A good book about natural disasters, but at times got a little didactic. Some of the jargon was unknown to me, as I am not overly into Science, but at the same time if was interesting and hard to put down. Would recommend.

Ms. Ellen Prager, a marine scientist formerly with the University of Miami’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, in her engaging and at times downright scary book, sets out what the scientific community both knows and does not know with regard to natural calamities. The violent forces of Nature covered by Ms. Prager in her book are Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Hurricanes - not necessarily in that order.

Although the book comes with some spectacular illustrations, I could not enjoy any of them since my review was based on an Advance Reviewer Copy, but the gripping narrative more than made up for such a loss. Ms. Prager begins every Chapter with a monumental "trigger" event before dwelling in depth upon the scientific details of the catastrophe itself. The detailed narration on the melting of the Arctic glacier and the eruption on Mount St Helena make for some remarkable reading!

I have had this book for a while on my virtual shelf, and I finally got around to reading it. I had to chip away at it initially, chapter by chapter till I got the groove going. It was not what I expected it to be. The author has a very engaging mode of communications and for the most part, impartially provides us with the required information.

The book collects many of the things we are afraid of when it comes to Nature and the fact that it can be beyond our control or even understanding. There is information about climate change, volcanoes, tornadoes and the like and also a random few paragraphs of Sharks and their interactions with humans. Initially, the examples provided to us with specific cases are from all over the world. Towards the end, it is very US-centric, something I expected, so it is not detrimental to my reaction to the book. First, we are given an event or sequence of events, and then we are taken further into the mechanics of the damage and what the consequences are. There are a lot of scientific facts involved, but it is simply put and has enough nuggets to keep a healthy debate or conversation going with anyone equally interested. I just felt the flow of topics was a little haphazard, but that might be just me.

For anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the vagaries of Nature, or even the list of things science does not know about predicting calamities, this is a perfect book. It is not a very dense or large book and can be read within a short interval if you are used to reading non-fiction.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

If Earth had a free will and the ability to make choices, it might almost seem that at times our world strikes back in retribution. In reality, complacency on our part can invite disaster. “Dangerous Earth” by Dr. Ellen Prager takes us on a journey through the many different ways our world can show off its power.

A book like this could be dry and merely repeat all the right statistics, describing in detail what has happened and what could occur in the future. Dr. Prager injects the feeling of danger in each chapter, and at times it feels like one disaster movie after another. From hurricanes to volcanoes to earthquakes to mudslides, the lessons of the past are laid in front of us. The author discusses how each disaster comes about, explaining without getting bogged down in a mountain of technical terms. One can expect to learn a bit of history along with the facts and suggestions of how to keep yourself safe in the future.

I warn all non-believers of climate change that there is an entire chapter devoted to it, and roughly 25% of the book touches on the subject. As with all the other chapters, Dr. Prager is passionate about her work, and presents a strong argument for those who believe climate change is a hoax.

There is a huge “Further Reading” section in the back of the book, listing the books/articles/websites the author used. The entries are alphabetized within each chapter heading, making it easy to research the original information.

I thoroughly enjoyedf this book. It had all the information of a well-written textbook written in an entertaining form. This can be a challenge, and Dr. Prager handles it wonderfully. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and University of Chicago Press for a complimentary ebook of this title.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC!

In Ellen Prager's "Dangerous Earth" readers are guided through chapters dedicated to threats we fear: climate change, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and rogue waves. Prager also includes sobering facts about the loss of permafrost, rising ocean temperatures, coral death, mud flows, earthquake swarms, landslides, rip currents, and sinkholes. Each chapter includes famous examples of these events, what knowledge science has about these events, and concludes by outlining what we don't know. Discussing the gaps in our knowledge, Prager writes: "Maybe the biggest unknown is this: what will we do? Will emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases be reduced, hold steady, or escalate? Will policies be put in place to promote the development of carbon-capturing technologies and the use of alternative energies? People were ingenious enough to discover and take advantage of fossil fuels; we are equally capable now of fixing the problems burning carbon has led to. But it is going to take political will and fundamental changes to society and our way of life." If this seems grim, readers will be happy to know that we do learn and improve with each disaster. modifying prediction models, increasing evacuation times, adding new technology (like drones), and helping to prevent damage and save lives.

Highly informative

I enjoyed this book. It is highly informative but in the early goings it read like a textbook, with no real relationship between the author and reader. As the book progressed, however, I got to see more of Ellen Prager in her writing, and enjoyed that. Other strong points of the book were Prager’s discussion of what we don’t know and her use of examples to illustrate some of the concept. This book covers fewer areas but in more depth than books such as “End Times” by Bryan Walsh and “Earth-shattering” by Bob Berman. Overall, Pager’s book is a good read.

This book was written on very elementary level and has been simplified to a large extent below the interest of serious readers. I would recommend this book for teenagers but not for adults.

This was a fantastic crash course in all things natural and climatology related disasters. This got to me almost as much as Uninhabitable Earth which was a late read for me in 2019. I think perhaps these two books should be read together for a better understanding about disasters that effect the planet because each is scientific, fact-based and well researched. I'm really trying to educate myself through reading and books like this about natural and climatology disasters which are closely related. I find it scary, shocking and fascinating all at the same time.

This makes me want to read Ellen Prager's other nonfiction works if it is as good as this one and related. Highly suggested for people that want to learn about climate change and natural disasters related to the planet like myself.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ellen Prager, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

***I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.***

This is an interesting and important read for anyone, but it could be difficult for non-science folks to follow at times. What I loved in particular was the authors ability to compare common things to things we might not be able to comprehend. For example, the size of the ice shelf or glaciers. Without seeing them, you might not be able to understand how huge they really are. But when the author compares it to the size of Delaware, it puts it into perspective.
I also loved that while this is a scientific book, it didn’t feel like a mundane textbook and there are even some bits of humor in it.
This is a really important read to understand the global crisis we all are facing and the author did a great job laying it out.

Very good book about environmental science and natural disasters. Each chapter is centered around a destructive force - volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tsunamis. Dr Prager mentions "famous" examples for each catastrophe and describes the unknown factors and complexity of the mechanisms that make it so hard to accurately predict natural disasters.

Inconsistent Bordering On Hypocritical. This book is divided into just five chapters - Climate Change, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and (effectively "Other") Rogue Waves, Landslides, Rip Currents, Sinkholes, and Sharks. Thus, there really is a considerable amount of detail put into explaining each phenomenon and purportedly what is known and unknown and wished to be known about each. The analysis is largely lacking, however, and Prager tends to blame everything on climate change, which she speaks of in absolutist terms. (Indeed, at least twice she outright claims there is "no credible scientific debate" on the issue, despite there being quite a bit.) She tends to blame the rising costs of coastal damage in particular on her preferred bogeyman, despite at least one other work published within the last year (Geography of Risk by Gilbert Saul) building a compelling case that it is actually an increase in coastal development that has led to much of the rising cost of coastal damages - quite simply, there wasn't much on the coasts a century ago to *be* damaged. But Prager doesn't even consider this factor at all.

Where she seemingly is unaware of her inconsistency bordering on hypocrisy is when she claims repeatedly that we have more than enough information in the historical record to "confirm" climate change... yet claims with near the same frequency when discussing volcanoes and earthquakes that we simply don't have enough information in the *geologic* historical record to be able to make any significant determinations. Hmmm...

Recommended for the mostly detailed discussions, but be prepared to have about a boulder of salt in some passages.

(I don't remember if this publisher requested it, but just in case, some legalese that I despise but try to tag on when requested: This book publishes in March 2020 and I am writing this review 10 days before Christmas 2019. Thus, this is very obviously an Advance Review Copy. All opinions are completely my own and freely given.)

I really enjoyed this book. It has the right mix of narrative and hard science, adding a bit of wonder to the extremes of our world. I learned a lot and I feel like this is an easily accessible way to get an intro to environmental science.