Acts of God
Subtitle: the unnatural history of natural disaster in America
By: Ted Steinberg
Edition: 2nd ed
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 309
ISBN-13: 9780195309683
Subjects: Natural disasters -- United States -- History; Emergency management -- United States -- History; Disaster relief -- United States -- History
Description: "As the waters of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain began to pour into New Orleans, people began asking the big question--could any of this have been avoided? How much of the damage from Hurricane Katrina was bad luck, and how much was poor city planning? [This book] is a provocative history of natural disasters in the United States. This revised edition features a new chapter analyzing the failed response to Hurricane Katrina, a disaster Steinberg warned could happen when the book was first published. Focusing on America's worst natural disasters, Steinberg argues that it is wrong to see these tragedies as random outbursts of nature's violence or expressions of divine judgment. He reveals how the decisions of business leaders and government officials have paved the way for greater losses of life and property, especially among those least able to withstand such blows--America's poor, elderly, and minorities. Seeing nature or God as the primary culprit, Steinberg explains, has helped to hide the fact that some Americans are simply better able to protect themselves from the violence of nature than others."--Page 4 of cover.
Notes: "This edition first issued in paperback, 2006"--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-292) and index