Forewarned is Forearmed: Review of Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards and Risk Reduction in the Modern World by Timothy H. Dixon (2017)

Abstract

Timothy H. Dixon. 2017. Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards and Risk Reduction in the Modern World. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press) 300 pp. ISBN 978-1108113663. Curbing Catastrophe for the most part lives up to what is claimed in the foreword: “…a compelling account of recent and historical disasters, both natural and human-caused, drawing on common themes and providing a holistic understanding of hazards, disasters, and mitigation for anyone interested in this important and topical subject.” This is a pretty thorough treatment of an extraordinarily complex subject, and the gaps identified in this review should be considered explications more than criticisms.

Keywords

• natural hazards
• relative risk
• risk reduction
• environmental numeracy