Abstract

Marc Reisner expands on his previous work, The Cadillac Desert (1987), by exploring California’s seismic risk profile, as conditioned by decades of decisions on land use, water use development, built-infrastructure, planning, and emergency management. In A Dangerous Place: California’s Unsettling Fate (2003), Reisner takes the reader through the historical antecedents to a hypothetical 7.2M seismic release along the Hayward fault line. He discusses the inherent friability of the built-infrastructure and the social institutions created to respond to high consequence seismic events. He questions the logic that has allowed California citizens to overextend themselves stating, “rather than settle its human hordes where its water is and earthquake zone aren’t (sic), [California] has done the opposite” (2003:6). The nation’s emergency management community understands these themes well. Reisner though is able to instill in the reader a sense of awe regarding the cataclysmic forces of nature awaiting Californians and the effects they will have on the country as a whole.

Recommended Citation

Roper, Roy E. Ph.D. and Goodzey, Catherine (2005) "Book Review: A Dangerous Place: California's Unsettling Fate," Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 2 : Iss. 1, Article 12.
DOI: 10.2202/1547-7355.1100
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/jhsem/vol2/iss1/12