The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet, Hardcover

"'The Great Quake' explains how one of North America's worst recent natural disasters led to a fascinating insight. Henry Fountain offers a gripping tale of loss, heroism, and, ultimately, discovery." --Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction "Henry Fountain knows earthquakes, and he knows how to spin a yarn. 'The Great Quake' is the fascinating result. It takes meticulous research and real narrative skill to tell a story that moves this fast yet still feels so complete. The book shines on two levels: as a portrait of two quirky frontier communities before, during and after a stunning disaster, and as the story of an unpretentious geologist whose brilliant analysis of the great quake's causes provided crucial backing for one of the biggest ideas in all of science." --Dan Fagin, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Tom's River "For five terrifying minutes in 1964, the earth shook beneath Anchorage, Alaska. It devastated the city, and towns and villages throughout the state. In this fast-paced, engaging account of that disaster, Henry Fountain tells us what it was like to be there. His interviews with fortunate survivors bear witness to the pluck and determination of the human spirit--and reveals the better side of our natures in times of crisis. Read this book to better understand nature's power--and our human resilience. Fountain's riveting, 'you were there' account pulls you in, and keeps you turning the pages to find out who survived--and how." --Virginia Morell, author of Animal Wise, a NY Times bestseller. "Riveting. Science journalism at its best--lucid, clear, engaging, and authoritative. My hands were shaking after reading his description of the havoc and raw fury unleashed by mother nature in a 9. 0 earthquake." --Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics and New York Times bestselling author of The Future of the Mind In the bestselling tradition of Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm, The Great Quake is a riveting narrative about the