and danger."
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out his Leading Up as well as Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas' Geeks & Geezers (recently updated and reissued as Leading for a Lifetime), Bill George's True North, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward's Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters, and Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition co-authored by Dennis N. T. Perkins, Margaret P. Holtman, Paul R. Kessler, and Catherine McCarthy.
A Different Approach to Self-Help.......2007-03-01
Biography is often a more inspiring way to learn "soft skills" than are traditional self-help books that spell out, word for word, the traits they're purchased to teach. But it's also possible, with a biography, to miss the decision-making moments, even though the actions the subject took are clear.
The Leadership Moment combines both historical and didactic approaches, by pausing in the midst of its nine hair-raising stories to briefly examine the choices that caused the next turn of events. The winning characteristics and skills are repeated in the back of the book under the picture of their respective exemplar. If you enjoy quick reads that deliver in a can't-miss fashion principles you can use, you will enjoy The Leadership Moment. Read a chapter a day before sallying forth to slay your own dragons.
Entirely worthwhile reading, the volume nonetheless has its weaknesses. Only two of the nine accounts are about women, and both of those are set in an all-female environment. (The seven males are in all-male environments.) Seven stories are unequivocal triumphs, one a brazen failure (though another man steps in to save the company), and one ambiguous: did the hero fail to lead or did his team fail to follow? The lesson author Michael Useem highlights is not altogether clear the way he tells the story.
Good leadership examples.......2005-08-31
Many of the examples used in this book are excellent case studies for leadership workshops and classes. It was a nice variety of examples from different sectors and industries.
Great leadership stories!.......2004-12-01
As part of an assignment for a Leadership/Small Group Communication course, I was directed to select the book of my choice from an Amazon book search under the topic of leadership. After poring through the descriptions of just a few of the 116,000 books in this category, I quickly identified the type of book I was looking for. I wanted something less academic/theoretical and more real life. I figured any lessons on leadership would be easier to grasp if they accompanied the stories of real people. Michael Useem's The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All fit the bill.
The Leadership Moment is a book of nine stories of real individuals who were faced with leadership challenges or put into positions where their decisions as leaders would greatly affect the outcome or survival of companies, countries and often, many other lives. The stories cover attempts to cure disease, retreating from a fire, returning a malfunctioning spacecraft to earth, ascending a mountain, leading men to battle, restructuring large corporations, the downfall and rise of a large company, working towards development of women in the third world and ending a civil war. Each story identifies a leader put into a critical do or die situation where their decisions and leadership qualities either led to success and meeting objectives, or led to failure and the demise of the company or death of those they were leading.
What I really liked about the book was the real life examples and the vast range of examples that Useem used. While many of us in the corporate world identify leadership as the ability to bring in financial returns or climb the corporate ladder, this book shows how leadership comes up in vastly different situations.
Useem's writing style flows well and is easy to follow. The stories are interesting and descriptive. For each story, he points out several leadership objectives that are implicated in the story. I enjoyed the book, and was able to identify how some of his leadership objectives could apply to my own career. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting read on leadership.
great service.......2003-07-11
The book arrived on time, and in great condition. And they also included another book for free with the order!
Book Description
This book follows all NIMS ICS (National Incident Management System--Incident Command System) processes and principles. Beyond Initial Response was written to fill a significant gap in ICS training. Critical ICS position-specific training is difficult to get, yet responders have the responsibility to effectively operate in an ICS organization. This book removes the gap, instills confidence, knowledge and assurance that is required to be successful in an ICS command. Major focus areas: 1) the ICS Planning Process discussed in extensive detail, 2) ICS positions (13 critical positions thoroughly covered in depth), and 3) Unified Command: what it takes to be successful. This book is an invaluable reference tool that contains numerous job aids, checklists, illustrations and sample documents enabling the user to seamlessly work within the Incident Command System. In addition, it is an excellent support source for ICS training, contingency planning and response operations. Beyond Initial Response should be within arms length whether you are training or deploying.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book for all responders!.......2006-11-29
This is a great review of the ICS process! It's easy to read, with exceptional examples of each situation, how to conduct meetings, and how to fill out the ICS forms. I have brought it to a few excercises with me and everyone who looks at it, wants one! The authors did an INCREDIBLE job of combining their particular areas of expertise into a very educational product!
Highly recommended - clear, concise and well crafted........2006-08-15
An exceptional reference and text. Clearly, the authors have many years experience in emergency response and have applied their expertise to the core incident management concepts. If you are looking for a way to understand the National Incident Management System from concept to `nuts and bolts, down in the field' processes, this is the best you will find.
Book Description
Long known for her insightful and thought-provoking political journalism, author Elizabeth Kolbert now tackles the controversial and increasingly urgent subject of global warming. In what began as groundbreaking three-part series in the New Yorker, for which she won a National Magazine Award in 2006, Kolbert cuts through the competing rhetoric and political agendas to elucidate for Americans what is really going on with the global environment and asks what, if anything, can be done to save our planet. Now updated and with a new afterword, Field Notes from a Catastrophe is the book to read on the defining issue and greatest challenge of our times.
Customer Reviews:
This is the University of Washington common book for 2007-8.......2007-10-04
The University of Washington has selected this book as its "Common Book" for the 2007-2008 academic year. That means each of the UW's 10,000+ incoming freshman this year have received a copy of the book and are reading it.
An Extraordinary Work: Important and Readable.......2007-09-23
`Field Notes From a Catastrophe' is Elizabeth Kolbert's masterpiece of conciseness and clarity explaining current climate change science and the political obstacles (read the US, Republicans, and Bush Administration in ascending order) to getting serious about attacking the problem. Originally published in 2005, the paperback version has an afterword written in 2006.
Kolbert takes a journalist's approach to explaining the climate change phenomenon (the book began as a series in the New Yorker). She takes the reader to Shishmaref, Alaska an island village rapidly becoming an untenable place to live due to climate-induced sea ice changes, to the North Slope, to the great Greenland ice shield and she brings the story down to a human scale.
Kolbert also leads the reader through the science of global warming making understandable seemingly arcane topics like "dangerous anthropogenic interference" (DAI), which is basically the point where something truly major goes haywire. Kolbert brings the joy of learning to the reader, until one ponders the potential consequences of what she lays out for us. Perhaps most disturbing is the evidence she marshals that the climate has already changed. For example, the climate has warmed sufficiently to allow numerous butterfly species to migrate to new previously too cold locations and to cause the extinction of certain frog species.
Scientists do not, of course, understand everything about climate change (indeed, it is in the very nature of science that an endpoint of total knowledge is never achieved). Those political and economic forces (primarily in the United States) that benefit from the status quo latch on to the uncertainties to create doubt among the public and forestall action. Her interviews with Bush administration officials strike an odd note - they stonewall with robotic incantations. While Europe and most of industrialized world has acted, the US has dithered, delayed, and denied.
Kolbert explains why scientists conclude that it is virtually certain that under the current `business as usual' approach, greenhouse gas concentrations will reach a level that causes massive coastal flooding, large scale extinctions, and crop failures leading to starvation (DAI). These outcomes will not be evenly distributed and are likely to fall heaviest on the poorest countries. Scientists do not, however, know what level of greenhouse gas concentration will cause these impacts. The Bush administration uses that uncertainty as a reason to do essentially nothing and Congress too has failed to force any action.
Kolbert's book inspires the reader to search out even more current information (NOAA's Arctic Change web site is one good source). And the news is alarming. This stuff is not just a tree hugger's paranoid delusion: global heating is happening, it is happening now, and it is getting worse faster than anticipated.
Kolbert's book is a work of journalism (and given the rapidly changing reality, journalism is probably the best source of information) that informs on both the science and the politics of climate change without stridently hectoring the reader. Kolbert presents the facts. The reader would have to be a dim bulb indeed not to get the picture.
Absolutely the very highest recommendation. Kolbert's Field Notes From a Catastrophe deserves more than 5 stars.
Some very misleading reviews here.......2007-08-09
Reviewer T. Ferrell says "The author comes from an assumption that climate was once stable and has recently become unstable. She states this directly several times and it is the overall impression she intentionally leaves."
I'm not sure if the reviewer didn't actually read the book or is deliberately trying to smear it, but Kolbert states many times that the climate has changed in the past.
This is clearly written sober account of global warming and the effects it is having, and will have, on the environment. An excellent, concise read.
Climate has never been "stable".......2007-07-04
While the book was well written as prose, it was intellectually myopic. The author comes from an assumption that climate was once stable and has recently become unstable. She states this directly several times and it is the overall impression she intentionally leaves. Certainly climate change has an effect on people, flora and fauna, but that does not mean that you ignore the fact that there are winners with climate change as well as losers. Example, as the globe warms agriculture moves north expanding into areas previously too frigid to support farming. No mention of this?
But it is not that she just focuses just on the losers. She glosses over issues that might complicate her simple thesis that man is responsible for climate change as "not understood." This is the explanation she gives for example when discussing how atmospheric CO2 was historically low during the ice ages and was high during periods of warming. This is "unknown." She simply ignores the fact that the worlds oceans hold most of the planets CO2 both directly as an absorbed gas, its concentration being directly related temperature. She also ignores the carbon bank in phytoplankton. I believe she does this because it would bring into question her simple thesis. What warmed or cooled the worlds oceans before man was on the scene.
This is a problem for me because a wider view of climate change would reveal the true issues. At one point in time the earth was a snowball entirely covered with ice. At another point in our past the oceans were much higher and the poles were nearly devoid of ice. If global climate has always been in flux do we now propose that man should control the world's climate? If so, what is the best climate? Is it the best thing to have a sizeable portion of the worlds surface are covered in ice or too cold to support agriculture? Who decides? If man does control the weather is the only way to do it to cut back on fossil fuel useage? The author appears to believe so. Does the entity who controls climate take responsibilty for the weather and its effects? A freeze occurs in a temperate agricultural region. Is this now someone's fault?
It's very easy to look who loses with climate change. It is much more difficult to consider the bigger picture. I was not impressed by this book.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change.......2007-05-21
About what I expected. Unfortunately, the book was extremely biased looking only at science that supported her hypothesis. It is an interesting read, written in an easily readable style but rather shallow in content.
Amazon.com
On September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of some four feet in as many seconds inundated the city, while the wind destroyed thousands of buildings. By the time the water and winds subsided, entire streets had disappeared and as many as 10,000 were dead--making this the worst natural disaster in America's history.
In Isaac's Storm, Erik Larson blends science and history to tell the story of Galveston, its people, and the hurricane that devastated them. Drawing on hundreds of personal reminiscences of the storm, Larson follows individuals through the fateful day and the storm's aftermath. There's Louisa Rollfing, who begged her husband, August, not to go into town the morning of the storm; the Ursuline Sisters at St. Mary's orphanage who tied their charges to lengths of clothesline to keep them together; Judson Palmer, who huddled in his bathroom with his family and neighbors, hoping to ride out the storm. At the center of it all is Isaac Cline, employee of the nascent Weather Bureau, and his younger brother--and rival weatherman--Joseph. Larson does an excellent job of piecing together Isaac's life and reveals that Isaac was not the quick-thinking hero he claimed to be after the storm ended. The storm itself, however, is the book's true protagonist--and Larson describes its nuances in horrific detail.
At times the prose is a bit too purple, but Larson is engaging and keeps the book's tempo rising in pace with the wind and waves. Overall, Isaac's Storm recaptures at a time when, standing in the first year of the century, Americans felt like they ruled the world--and that even the weather was no real threat to their supremacy. Nature proved them wrong. --Sunny Delaney
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Reading in his signature dispassionate style, narrator Edward Herrmann brings an eerie calm to this powerful chronicle of the deadliest storm ever to hit the United States--a huge and terribly destructive hurricane that struck land near Galveston, Texas in September of 1900. Author Erik Larson re-creates the events leading up to the disaster in astonishing detail, tracing the thoughts and actions of Isaac Cline, a scientist with America's burgeoning U.S. Weather Bureau. Cline's unwavering confidence--"In an age of scientific certainty one could not allow one's judgment to be clouded..."--blinds the meteorologist to the deadly onslaught about to be unleashed. Herrmann's calculated performance reflects the impending doom and dangers inherent to an unquestioned and absolute faith in science. (Running time: 5 hours, 3 cassettes) --George Laney
Book Description
September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devestating personal tragedy.
Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful,
Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.
Customer Reviews:
NO PICTURES.......2007-09-30
My first thoughts after finishing Isaac's storm was, that for such a big and devastating storm, it didn't seem do it justice. I wanted understanding (why didn't people leave?). I wanted some PICTURES!!.
As luck had it, someone who checked out the book before me had tucked a newspaper clipping pic in the inside flap, of the Bishops Palace and surrounding survivors w/ tons of lumber stacked up against them. THANK YOU whoever you are. I returned the picture to the flap.
Whatever happened to Dr. Samuel O.Young the amateur meteorologist? Sam kept a diary. And it seems was the only proactive person in town, in that he telegraphed his wife and children warning them not to come to Galveston because in his opinion, a big storm was coming.
One reviewer here claims Cline is a hero in Galveston but "Cline gave his official meteorological opinion that the thought of a hurricane ever doing any serious harm to Galveston was "An absurd delusion". Many residents had called for a seawall to protect the city, but Cline's statement helped to prevent its construction."
"Local legend has it that Cline took it upon himself to travel along the beach and other low-lying areas warning people personally of the storm's approach. This is based on Cline's own reports and has been called into question in recent years.
Cline did issue a hurricane warning without permission from the Bureau's central office in Washington, D.C. but by that point the city was already under water. I don't recall reading that Cline actually told anyone to get off the island..
I enjoyed the book but minus one star for lack of pictures.
I hear that John Edward Weems' book 'A Weekend in September' is also recommended reading on the 1900 storm.
Erik Larson is Quickly Becoming a Favorite.......2007-09-10
"Isaac's Storm" is a fictionalized telling of a real-time tragedy. It tells the story of the hurricane that devastated Galveston and provides impressive details on the history and science of meteorology. For the story-telling aspect of the novel, Mr. Larson uses Isaac Cline, Galveston's weather observer at the time.
Erik Larson's committment to research and detail is impeccable. I wish he had been my history teacher in high school!
Book is a Category 4.......2007-09-10
I enjoyed the book. It reminded me of a hurricane, starting slow but building as it went along.
BEATS READING THE BOOK.......2007-09-05
THIS DEFINATELY BEATS READING THE BOOK, BUT TAKE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE ABRIDGED VERSION!!!
Issacc's Storm.......2007-07-23
Again, another book by a great author, Erik Larson. I couldn't put it down, but then again I live in Florida and Hurricanes are of special interest to me. I'm not sure if you didn't live in a hurricane area, example Alaska, that this book would strike you the way it did me.
Average customer rating:
- Enlightening stuff
- Excellent book
- Learn from other people and other companies mistakes
- A Master Class In Hazard Avoidance And Mitigation
- Itemized Case History of Accidents in the Chemical Industry
|
What Went Wrong?, Fourth Edition: Case Studies of Process Plant Disasters
Trevor A. Kletz
Manufacturer: Gulf Professional Publishing
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Similar Items:
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Still Going Wrong!: Case Histories of Process Plant Disasters and How They Could Have Been Avoided
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Learning from Accidents, Third Edition
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Process Plants: A Handbook for Inherently Safer Design (Chemical Engineering)
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Lessons from Disaster: How Organisations Have No Memory and Accidents Recur - IChemE
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Troubleshooting Process Operations
ASIN: 0884159205 |
Book Description
Expert Trevor Kletz examines the causes and aftermaths of numerous plant disasters--almost every one of which could have been prevented. Case histories illustrate what went wrong, why it went wrong, and then guide you in how to circumvent similar tragedies.
Learn from the mistakes of others. This invaluable and respected book examines the causes and aftermaths of numerous plant disasters - almost every one of which could have been prevented. Case histories illustrate what went wrong and why it went wrong, and then guide you in how to circumvent similar tragedies.
* Learn from the mistakes of others with this important book!
* Examines the causes and aftermaths of numerous plant disasters - most of which could have been prevented
* Case histories illustrate what went wrong, why it went wrong, and then guide you in how to circumvent similar tragedies
Customer Reviews:
Enlightening stuff.......2007-08-14
Mr Kletz offers engaging technical insights with case stories arising out of his long professional experience related to accidents causing small to large property damage and bodily injury including death and demonstrates that they just arise from silly mistakes made during everyday work or by having misconceptions about the laws of physics or process engineering
It is focused on occurrences in the chemical industry but the case stories serve as an example for property loss prevention in any industry (among the chapters it delves into are: maintenance, modifications, pressure pipes and vessels, hazard of materials, computers, human errors, storage tanks, labeling)
It is a slow paced reading, written to focus on ideas and develop concepts to have something new to think about. Most suitable readers are loss control & process engineers and health and safety professionals working in any type of industry or doing field surveys for insurance companies
Excellent book.......2007-03-08
Concise review of many industrial accidents with clear recommendations to help avoid repeating them. A must read all involved with industrial plants but especially chemical plants and refineries.
Learn from other people and other companies mistakes.......2006-07-12
Learning from other people and other companies mistakes is better than to gain experience through our own mistakes, especially if those are relate to safety.
An excellent reference for the industrial practitioner interested or involved with Process Safety System, Emergency Shutdown Systems, Safety Instrumented Systems, etc. working in the process industries, who want to learn about real world examples of what can go wrong.
The incidents described could occur in any type of industrial plants, even in yours. This book doesn't provide an exhaustive analysis of process safety issues or risk control. For this type of in-depth information you could try "Loss Prevention in the Process Industries", by F. P. Lees.
Use this book as a safety manual full of stories from which you should try to get what lessons can be learned from the incidents described.
I am an Industrial Practitioner of Process Safety and Control. I have been working for more than 16 years as an Instrumentation, Automation, and Process Safety and Control Engineer for the Oil & Gas Industry. I found this book to be an aid when preparing training material for operators and technicians.
A Master Class In Hazard Avoidance And Mitigation.......2006-05-02
"What Went Wrong?" is a well thought-out book on practical safety in the chemical processing industry. The book recounts numerous actual process plant accidents and incidents, includes causes and effects, and avoidance and mitigation practices.
Some of the accidents in this book are familiar to most people (Bhopal, etc.), but most are not; this exposure to "new" material is a real strength. Another strength is the focus on "minor," seemingly inconsequential, actions that have major effects. For instance, on page 62, a company was concerned that because heating had to be shut down over a weekend that water lines would freeze, so water was replaced with alcohol. When a fire occurred the sprinklers then fed the fire. This seems obvious in retrospect, but Kletz is trying to develop foresight rather than hindsight. Kletz also includes examples of human error accidents from other fields. (An excellent example concerning radiological medicine is on pages 92-93.) Kletz always avoids simplistic "human error" diagnoses and diligently pursues root causes; he asserts correctly that in human error accidents it is "unfair to put all the blame on the person who adds the last straw."
Chapter seven concerns leaks. Thomas Fuller was right in 1732 when he said "A small leak will sink a great ship." Leaks are easy to discount as minor and routine annoyances. This chapter does an excellent job of discussing most leak-related issues. The section on "Drain Valves and Vents" is particularly well-developed, as is the section titled "Small Cocks," which makes the point that they should never be used as the sole source of isolation (especially for flammable materials above their atmospheric boiling points.) Likewise his remarks at the end of the chapter (page 162) about measurements are insightful: "Whenever possible we should measure directly what we need to know and not some other property from which it can be deduced." This was, of course, one of the major problems that triggered the Three Mile Island accident.
Chapter eight is titled "Liquefied Flammable Gases," and is an extension of chapter seven in many ways (leaks play a role in many LFG incidents.) Kletz also has an excellent discussion of the hazards of Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVEs) including dramatic examples from Feyzin, France and Duque de Caxias, Brazil. A great example (a crack propagation problem in a low temperature, nine percent nickel steel tank in Qatar) of how to mitigate and trap problems in a large-scale LFG system is on page 172, and discusses the pros and cons of different types of dike wall construction.
Chapter nine is on pipe and vessel failures. There is a good discussion of vapor cloud explosions, and while I am amazed at the scope of the author's data, even I was surprised (and amused) to find that Table 9-1 included in "transport container" column for vapor cloud explosions the note "Includes 1 zeppelin." Now that's thorough!
The book also discusses ancillary fittings (like flanges and gaskets) and equipment (like centrifuges and pumps), their common failure modes and hazard prevention methods. There is an especially good discussion of heat exchangers, furnaces, and cooling towers in chapter ten. Especially enlightening is the discussion of damage by water hammer, and the example given (see Figure 10-11, "Condensate in the steam...knocked off the impingement plate and damaged calandria tubes") illustrates the folly of ignoring precursor incidents in an accident prevention strategy. In section 10.7 Kletz discusses furnaces, and makes the statement "Never say, 'It must be safe because we have been doing it this way for years and have never had an accident'" which is an axiom that any safety professional should embrace.
Chapter eleven concerns entry into vessels, and notes that in the US each year about 63 people are killed after being overcome in inadequately prepared vessels. Of these, 40 are would-be rescuers. Any business with this type of exposure must insure that they have excellent equipment and training (including recurrent training) for people undertaking these tasks. No matter what training occurs, though, you can't protect from bad judgment. On page 232 an incident is discussed where a worker was trying to shrink-fit a bearing onto a shaft in a pit with an acetylene torch while the shaft was cooled by another worker hosing liquefied petroleum gas onto the shaft with the expected fatal results.
Chapter twelve discusses the hazards of common materials. Many situations in this book concern the misuse of water resulting in boilover, slopover, foamover, frothover, puking, or many other steam or vaporization related accidents. Compressed air is another underappreciated hazard, and is also discussed at length. Especially emphasized are reactions of air and oil mixtures and the importance of using Type 3A molecular sieves, which can avoid issues encountered in operations that dry or purify compressed air. Nitrogen is also discussed. While it is inert, Kletz makes it clear that it is not harmless using several insightful examples, including an unusual liquid nitrogen induced explosion in a pork rind processing operation on page 254.
Throughout the book Kletz emphasizes the importance of process change control, and that even slight modifications are thoroughly evaluated; this is true in all safety communities, not just the chemical processing industry. Excellent examples of training issues are throughout the book, but are specifically delineated in section 22.5 "Poor Training or Procedures."
Appendix one contains a useful discussion of relative rates of different types of incidents, while Appendix two is perhaps the best in the book, as it discusses accident reporting (page 395) and gives five excellent reasons to publish accident reports, advice that is valid in all industries.
"What Went Wrong?" is a well written book with many insights for safety professionals. It is written for the chemical industries, but is readable and useful to safety professionals in all industries. I deal largely with aviation safety (though I have a background in industrial chemical processing), and the parallels are manifold.
I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading other books by Trevor Kletz.
Itemized Case History of Accidents in the Chemical Industry.......2006-04-06
What I like most about this book is its index and table of contents. It is easy to find a type of accident. For example, when I turned to page 291, I found an exact, simple description of the dangers resulting from the flow of a non-conducting liquid, i.e., one with a low dielectric constant --- like toluene (2.4 compared to water with a constant of 80). "The danger is that a spark could discharge between a body of liquid and grounded metal." In other words, a high voltage shock will knock you off your feet.
If this review was helpful, please add your vote.
This is an easy-to-read text and should be required reading for all chemical engineers entering the workforce. After you read it, you can move on to more detailed engineering text on the subject of safety such as Kletz's own book, or Mark Tweeddale, or Crowl and Louvar's text. These text are for calculations, "What Went Wrong," is for a clear understanding of the dangers you will be facing.
If this review was helpful, please add your vote -- Thanks.
Book Description
This book focuses on natural disasters: how the normal processes of the Earth concentrate their energies and deal heavy blows to humans and their structures. It is concerned with how the natural world operates and, in so doing, kills and maims humans and destroys their works. Throughout the book, certain themes are maintained: * energy sources underlying disasters * plate tectonics and climate change * earth processes operating in rock, water, and atmosphere * significance of geologic time * complexities of multiple variables operating simultaneously * detailed and readable case studies.
Customer Reviews:
GEO Book.......2006-03-16
The book has an excellent number of graphs and pictures and makes it fairly easy to absorb information through self-learning. Great tool with lectures. Sometimes a bit of a drag on the boredom scale depending upon the topic.
Abbott explains how Natural Disasters occur .......2005-09-19
Although Abbott could have done a better job of simplifying some of his explainations, he does a great job of breaking down the formation of Natural Disasters in easy to understand steps. He also provides briefings on real life natural disaster occurances.
Natural Disasters.......2004-05-07
I used this book for one of my Earth and Ocean Science courses at the University of British Columbia. Although I enjoyed the many good examples, I found that the text did not have a very good flow to it. I found some of it to be choppy, and some of the sentences to be quite unclear. I agree, the examples are interesting, but it seems like the text relies on those examples to be interesting. I think a lot of processes could have been explained better, as I thought the point from class notes I received from my professors did a lot better than the text in helping me understand certain processes. I definetely agree it's a beginner text though as the examples give a good indication that natural disasters only occur because humans have inhabited locations that often times threaten lives.
Natural Disasters makes geology interesting!.......1999-10-28
As a developer of geology and earth science college textbooks for major publishers, I've worked with a lot of excellent books. Patrick Abbott's Natural Disasters, second edition, is one of the most interesting, readable, informative, and engaging books available. It doesn't have all the four-color diagrams and photos, and doesn't need them. The book tells many fascinating stories that engage students (e.g., the Lisbon earthquake of 1755), relates these natural events to humanity, and offers outstanding short summaries of geologic phenomena and events (e.g., the K-T extinction). This is one of the few books I keep on my desk to illustrate geologic events and principles for friends and coworkers. Highly recommended!
A great book for beginners interested in this topic!!!.......1999-01-11
I just finished taking a course at Florida International University having to do with natural disasters and this book was the required text. I found the book very interesting and informative. The different forms of natural disasters were seperated by chapters and were very well explained. I found it very easy to learn about natural disasters using this book.
Book Description
Why do we remain unprepared for the next terrorist attack or natural disaster?
Where are we most vulnerable?
How have we allowed our government to be so negligent?
Who will keep you and your family safe?
Is America living on borrowed time?
How can we become a more resilient nation?
Americans are in denial when it comes to facing up to how vulnerable our nation is to disaster, be it terrorist attack or act of God. We have learned little from the cataclysms of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. When it comes to catastrophe, America is living on borrowed time–and squandering it. In this new book, leading security expert Stephen Flynn issues a call to action, demanding that we wake up and prepare immediately for a safer future.
The truth is acts of terror cannot always be prevented, and nature continues to show its fury in frighteningly unpredictable ways. Resiliency, argues Flynn, must now become our national motto. With chilling frankness and clarity, Flynn paints an all too real scenario of the threats we face within our own borders. A terrorist attack on a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas into Boston Harbor could kill thousands and leave millions more of New Englanders without power or heat. The destruction of a ship with a cargo of oil in Long Beach, California, could bring the West Coast economy to its knees and endanger the surrounding population. But even these all-too-plausible terrorist scenarios pale in comparison to the potential destruction wrought by a major earthquake or hurricane.
Our growing exposure to man-made and natural perils is largely rooted in our own negligence, as we take for granted the infrastructure handed down to us by earlier generations. Once the envy of the world, this infrastructure is now crumbling. After decades of neglect, our public health system leaves us at the mercy of microbes that could kill millions in the next flu pandemic. Flash flooding could wipe out a fifty-year-old dam north of Phoenix, placing thousands of homes and lives at risk. The next San Francisco earthquake could destroy century-old levees, contaminating the freshwater supply that most of California relies on for survival.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The Edge of Disaster tells us what we can do about it, as individuals and as a society. We can–and, Flynn argues, we must–construct a more resilient nation. With the wounds of recent national tragedies still unhealed, the time to act is now.
Flynn argues that by tackling head-on, eyes open the perils that lie before us, we can remain true to our most important and endearing national trait: our sense of optimism about the future and our conviction that we can change it for the better for ourselves–and our children.
“Steve Flynn offers the answer not only to protecting America from terrorist attacks and natural disaster but also to revitalizing our democracy. This book is a must-read for all members of Congress, 2008 presidential candidates, and ordinary citizens who want to build a better and safer future.”
–Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Advance praise for The Edge of Disaster
“Steve Flynn has done it again. Like America the Vulnerable before it, The Edge of Disaster is the must-read book for every American, elected official, and presidential candidate who is committed to ensuring that our nation continue to thrive in perilous times.”
–Mark Warner, former governor of Virginia
“Since 9/11, protecting our nation against a terrorist attack has consumed policy makers in Washington. What Stephen Flynn points out in The Edge of Disaster is that much of this effort has been directed overseas, often at the expense of our homeland and its much more likely areas of vulnerability. Laying out a series of potential disasters both manmade and natural, Flynn calls for a greater emphasis on preparedness and the ability of communities and the nation to recover. Painting an often frustrating and infuriating picture of missed opportunities, The Edge of Disaster is a call to action. The time to act is now. We can only hope that policy makers are listening.”
–Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and
former administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (2001-03)
“Steve Flynn’s book makes the very persuasive argument that national security preparedness is linked to natural disaster preparedness. By investing significantly in our critical infrastructure, in citizen preparedness, and most importantly in leadership, we can be better prepared for all hazards. A great book that I highly recommend.”
–James Lee Witt, former director, Federal Emergency Management Agency
“Steve Flynn has become a relentless contributor to the dialogue on prioritizing the work of the post-9/11 security environment. The Edge of Disaster calls into question the neglect of domestic preparedness in favor of the Department of Defense-driven offensive in the global war on terrorism. The book offers provocative challenges to both our elected and our private-sector leaders, and both should read it thoroughly.”
–Admiral James M. Loy, former commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, and former deputy secretary of homeland security
Customer Reviews:
Good information.......2007-08-10
This book provides good information about making our country more prepared for natural or man-made disasters by using an all hazards approach. Some of the presented ideas are great others are very opinionated. You can tell the author is pro Coast Guard since he recommends they be in charge of everything, just a bit biased, but a good book overall.
An Eye-Opener.......2007-07-27
I thought this book was a great read for many reasons. First off, the author gives a few hypothetical cases of another terrorist attack on American soil. He does this not to incite fear, but just to prove how vulnerable our infrastructures are (waterways, ports, canals, oil refineries, etc). He mentions how old and antiquated they are and how the government is not pumping enough money to fix or upgrade those resources. Secondly, he gives several examples of how this can change and why it needs to be done. Lastly, (but not in this order) he also ties this in with our vulnerablity to natural disasters. "The Edge of Disaster" is a disaster that can be both man-made or natural. If you want to read about things that are not being discussed in the media that are very critical to the foundation of this country, then this is a must read!!
Challenges our myths and assumptions........2007-07-21
I found this book to be right on target - Bulls-Eye. Flynn points out all the pitfalls in the current mode of planning responses to disasters and terrorist attacks on the part of government, congress and others. He calls attention to the complacency of the American Public, partly lulled by a secretive government failing to share how it addresses the issues of disaster planning and repairing and maintaining American infrastructure to withstand both natural disasters and terrorism.
He rightly points out that NO effort has been made to involve and rally the American Citizenry to respond to disasters or fight terrorism (Where is the war bond drive to fight the global war on terrorism?) Nor have efforts been made to invoLVe the private sector (except recently, the state of Texas in its Hurricane Evacuation planning will involve energy companies, Walmart, Home Depot and the HEB groceries to assure people's needs are met quickly when the next hurricane comes).
In short, we as Americans, according to Flynn seem to be living in a world of make-believe fog. It reminds him of the last days of the Roman empire.
He did not mention, that since 9/11 while the US is pre-occuppied with a war on terror, the economies of India and CHina have taken off. In fact, the "smart money" is investing in Brazil, Russia, India and China, not the US. Perhaps our weak infrstructure has a role to play.
What are the solutions? I have cut and pasted them from another review as a reminder of how urgent the need is to address this issue:
1) Force Washington to build national resiliency at home
2) Put terrorism in the context of the other threats (see Wikipedia, "Ten Threats")
3) Fix the infrastructure now
4) Inform the American people, they are our greatest asset
5) Tap the ingenuity and resources of the private sector
6) Do not underestimate the value of individual preparedness
7) Do not allow government to pretend the pandemic will not happen
8) Discourage construction along vulnerable coastlines and in flood plains
9) Properly fund and support local police and emergency responders
10) Promote the concept of resiliency as a global imperative.
Buy this book. In fact, buy extra copies for those you love and cherish.
Natural Disasters or Terrorists: the Greater Threat? .......2007-05-30
Stephen Flynn travels a lot --- and everywhere he goes he finds crumbling bridges, inadequate highway systems, overtaxed hospitals, parochial politicians, obsolete communications gear, neglected or nonexistent planning, and a citizenry that does not seem to give a damn about any of these things. This book --- his second on the subject --- is his strident wake-up call, a plea that something be done before the inevitable disaster strikes.
His case rests on two major premises: that more 9/11s and Katrinas are a certainty, and that of the two, future Katrinas are the more to be feared because they will be more frequent and will impact more people directly. Our present political and popular fixation on terrorism alone he finds shortsighted and foolish. He calls for measures to deal with both at the same time.
Flynn's method is to construct hypothetical scenarios --- a terrorist attack on a ship carrying liquefied natural gas in Boston Harbor, a catastrophic earthquake that devastates north-central California --- and then to demonstrate the inadequacy of existing means to either prevent the event or minimize the damage they cause. His scenarios are generally based on authoritative sources as well as his own observations. In every case his conclusions are dismal: inability to respond quickly and efficiently, widespread panic, enormous casualties, government ineptitude. Yet the general public, he says, lives in an "almost adolescent sense of denial," preferring to just keep fingers crossed and hope that such things will not happen, or if they do happen, it will be somewhere else.
Flynn tries gamely to be nonpolitical about all this, but his indictment of the Bush administration and the small-government fetish of many politicians is plain. He deplores the Iraq War as a diversion of funds and resources from the place where real threats are much more evident --- here at home.
Some of his strictures are hardly new (e.g., the governmental passion for secrecy that keeps bureaucrats from sharing vital information, the inability of "first responders" and "first preventers" to communicate with each other, the absence of true collaboration between public and private agencies at times of crisis, the unfortunate preference for pork-barrel politics over meeting really urgent needs). But he goes well beyond these obvious truths, condemning public indifference or even ignorance of what needs to be done urgently. Our nation is "brittle," he says, and needs to be made more "resilient" before it is too late. Flynn obviously sees himself as Paul Revere on a coast to coast midnight ride.
There is a strain of special pleading in the book. Flynn, himself a long-serving officer in the Coast Guard, tells again the familiar story of how well that agency performed in New Orleans in 2005 --- then goes on to propose that it be given the leading role in domestic disaster response, with FEMA demoted to secondary status. It may well be a good idea, but Flynn is not exactly an impartial judge.
The obvious question here is: If all this work needs to be done pronto, how are we to pay for it? Flynn proposes a new agency, the "Infrastructure Resiliency Commission," insulated from pork-barrel political pressure. He would pay the enormous cost of quickly making us into a "resilient" nation with money from five sources: funds from the estate tax that the administration wants to end altogether, repeal of the tax cuts enacted under Bush, a dollar-a-gallon gasoline tax, funds from the defense budget and from state and city governments. One can virtually hear the howls of protest from motorists, conservative politicians, the Pentagon and local officials. Were I a betting man, I would not bet on this one.
Nonetheless, this is an important and often eloquent book. One hopes that Flynn/Paul Revere will be heeded, and that he is not like poor Cassandra, who was given the gift of prophecy, but along with it the curse that no one would believe anything she said.
--- Reviewed by Robert Finn
Good informative & eye opening.......2007-05-12
Good book, Flynn writes at a level anyone can understand. He makes the urgency clear that changes must be made in order to secure our nation.
Book Description
Written by a son-father team of prominent geologists, David and Donald Hyndman, NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS emphasizes earth and atmospheric hazards that appear suddenly or rapidly, without significant warning. The text further discusses ways to prevent or mitigate the damage caused by natural hazards, providing students with the latest scientific research related to these topics. "Case in Point" boxes generate discussion of individual cases to natural hazard processes and principles. The authors reinforce the need to become informed citizens and make educated living decisions. Students will find a balanced coverage of North American natural hazards, including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and volcanic eruptions. These hazards are illustrated using numerous four-color photos and diagrams.
Customer Reviews:
Essential Reading.......2006-09-17
After completing my BA degree in Psychology, I had decided to take other courses that were non-related to my field of study: one of them being an introductory Geology course concerning natural disasters. The text used in my class was, NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS, by Donald and David Hyndman.
The natural disasters course I took at school was excellent! It enhanced my knowledge about the Earth's processes, and the effects of man on nature. Major topics addressed in class included earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and meteor impacts. The text supplemented for this class was very user-friendly. It was well-organized and also well-written. There were many colorful pictures and figures that helped with the learning of fundamental concepts. A couple chapters I enjoyed in particular was the chapter, "Volcanoes: Materials, Hazards, and Eruptive Mechanisms," which concentrated mostly on the 1980 Mt. St. Helen eruption. The first page was a riveting documentation of that awful and fantastic event. Another interesting chapter focused on "Landslides And Other Downslope Movements," which included an excellent "Up Close" example about the reoccurring landslides in the small community of La Conchita, California. (Living in California, I know landslides are a big deal--not to mention earthquakes--and now wildfires!). Though La Conchita is an idyllic place to live--conveniently located along side the Pacific Ocean--it is also an extremely hazardous dwelling; this small community is situated below a very unstable hillside, which throughout history, has killed so many people.
For educational purposes, this very detailed and informative text serves as a great resource. Although a bit pricey, I believe it's well worth it! Everyone should read it. No matter where you live, a natural hazard exists. What the Hyndman's say is true: "we need to learn to live with natural events instead of trying to control them."
NOTE: There is an updated version of this text, which includes an exclusive chapter about Hurricane Katrina.
Average customer rating:
- The wrong message
- Read this book
- Life As We Knew It
- Well....
- Great look at that thoughts of a young person in criss
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Life As We Knew It
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Manufacturer: Harcourt Children's Books
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Dairy Queen
ASIN: 0152058265 |
Amazon.com
It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.
Veteran author Susan Beth Pfeffer, who penned the young adult classic The Year Without Michael over twenty years ago, makes a stunning comeback with this haunting book that documents one adolescent's journey from self-absorbed child to selfless young woman. Teen readers won't soon forget this intimate story of survival and its subtle message about the treasuring the things that matter most—-family, friendship, and hope.--Jennifer Hubert
Book Description
Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.
Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.
Customer Reviews:
The wrong message.......2007-09-27
What should you do if a sudden natural disaster - an asteroid hitting the moon - causes tsunamis to drown both coasts, destroying our electrical and communications grid, and provoking new volcanic eruptions that obscure the sun? Should you band together with others to distribute available food and fuel to the needy and find alternative ways to grow food? Not in this book, at least. Here the heroine mom thinks to clean out the food stores before anyone else realizes the extent of the disaster. She retreats to her home with her wood stove and denies food from her well-stocked pantry to anyone other than her immediate family. While she thinks the country's president, who has been evacuated from the flooded Washington D.C. to his "Texas ranch" (wink, wink), is an "evil jerk," she hunkers down in her home waiting to be bailed out by the government that he heads; failing that, she will starve, or die of disease. If this happens to you, make sure to be entirely selfish while you're waiting for government handouts (while simultaneously despising the hand that feeds you). What sort of message is this for teens, or anyone else?
Read this book.......2007-08-25
I am an adult who sometimes reads good young adult fiction. But only when it is outstanding do I reread the same book. I have read this book twice even though I only have had it since June.
Parts of this reminded me of Anne Frank's diary. The last section reminded me of what Anne would have written had she been able to keep writing in her diary until later on. But the ending of "Life as We Knew It" is a more hopeful one.
It is the story of an ordinary family and how they showed extraordinary courage.
It is a story about growing from self centeredness to maturity, from girl to young woman, and a story of becoming strong and how being compassionate is a way of being strong: perhaps the best way.
The story had a reality to it: I could almost believe that it was truly happening.
Then I thought about how there may be families in various parts of the world who are struggling for survival: due to war, or drought, or disasters, and realized: that it IS happening. And that we need to show kindness and reach out to each other.
And like other readers, yes I went to the supermarket and stocked up on canned food. (:
I look forward to the sequel, "The Dead & the Gone", and hope that it continues the story beyond the time frame of "Life as We Knew It" because there are some questions:
Was the flow of food temporary, and are people still going to starve?
Will normal life really return in May, as the President promised?
If the volcanoes were continuing, how can there be any hope for life on earth: won't people still not be able to grow food, or are they using the Texas oil reserves to grow food in greenhouses? Are there areas, such as near the equator,but inland, where the normal climate is hot enough that agriculture can continue? I hope though that this sequel will have different things to say than "Life as we Knew It", or else there will be no point in HAVING a sequel: there are so many series, such as "The Shadow Children" series by Haddix, where the first book was great, yet then she stretched it out to more and more books that did not have the same power or freshness.
In "Life as We Knew It", the author has built a world that I CARED about and wanted to hear more about.
If you are interested in what if books about the future, or even just in books about courage and survival, read this.
Life As We Knew It.......2007-08-15
I am so glad that I read this book. It was a real eye opener, about what life could really be like. It makes me realize how many things I have... the option to go to school, to walk down to the store and buy a Snickers bar, and even being able to leave my house and get some fresh air. Not to mention the internet and TV and the radio... all good things that I can't really imagine living without. But this book lets me see what a sad life it would be without these simple luxuries.
I cried almost nonstop towards the end- although some of it might have been PMS. Still, this book was fantastic. I probably wouldn't read it again, but it was definitely something I'd recommend to others.
Well...........2007-08-14
What do you say about reading possibly one of the most depressing books of all time? I was very intrigued to read this, but at so many points it was very hard to turn the pages. Of course, I was amazed at what Miranda and her family proved themselves to be capable of, following what could have possibly been "the end" -- of everything. There is a point in the story where Miranda (bear in mind she is like 16) is completely on her own, forced to do everything in her power -- including forgoing sleep and food -- to keep her family alive through the night (and for several days afterward). As you read, you begin to rejoice in the small miracles that occur, such as their very heartwarming Christmas celebration, a long awaited phone call or letter, the treat of eating a "real" dinner, or the return of their beloved cat, Horton. I think that it is very true that people surprise themselves with how they find ways to adapt and triumph over adversity -- and in this case, worldwide catastrophe.
Great look at that thoughts of a young person in criss.......2007-08-08
Life As We Knew It I believe was intended to be a book for young readers. However, the point of view of a girl keeping a diary to record her thoughts, hopes and fears has great meaning for all of us. This book I think should be required reading for students and adults alike. The way the author keeps you hooked by keeping the reader guessing on what will happen next is very rewarding. Instead of keeping the reader updated with what is going on in the rest of the world like in most disaster (end of the world) books the author keeps you focused emotional on one family and their stuggle to stay alive.
The ending is open but gives us hope that everything might just turn out ok.
Amazon.com
Everybody knows the Dark Ages weren't really dark, right? Not so fast, counters archaeological journalist David Keys, maybe it's more than just a slightly judgmental metaphor. His book Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World, based on years of careful research spanning five continents, argues that sometime in A.D. 535, a worldwide disaster struck and uprooted nearly every culture then extant. Given contemporary reports of the sun being blotted out or weakened for nearly a year and a half, followed by famine, drought, and plague, it's hard not to think that so many reports from all over the world must be related.
Keys shows a keen grasp of both the written historical record from Asia, Africa, and Europe and the archaeological evidence from the Americas, and tells many tales of great havoc destroying old empires and laying the ground for new ones. Rome may have fallen, but Spain, England, and France rose in its place, while farther east, Japan and China each unified and gained strength after the chaos. Could an enormous volcanic eruption have had such influence on the world as a whole, and could the same thing happen tomorrow? Catastrophe makes no predictions, but leaves the reader with a new sense of history, nature, and destiny. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
It was a catastrophe without precedent in recorded history: for months on end, starting in A.D. 535, a strange, dusky haze robbed much of the earth of normal sunlight. Crops failed in Asia and the Middle East as global weather patterns radically altered. Bubonic plague, exploding out of Africa, wiped out entire populations in Europe. Flood and drought brought ancient cultures to the brink of collapse. In a matter of decades, the old order died and a new world—essentially the modern world as we know it today—began to emerge.
In this fascinating, groundbreaking, totally accessible book, archaeological journalist David Keys dramatically reconstructs the global chain of revolutions that began in the catastrophe of A.D. 535, then offers a definitive explanation of how and why this cataclysm occurred on that momentous day centuries ago.
The Roman Empire, the greatest power in Europe and the Middle East for centuries, lost half its territory in the century following the catastrophe. During the exact same period, the ancient southern Chinese state, weakened by economic turmoil, succumbed to invaders from the north, and a single unified China was born. Meanwhile, as restless tribes swept down from the central Asian steppes, a new religion known as Islam spread through the Middle East. As Keys demonstrates with compelling originality and authoritative research, these were not isolated upheavals but linked events arising from the same cause and rippling around the world like an enormous tidal wave.
Keys's narrative circles the globe as he identifies the eerie fallout from the months of darkness: unprecedented drought in Central America, a strange yellow dust drifting like snow over eastern Asia, prolonged famine, and the hideous pandemic of the bubonic plague. With a superb command of ancient literatures and historical records, Keys makes hitherto unrecognized connections between the "wasteland" that overspread the British countryside and the fall of the great pyramid-building Teotihuacan civilization in Mexico, between a little-known "Jewish empire" in Eastern Europe and the rise of the Japanese nation-state, between storms in France and pestilence in Ireland.
In the book's final chapters, Keys delves into the mystery at the heart of this global catastrophe: Why did it happen? The answer, at once surprising and definitive, holds chilling implications for our own precarious geopolitical future. Wide-ranging in its scholarship, written with flair and passion, filled with original insights, Catastrophe is a superb synthesis of history, science, and cultural interpretation.
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In A.D. 535-536, a climatic catastrophe occurred. It was of such mammoth proportions, it blotted out much of the heat and light of the sun for eighteen months and resulted -- directly or indirectly -- in climatic chaos, famine, migration, war, and massive political change on every continent. In other words, it altered history.
In this breakthrough examination, British archaeological journalist David Keys traces the identity and roots of this catastrophe -- continent by continent and virtually country by country -- showing how it is directly linked to the development of our modern world. The Plague, the rise of Islam, the fall of the Roman Empire, the movement of Asiatic tribes, the beginnings of the great South American empires -- Keys connects all these events that have previously been considered separate and shows us the far-reaching effects of incidents that first appear only localized. He makes us see history in holistic terms, as an integrated, planet-wide phenomenon.
In this fascinating, impeccably researched, and accessible book, Keys's innovative conclusions demonstrate how closely entwined global events truly are, and prove we must change the way we look at our past -- and thus, our future.
Customer Reviews:
My 100-word book review.......2007-03-28
In Catastrophe, author David Keys builds a convincing case for sudden climate change having occurred in the early 6th century, an abrupt dip in worldwide temperatures that would have had massive long-term consequences for civilisations all over the globe. Results could have included the weakening of the Byzantines, the downfall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Islam. This is a fascinating book, and the author's identification of a super volcano as the culprit is highly plausible. However, I think Keys possibly over-estimates this event as a shaper of our modern world, given the existence of so many other important factors.
A truly fascinating history.......2006-12-14
This is truly one of the most fascinating theories in ancient history. A volcano that shaped the modern world by forcing the migration of the huns, the crop failures in the Middle East that led to the rise of Islam and the start of the barbarian migrations towards Rome. It is almost too hard to summarize but if you believe that climate can change history than this is the book that will provide excellent evidence on that idea. Truly a masterpiece of an idea.
Looking for a catstrophe?.......2006-09-12
How much of human history has been shaped by catastrophic events? This exhaustively researched document seems like a natural place to find the answer. Unfortunately, the author's fascination with lurid details of human torture and dismemberment caused me to put the book down after just 60 blood-soaked pages. It's pretty clear that Mr. Key's interests in history do not run parallel to my own. I also found myself wondering about Key's qualifications as "Archaeological Journalist." I guess there are plenty of people who like reading tabloid-style history, and good luck to them, but I much prefer a calmer and scientific perspective of Derek Ager, in his book "The New Catastrophism, The Importance of the Rare Event in Geological History." -- Auralgo
FORCED CONCLUSIONS?.......2006-03-12
Mr. Key's authoritative research created a unique and new approach to the writing of history. His synthesis of science, culture and history was informative and entertaining. He identifies the volcanic eruption between Sumatra and Java in 535 that led to a climatic disaster that he believes helped create the modern world. He did convince this reader that the "Dark Ages were more literal than figurative." However, many of his historical conclusions were overstated. Chapters 19-29 lacked a depth of evidence and were too speculative. His constant use of words like "undoubtedly" made the reader question if he truly beleived his entire thesis? I concluded that he was at most one third correct, but ended in disagreeing that climate changes "alone" caused the birth of the modern world. I give it 4 stars for effort, but only 3 in its totality.
Interesting, relevant, but sometimes a bit stretched........2005-06-28
For the most part I found this book to be enjoyable, but it seems that Keys attempted in some areas to force his conclusion. Also, the same arguement seemed to be repeated far too often. Although I liked that the evidence of climate change was presented for essentially the entire planet, the conclusions at the end of each civilization were repetitive, simply restating the same thing (although, I suppose that was the point). I began to lose patience about 1/3 way through the book, but was able to persist through the conclusion. Perhaps it would have been better had Keys not spent so much time on minutae of Roman history and decline and had moved through the evidence quicker. The latter chapters on Asian and American experience were a little faster reading, likely due to the lack of minutae, largely due to the lack of records from which Keys could draw on. The final arguement on the causes of so much misfortune was compelling, but also left me feeling like our participation in the environment may all be for naught, since the Yellowstone caldera could explode at any moment, wiping us all out. I could not determine if this book wanted to be a book about climate change, history, or science.
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