books about: disasters

books about: disasters

books:

Disasters

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Naomi Klein

Picador, 2008

Eye opening
I would describe myself as reasonably well informed, economically literate, a Wall Street investor and Democrat. I found this book eye-opening, although I believe Klein is pushing a point of view which is frequently incorrect; e.g. privatization is not always bad, ...

Anathem

Neal Stephenson

William Morrow, 2008

Neal Stephenson's best yet
As a member of the Long Now Foundation, I'm totally biased. I loved this book. It's been a couple of weeks since I finished reading the Anathem, and I am still discussing it and the concepts it brings up with my friends. Note: The beginning of the book moves a ...

Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse: A Novel of the Turbulent Near Future (Expanded and Updated 33 ...

James Wesley Rawles

Xlibris Corporation, 2006

TEOTWAWKI
Much has been written about this book, both pro and con, over the years. What it is, is an excellent survival handbook, written in a very readable, fictional format. What it isn't, is a literary classic. I have heard people comment about it's lack of sophistication ...

When Technology Fails (Revised & Expanded): A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the ...

Matthew Stein

Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008

Preparing for "CHAOS" in the United States.
This manual guides one toward survival, when technology fails.....and it will, it's only a matter of time now. It has already begun. Most people cannot hunt, grow food, or recognize anything growing in the wild that would help them survive, if they needed to. The ...

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

Timothy Egan

Mariner Books, 2006

The American dust bowl and the grit and gumption of those who will never forget
Subtitled "The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl", this 2006 non-fiction account of this American tragedy is historical writing at its best. The author is a Pulitizer Prize winning reporter for the New York Times. I loved his simple but ...

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Erik Larson

Vintage, 2000

I've always said the Weatherman prevails even when he's wrong{{
Erik Larson has documented an extraordinary narrative of an epic storm which killed over 6,000 people and wiped out the City of Galveston, Texas. Here we find Isaac Cline employed as the resident U.S. Weather meteorologist failing to warn the residents of ...

When All Hell Breaks Loose

Cody Lundin

Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2007

very helpful for planning
With the dollar being devalued, banks closing and oil prices rising I fear the inevitable. This book is quite helpful in helping myself and my family get organized with very helpful ideas.

CISSP Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, 4th Ed. (All-in-One)

Shon Harris

McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2007

Wouldn't have passed without it!
I can honestly say that if it weren't for this book I probably would not have passed my CISSP exam. Unlike other prep-guides, Shon engages the reader and keeps their attention. Also, this book doesn't read like a "read this book and pass an exam" book. It reads like a ...

Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival

Jack A. Spigarelli

Cross-Current Pub., 2002

Packed full of information - a valued addition to any preparedness library
This is a very insightful and well constructed book. There is a TON of information. It does lean heavily on food storage, dedicating nearly 2/3 of its 315 pages to various facets of food (production, preservation, storage). The remaining 100+ pages discuss things ...

Blindness (Harvest Book)

Jose Saramago

Harvest Books, 1999

Very strong and disturbing story
This book definetely will bring up a reaction from its readers. The narration style gives the impression that the reader is watching the story evolve in front of them, a clever approach given the subject. The part of the story which takes place in the hospital is ...

The Johnstown Flood

David McCullough

Simon & Schuster, 1987

Tells the Story Vividly; Grapples with the Larger Social Issues Raised by the Flood
There is a saying, not original to me, that events are of record, but reality is a construct. McCullough does the research necessary to state the essential facts of this historical event. This is no mean task, given all the disinformation and misinformation in the ...

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Jon Krakauer

Anchor, 1999

Who's got more credibility?
It's interesting to read all of the articles criticizing Jon Krakauer, saying he painted himself in a heroic light, that his book is a giant ego trip, and that Anatoli Boukreev's book is so much more accurate. Many of these so called experts seem to assume that the ...

Life As We Knew It

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Harcourt Paperbacks, 2008

Great Book!
This book is so interesting. I am reading it aloud to my middle school grandchildren. We are all enjoying it. What a page turner!

Alas, Babylon

Pat Frank

Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005

Reqd reading in High School
I remember reading this in High School and I have been looking to pick it up for a re-read.

High Performance MySQL: Optimization, Backups, Replication, and More

Baron Schwartz, Peter Zaitsev, ...

O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2008

Excellent book for advanced users
The title of this book is very appropriate. Great coverage on performance, reliability, backup & recovery. Definitely not an introductory book. There were a couple of places where the writing was hard to follow, but I'm sure that'll be fixed in the next printing.