image: This is the Stromboli volcano (Lipari Islands) during its mild eruption. view more
Credit: The Illustrated History of Natural Disasters
At the forefront of The Illustrated History of Natural Disasters are the fascinating depictions of famous disasters that occurred from the 14th to the 20th centuries. These include those at Basel in 1356, Tokyo in 1650, Constantinople in 1762, as well as the eruption of Etna in 1669 and the San Francisco earthquakes of 1868 and 1909. The authors move on into the era of living memory too, covering a variety of more recent earthquakes with consequences still felt today.
This richly illustrated pictorial history of natural disasters has been composed from a large selection of images from a wide variety of sources, mostly private collections. These include reproductions of rare engravings, maps both old and new, sketches, and diagrams. The individual full-page reproductions give historical views of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, landslides and rock falls. The illustrations are accompanied by text describing the geophysical and historical background of the disasters, the origin of each of the engravings and stories behind the events.
The text of the book goes much further, introducing the reader to the development of the modern view on the dynamical manifestations of the Earth, its structure, and the internal forces that create the conditions for catastrophic events. This is complemented and enriched by maps together with selected larger plates illustrating the early conceptions of the Earth. Finally, the authors present a chronological record of the major milestones in the development of seismology.
Both authors are senior research scientists at the Geophysical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Jan Kozák was originally engaged in laboratory seismology and later moved to historical studies in seismology and volcanology. In addition to his scientific work, he has been an ardent collector of old prints; within the last 40 years he collected one of the world largest series – over 2,300 pre-photographic depictions of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.
Vladimír Čermák is an internationally recognized expert in geothermics. He pioneered the basic heat flow studies in Europe and is the author and co-author of several books, atlases and over 200 papers published in various international geological and geophysical journals. Cermák is the current President of the Czech National Committee of Geodesy and Geophysics.
J. Kozák, V. Čermák
The Illustrated History of Natural Disasters
2010. 203 p. 129 illus., 92 in color.
Hardcover, €69,95, $89.95, £49.99
ISBN 978-90-481-3324-6