Secure A Copy The Great Quake: How The Biggest Earthquake In North America Changed Our Understanding Of The Planet By Henry Fountain Released As Hardcover

went into this book expecting it would be about a great earthquake, stories from real life witnesses, and interviews with scientific minds to study and explain a major earthquake in modern history.
Its got a New York Times Editors Choice, so its got to be good,

Wrong.

This book contains,chapters of earthquake stories from Alaska, and the rest meanders through the lives of various geologists and geophysicists.
These stories weave a loose history of earthquake research, which, while interesting, dont seem to follow a linear path to the conclusion.


Overall, the book is educational, but I really didnt need to know how the mentor of a geologist who arrived at the location after the earthquake, died randomly in the Alaskan wilderness.
It was a Friday evening in April ofwhen the most powerful earthquake known struck the Prince William Sound coastal areas of Alaska.
The shaking lasted an eternity but it was the tsunamis that struck afterwards that likely did most of the killing as many were swept out into the ocean, their bodies never to be found.


At the time, plate

tectonics was barely a science, In fact, it was still a theory that was disputed by many geologists and earthquake specialists but in this instance, geologists were able to get into the area even as remote as some parts were and take immediate readings as well as conduct interviews.


Fountain, in turn, is able to provide that professional interpretation of the facts and the eventually development of the plate tectonic theory that has revealed that the earth beneath our feet is not so solid along with the personal touch and connections with the scientists and local people as they tried to overcome the tragedy and rebuild their towns and lives.


Not necessarily for the expert in the area but certainly for those interested in the science.
I found it very readable and chapters seemed to flow quickly, It was also interesting to see how focused George Plafker was regarding getting the facts which in his opinion supported the theory of tectonics in front of other scientists.


Since that day, the Good Friday as it came to be known Alaskan quake is still the most powerful quake to happen in North American recorded history and is second only to the Valdivia, Chile quake of.


A high octane read! One that will have you rockin' and a rollin!

Must read for all interested in earthquakes and geology! I was expecting to read about several eyewitness accounts of the great Alaskan earthquake on Good Friday,.
Much to my delight and surprise, the book is chockful of scientific theories and eventual acceptance of those theories.
I learned so much! Chenega had a population of aroundfolks, Thank goodness, they did not have more, To have the ground shake in the manner that it did, . for a full five minutes, Holy mackerelly! Second largest quake in modern times,

Still! It tells the human side of the story as well, The story of the one room school teacher to those on a ship, . docked and unloading. . Most of the stories are from those that lived in the little village of Chenega, Many other stories are told as well, . Those that lived in Anchorage, . to the many coastal areas all over the world that were hit with tsunami waves brought about by the Great Quake.


This story was a must read for me, My Uncle, Aunt and cousins lived in Anchorage when the Great Quake hit, As they were young. . and going from one Adrenalin rush to another that day, . I just wanted to read other's accounts to find out if the events were as they remembered it.
Now, I see. . how much they were shielded from learning by the elders, My cousins were little fellows at the time, They were lucky to not have been as deeply impacted mentally and physically as so many others were during the quake and multiple tsunamis that hit that day, in March of.
A fine book, wellwritten, with interesting characters and human drama, This might be a good present for teenaged aspiring scientists, but only if the scientist's parents don't mind you putting ideas into their heads about heading out to remote areas of the world which, even today, may not have a cell phone signal but may have terrifying earthquakes at any moment.
And bears.

But I also felt that the book was a bit of a tease, promising a conflict that it didn't deliver.
Specifically, I felt led to believe that the author would tell us the reallife story of a plucky scientific outsider George Plafker who took on a hidebound establishment to champion a theory continental drift which is accepted as truth today but was previously viewed as incorrect, perhaps even ludicrously silly.
That's not what happens. By the time Plafker comes along, he's pushing on an open door, Although there were still “stabilists” in the irony towers of science prior to the Alaska earthquake, Plafker's work of a lifetime which seems considerable and impressive did not spark a revolutionary change of scientific framework as much as drive the longawaited final coffin nails into the stabilist theory.


I have a lot of respect for nonfiction writers who write of events, like this one, that happenyears previously.
At that particular distance in time, it is likely the last time that some witnesses will be around to be recorded and described, and to return to the place where the most dramatic events of their lives took place.
Writers like this are preserving something genuinely precious about our experience, I hope that whatever notes and recordings were made for this book find their way into the corner of some university library.


I received uncorrected electronic galley copy of this book free of charge for review, Thanks to sitelinkPenguin Random House and sitelinkNetgalley for the free stuff, Thanks to Crown and Edelweiss for the advance copy, I was somewhat familiar with theAlaskan quake, as a friend lived through it, but it was interesting to hear more of the geology and geophysics behind it.
Rather technical in parts, but worth the read, More travelogue than science. I enjoyed the passages about Alaska and the people, The book is well written and interesting but for me too much human interest stories, not enough about science.


.Stars rounded down not quite enough about the scientific findings

Read on kindle Best book of the year so far.
The science was fascinating, well written and fast paced, I received this book through a Good Reads "First Reads" Giveaway, A very entertaining read, Fountain covers not just the earthquake that struck Alaska on March,, but also explores the evolution of the theory of plate tectonics and the history of several of the communities e.
g. , Anchorage, Valdez, and particularly the small village of Chenega hardest hit by the devastating quake and/or the resulting tsunamis.
The author is equally adept at capturing the terror and destruction of the disaster itself and explaining how scientists' understanding of the underlying causes of earthquakes evolved and how thequake contributed to that understanding.
I received an uncorrected proof and assume the print version will have pictures whereas the proof did not I did find some photos that were taken of Anchorage after the quake and it further put the magnitude of this disaster in perspective, they are quite unnerving.
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