Description
Book SynopsisTracing the history of seismology and the rise of the regulatory state and of environmental awareness, California Earthquakes tells how earthquake-hazard management came about, why some groups assisted and others fought it, and how scientists and engineers helped shape it.
Trade ReviewCalifornia Earthquakes is a provocative and accessible history of science, technology, and politics in a particular natural environment. Environmental History Highly recommended to a wide variety of readers. In a broader sense than its earthquake theme, it is an absorbing account of an important component of the development of California. Geschwind writes with an attractive style, some humor, and knows how to thread intriguing anecdotes. Earth Sciences History Geschwind, like no other, tells the story of a full spectrum of human responses to earthquakes in California. Topics are seamlessly interwoven in historical context... Dealing constructively with California earthquakes in the future should be enhanced through the understanding and appreciation of the historical aspects so well presented in this book. Choice This carefully researched book provides new knowledge about a group of scientific experts who are not normally associated with Progressivism. In the process of examining the history of this group of technocratic reformers, Geschwind persuasively shows how the regulatory state has come to play the single greatest role in insulating Californians from the risk of seismic disaster. Journal of American History [A] thorough and well-documented study... This book is an important benchmark for understanding the historical context of [the scientific community's] work, and provides insights into how scientific policy and funding programs are formed. Western Historical Quarterly Well written, tightly structured, and carefully researched. Contemporary Disaster Review
Table of ContentsContents: Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Reactions to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 Chapter 2: Setting Up a Scientific Infrastructure - Seismology California Style, 1910-1925 Chapter 3: Bailey Willis and the Promotion of Earthquake Safety in the Mid-1920s Chapter 4: Engineering a Regulatory-State Apparatus - Seismic Safety in the 1930s Chapter 5: Earthquake Experts and the Cold War State Chapter 6: New Initiatives for Earthquake Preparedness, 1964-1971 Chapter 7: Seismic Politics - Responses to the San Fernando Earthquake of 1971 Chapter 8: Pushing Prediction - Establishment of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Chapter 9: The Regulatory-State Apparatus in Action Abbreviations Notes Essay on Sources Index
