{"product_id":"earthquakes-in-human-history-jelle-zeilinga-de-boer-9780691283944","title":"Earthquakes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Seismic Disruptions","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn November 1, 1755--All Saints' Day--a massive earthquake struck Europe's Iberian Peninsula and destroyed the city of Lisbon. Churches collapsed upon thousands of worshippers celebrating the holy day. \u003ci\u003eEarthquakes in Human History\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of that calamity and other epic earthquakes. The authors, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, recapture the power of their previous book, \u003ci\u003eVolcanoes in Human History\u003c\/i\u003e. They vividly explain the geological processes responsible for earthquakes, and they describe how these events have had long-lasting aftereffects on human societies and cultures. Their accounts are enlivened with quotations from contemporary literature and from later reports. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the chaos following the Lisbon quake, government and church leaders vied for control. The Marquês de Pombal rose to power and became a virtual dictator. As a result, the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order lost much of its influence in Portugal. Voltaire wrote his satirical work \u003ci\u003eCandide\u003c\/i\u003e to refute the philosophy of \"optimism,\" the belief that God had created a perfect world. And the 1755 earthquake sparked the search for a scientific understanding of natural disasters. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRanging from an examination of temblors mentioned in the Bible, to a richly detailed account of the 1906 catastrophe in San Francisco, to Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, to the Peruvian earthquake in 1970 (the Western Hemisphere's greatest natural disaster), this book is an unequaled testament to a natural phenomenon that can be not only terrifying but also threatening to humankind's fragile existence, always at risk because of destructive powers beyond our control.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jelle Zeilinga de Boer,Donald Theodore Sanders\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 069128394X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691283944\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/31\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Jelle Zeilinga de Boer","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47965975412991,"sku":"9780691283944","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_bdd04e4d-85ff-4946-9959-d9811a67dc15.jpg?v=1767286079","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/earthquakes-in-human-history-jelle-zeilinga-de-boer-9780691283944","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}