Inventing disaster : the culture of calamity from the Jamestown colony to the Johnstown flood / Cynthia A. Kierner

Author:: Kierner, Cynthia A., 1958-
Published:: Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2019]
Copyright Date:: ©2019
Physical Description:: xiii, 285 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Availability

Finding items...

Contents:

Devastation without disaster -- Narrating disaster -- Catastrophe in an age of Enlightenment -- Benevolent empire -- Disaster nation -- Exploding steamboats and the culture of calamity.

Summary:

"When hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other disasters strike, we count our losses, search for causes, commiserate with victims, and initiate relief efforts. Amply illustrated and expansively researched, 'Inventing Disaster' explains the origins and development of this predictable, even ritualized, culture of calamity over three centuries, exploring its roots in the revolutions in science, information, and emotion that were part of the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and America"--

Subject(s):

1600-1899
Disasters—North Atlantic Region—History—18th century
Disasters—North Atlantic Region—History—19th century
Disasters—North Atlantic Region—History—17th century
Disasters—Social aspects—History
Disasters—Political aspects—History
Disasters
Disasters—Social aspects
North Atlantic Region

Genre(s):

History

ISBN:

9781469652511 hardcover
146965251X hardcover

Bibliography Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-273) and index.

View MARC record | catkey: 28926068