The Bookshelf: July 13, 2016

Trib+Water is joining with respected books authority Kirkus Reviews to bring you select reviews of books of note in the field of water studies. For more book reviews and recommendations, visit Kirkus.com.

THE CURE FOR CATASTROPHE: How We Can Stop Manufacturing Natural Disasters

by Robert Muir-Wood

Common sense teaches that advancing technology will reduce harm from hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, and fires, but the opposite is happening, writes Muir-Wood (Earthquakes and Volcanoes, 1987, etc.), founding editor of Terra Nova and chief research officer of Risk Management Solutions, in this sensible polemic that warns that matters will continue to deteriorate unless big changes happen. “Disasters are determined by what we build, where we choose to live, how we prepare, and how we communicate warnings,” writes the author, who ably explores the history of disasters and their many commonalities. Readers will find it hard to stop reading this excellent book and will share the author’s perhaps futile yearning that elected officials have the courage to pass inconvenient laws and spend the electorate’s money to prevent disasters.

For the full review, visit kirkus.com.