Title: Acts of God
First published: 2000
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.
Subjects: Emergency management, Natural disasters, Disaster relief, History, Catastrophes naturelles, Histoire, Gestion des situations d'urgence, Secours aux victimes de catastrophes, NATURE, SOCIAL SCIENCE, Disasters & Disaster Relief, Planning
Places: United States
LC classification: GB5007 .S74 2000