Citation:
Abstract:
“The three volumes in this excellent set cover 100 natural and man-made disasters occurring since 1900, beginning with a hurricane in Galveston and ending with faulty ignitions in General Motors vehicles.” — American Reference Books Annual
Introduction
Doomed: The Science Behind Disasters offers readers insight into the underlying science explaining some the most significant and newsworthy disasters in the modern industrial and technological era. The topics selected provide content that stimulates interest while igniting a passion for deeper inquiry. Most precisely, article content is designed to spur critical thinking by articulating the differences between correlation and causation-a fundamental conceptual base essential to the study of history, social science, and physical science.
Doomed is also designed to be an enduring reference, the articles a continuing resource for readers as their exposure to science and history deepens...
Because incidents of terrorism and war often result in multiple failures-some of which are classified or remain unknown because of the nature and scale of such acts-the editors have chosen to exclude disasters for which the initial act or cause was clearly an act of terror or war. For that reason, Doomed< does not include entries on the bombing and subsequent collapse of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, nor to the damage to nearly 324 buildings surrounding the explosion. Similarly, Doomed does not contain specific entries on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Out of respect for the complexity of these tragedies and others related to war and terrorism, the editors have attempted to avoid even the tacit characterization of such tragedies as accidents, or to in any way imply that the responsibility for the death and destruction related to such acts lies with any other party other than the perpetrators. -- Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, editors. Cambridge, MA, and London, U.K. February 2015.