Handbook of Disaster Research (Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research)
From the reviews:"The Handbook of Disaster Research will, without a doubt, be the most important publication of its type during this decade. Just about everyone who is anyone in the disaster research community has shared their knowledge on the important topics of the day. The authors and the publisher are to be congratulated for completing the book that will be widely sought after by practitioners, researchers and students of disaster planning and response. Thank you for this outstanding contribution to the field."Henry W. Fischer III, Director, Center for Disaster Research & Education, Millersville University"The Handbook of Disaster Research will generate considerable excitement amongst international disaster research and management professionals. Finally, a volume that takes on the task of articulating and unpacking the many social complexities of modern disasters and catastrophes. By taking a multi-disciplinary perspective, the Handbook addresses the very pressing need to better understand the social dimensions of disaster. Analyses of key social-psychological concepts, such as risk and uncertainty, stand beside sociological assessments of class, community, organisation, technology and the media. It is academically weighty, boasting contributions from world-leading scholars. Yet, the Handbook offers a very balanced set of analyses that will undoubtedly appeal to not only the researcher, but the practitioner and the policy-maker alike."Dr. Derek Bopping, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Department of Defence, Australia"This is an amazing handbook. An impressive array of authors, including practitioners as well as academics, provide intellectual depth and breadth on disaster, risk, and uncertainty. A "must have" for anyone who wants to know the cutting edges of disaster research. TheHandbook of Disaster Researchis unlike any other handbook I’ve seen. It covers "the field," but does a great deal more than that. For it is provocative and creative, each chapter providing much, much more than mere "coverage." By this I mean the authors present and develop new ideas, about disaster, risk, uncertainty, warning, or, more generally, social behavior. This is not surprising when you look at the list of individual authors. Luminaries in their fields, they represent some of the most creative thinkers in the social sciences today. It is surprising, however, to find so much creativity in a Handbook. The editors have done a superb job. I’m impressed, too, with the breadth of expertise that is represented. Practitioners as well as academics, the "old guard" of disaster research as well as the young, rising stars, and the refreshing appearance of scholars from places other than the United States. I need this book on my shelf."Lee Clarke, Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyAuthor of Worst Cases: Terror and Catastrophe