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The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith

by David L Ulin

The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith Cover

ISBN13: 9780143035251
ISBN10: 0143035258
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

From the first earthquake David L. Ulin experienced in San Francisco at age eighteen, he was fascinated with the daily lives of Californians, who seem to be going about their business with just an occasional rumbling interruption. But these tectonic shifts could easily wreak cataclysmic havoc, just as they did in the great earthquake of 1906. In The Myth of Solid Ground, Ulin explores how an unlikely collection of scientists, psychics, and apocalyptics have made startlingly accurate earthquake predictions based on everything from magnetic fields to the behavior of whales. In the end, Ulin uses the world of earthquake prediction to explore the deep fault lines of belief and the human longing to hold control, no matter how misguided, over a mysterious and deadly phenomenon that is as much a part of California as speed, youth, and celebrity.

Synopsis:

Ulin explores how an unlikely collection of scientists, psychics, and apocalyptics have made startlingly accurate earthquake predictions based on everything from magnetic fields to the behavior of whales.

Synopsis:

Earthquakes are one of the great unsolved geological mysteries. Attempts to predict them have ranged from studies of Californias fault lines by USGS geologists to the work of an odd assortment of psychics and apocalyptics who base their sometimes startlingly accurate forecasts on everything from changes in the earths magnetic fields to the behavior of whales. The Myth of Solid Ground is a journey, both personal and cultural, through the world of earthquakes and earthquake prediction, one that seeks a middle ground between science and superstition, while also looking for a larger context in which seismicity might make sense. An excellent primer on the science of seismology, The Myth of Solid Ground looks at earthquakes as the ultimate metaphor for living with impending disaster.

About the Author

A subtle, personal and adventurous exploration of what an immense natural phenomenon means in our culture at large. (Los Angeles Times)

Table of Contents

Three April Earthquakes

The X-Files

A Brief History of Seismology

Earthquake Country

Before and After Science

Shaking All Over

East of Eden

The Unified Field Theory of Everything

The Myth of Solid Ground

Index

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Andrea Cumbo, March 30, 2008 (view all comments by Andrea Cumbo)
s proof positive that you can readably combine research and reflection. His books studies earthquake myths and the people who create them, including Cloud Man, who believes that certain kinds of clouds are released from the earth’s crust just before an earthquake. But Ulin also delves into the science behind earthquakes and the way that trained scientists, particularly those at the U.S. Geological Survey try to predict and prepare for earthquakes.



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Product Details

ISBN:
9780143035251
Author:
Ulin, David L
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Author:
Ulin, David L.
Subject:
General
Subject:
Earthquakes & Volcanoes
Subject:
Earth Sciences - Seismology & Volcanism
Subject:
Geology-Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Edition Description:
Mass Market
Publication Date:
20050831
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
from 12
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
7.66x5.22x.55 in. .46 lbs.
Age Level:
from 18

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The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith Used Trade Paper
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Product details 304 pages Penguin Books - English 9780143035251 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , Ulin explores how an unlikely collection of scientists, psychics, and apocalyptics have made startlingly accurate earthquake predictions based on everything from magnetic fields to the behavior of whales.

"Synopsis" by , Earthquakes are one of the great unsolved geological mysteries. Attempts to predict them have ranged from studies of Californias fault lines by USGS geologists to the work of an odd assortment of psychics and apocalyptics who base their sometimes startlingly accurate forecasts on everything from changes in the earths magnetic fields to the behavior of whales. The Myth of Solid Ground is a journey, both personal and cultural, through the world of earthquakes and earthquake prediction, one that seeks a middle ground between science and superstition, while also looking for a larger context in which seismicity might make sense. An excellent primer on the science of seismology, The Myth of Solid Ground looks at earthquakes as the ultimate metaphor for living with impending disaster.
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