Global Catastrophes (Very Short Introductions)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: January 26, 2006
Number of pages: 144
ISBN-13: 9780192804938
First sentence: We are so used to seeing on our television screens the battered remains of cities pounded by earthquakes or the thousands of terrified refugees escaping from yet another volcanic blast that they no longer hold any surprise or fear for us, insulated as we are by distance and a lack of true empathy.