Disaster! A History of Earthquakes, Floods, Plagues, and Other Catastrophes

This readable history breaks a long lineup of disasters into digestible chunks. About half the book is “natural” disasters: volcanoes, famines, plagues, weather, and the like. Then, it segues into the sort of catastrophe that is the result of humankind's cruelty to humankind (and vice versa), involving trains, planes, automobiles, warfare, explosions, and so on.

(Extracted from Natural Hazards Observer, May 2010).