Book Review: "the big one"

"The Big One"
By Jake Page & Charles Officer
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company
2004

I checked this out from my local library. Not bad in a basic way. It is an interesting if slightly disjointed review of the history of seismology, with an emphasis on the New Madrid quakes of 1811.

The book shows a lot of promise, but unfortunately it does not deliver on some important questions.

For instance, an analysis of the comparative damage if the 1811 quakes were to repeat themselves would be interesting.

Some discussion of the impact of soil liquefaction would be nice.

Overall, I'd give it 2.5 out of a possible five stars. Worth a read just for some basic understanding of the history of seismology.