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shan1212's review against another edition
4.0
I was directed to read this from a Tweet where someone recommended this book along with a favorite author of mine, Jared Diamond. I figured someone who likes Jared Diamond would make good recommendations.
And indeed, this book blew my mind. I really had no idea that the Pacific Northwest experiences catastrophic earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis every few hundred years, and that another could occur at any time. This is clearly very important information for people to have.
I deducted a star because sometimes it went a bit deep in the weeds, or in this case, the tree rings and ocean floor samples. I glazed over as the same scientific facts seemed to be repeated multiple times. But overall learning how scientists discover the geological past and attempt to predict the future captured and held my interest.
This is a must read, especially if you live on the coast or in a subduction zone.
And indeed, this book blew my mind. I really had no idea that the Pacific Northwest experiences catastrophic earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis every few hundred years, and that another could occur at any time. This is clearly very important information for people to have.
I deducted a star because sometimes it went a bit deep in the weeds, or in this case, the tree rings and ocean floor samples. I glazed over as the same scientific facts seemed to be repeated multiple times. But overall learning how scientists discover the geological past and attempt to predict the future captured and held my interest.
This is a must read, especially if you live on the coast or in a subduction zone.
jenmcmaynes's review against another edition
2.0
For a book devoted to natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, this was pretty boring. There just isn’t enough information for a full length book, so Thompson pads it out with a lot of minute details of tiny changes in scientific understanding in the 1970s-1990s regarding how the Cascadia Subduction zone works. Some may find this interesting, but I did not.
brandonlbc's review against another edition
Just too dry. I was looking for a primer on the actual current geological risks and potential consequences, but what I got was a history of Plate Tectonics and how different seismic events are measured and recorded.
Too much of a snooze fest for me.
Too much of a snooze fest for me.
marinaracloud's review against another edition
5.0
Oddly enough, this makes me feel better about Cascadia.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
More on the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Actually it is always cool to be reminded of scientific knowledge (like Plate Tectonics, Missoula Floods, Cascadia Subduction Zone, Global Climate Change) that is essentially new. Lots of history of when we knew what along with stuff I already knew. For a disaster book, it was a pretty good read. 4 of 5.
smmoe1997's review against another edition
5.0
An extremely well researched, well written, and interesting book. I had watched the Shockwave documentary before reading this, not realizing until he mentioned it in the book that was his work as well. This is a great companion read to the documentary and great read on its own merit. Due to time constraints it took me awhile to finish it, but if I had been able to forego sleep and work this would have been a one more chapter until I reached the end. I can give no higher praise than that.
I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in natural disasters, especially the history of how science has learned and grown since the early days of plate tectonics.
I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in natural disasters, especially the history of how science has learned and grown since the early days of plate tectonics.
thebookcoyote's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating and accessible book that traces the scientific discoveries of the danger of the Cascadia fault and how to prepare for an eventual quake/tsunami. Really enjoyed it.
errogal's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone living on the west coast should read this book. An extremely interesting account of how as geology progressed from the mid 1900s to today, scientists went from treating the Cascadia Subduction Zone (off the coast of Vancouver Island to Northern CA) as a non-issue to potentially one of the biggest natural disasters the US and Canada could face in history.
iambartacus's review against another edition
5.0
I went to college in Oregon, and on the first day of school, they gave us an earthquake evacuation plan. Being from Minnesota, I looked at them like they were nuts (though I later learned we can get them in Minnesota). Three semesters of geology later, I was fascinated by the Cascadia Fault (in that morbid, I won't be living here soon way).
This book was an excellent explanation of the discovery of the fault, projected damages that could occur, and the beginning of plans being laid to help mitigate future effects. The hospital in the town where I went to school was being completely rebuilt, so I can see the plan moving into effect.
It was written by a journalist, not a geologist, but he interviewed many of the most prestigious and well known geologists on the west coast. I think the author really got into his work, and I thought he did a nice job explaining some seriously complex geologic processes. Probably doesn't hurt he lives within the area that could be severely damaged should "the big one" as it's known, hit.
I highly recommend this book to everyone in the danger zone, and to everyone who loves geology. It's definitely an interesting read about this little known lurking time bomb off the Pacific Coast. It's especially timely since there have been major earthquakes in each of the 4 corners of the Pacific recently as well. I often wonder if that has any impact on other plates when there are huge earthquakes that shake the whole planet and cause it to tilt...
This book was an excellent explanation of the discovery of the fault, projected damages that could occur, and the beginning of plans being laid to help mitigate future effects. The hospital in the town where I went to school was being completely rebuilt, so I can see the plan moving into effect.
It was written by a journalist, not a geologist, but he interviewed many of the most prestigious and well known geologists on the west coast. I think the author really got into his work, and I thought he did a nice job explaining some seriously complex geologic processes. Probably doesn't hurt he lives within the area that could be severely damaged should "the big one" as it's known, hit.
I highly recommend this book to everyone in the danger zone, and to everyone who loves geology. It's definitely an interesting read about this little known lurking time bomb off the Pacific Coast. It's especially timely since there have been major earthquakes in each of the 4 corners of the Pacific recently as well. I often wonder if that has any impact on other plates when there are huge earthquakes that shake the whole planet and cause it to tilt...
bherrera's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! This is a very scary and sobering book. Most think that the San Andreas fault and numerous other faults in California are the most dangerous. Well the Cascadia Subducton Zone tops them all. It is an 800 mile long subduction fault off the coast of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
When it rips, and it will, it will be exactly like the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, only on our coast. It will likely be a 9 or higher magnitude earthquake that will devastate the coasts of northern California, Oregon, Washington and parts of Canada. So not one city will be devastated like most earthquakes do, a whole coastline and many major cities will be crumpled. Portland, Seattle, Tacoma even Sacramento will feel it. The coastal towns will also get hit by a tsunami that could easily reach 30 to 40 feet higher than high tide. This would devastate the western united states. It would also make the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina look like a walk in the park. The sad thing is that the government has done very little to prepare for this until recently. Very good book on how the geologists came to the stunning conclusions that this is actually a very seismically active area and a dangerous one at that.
When it rips, and it will, it will be exactly like the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, only on our coast. It will likely be a 9 or higher magnitude earthquake that will devastate the coasts of northern California, Oregon, Washington and parts of Canada. So not one city will be devastated like most earthquakes do, a whole coastline and many major cities will be crumpled. Portland, Seattle, Tacoma even Sacramento will feel it. The coastal towns will also get hit by a tsunami that could easily reach 30 to 40 feet higher than high tide. This would devastate the western united states. It would also make the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina look like a walk in the park. The sad thing is that the government has done very little to prepare for this until recently. Very good book on how the geologists came to the stunning conclusions that this is actually a very seismically active area and a dangerous one at that.