Synopses & Reviews
Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, pandemics, cosmic radiation, gamma bursts from space, colliding comets, and asteroids - these catastrophic events have become a common part of our culture. Are natural calamities now more probable, and more frequent? Are things getting worse? Are we part of the problem? If so, what can we do about it?
Award-winning writer Marq de Villiers examines these questions at a time when there is an urgent need to understand the perils that confront us, and to prepare for - and perhaps prevent - the disasters when they come. The End is a brilliant and challenging look at what lies ahead, and at what we can do to influence our future.
Review
Praise for Water
“Thoroughly readable . . . It will be fascinating to consult this book as the years pass.” —The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
“De Villierss important, compelling, highly readable report on the looming global water crisis sounds a wake-up call for concerned citizens, environmentalists, policymakers, and water-drinkers everywhere.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Sahara
“A lyrical portrait of a vast, exotic land . . . Wide-ranging, engagingly written.”—The Seattle Times
“This is a cool book about one of the worlds hottest places.”—National Geographic Adventure magazine
“A thoughtful history of, and popular guide to, the great African desert.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Surprises abound in [this] informative natural history of the worlds most famous desert.”—The Dallas Morning News
Praise for Windswept
“Windswept serves up a little history, a fair amount of science, and many colorful stories. Mr. de Villiers . . . explains the science clearly, and he describes the working of wind, weather, and the natural world with enormous gusto.”—The New York Times
“A refreshing narrative of meteorology and a different perspective on its history.”—New Scientist
Review
Veteran travel writer de Villiers (Timbuktu, 2007, etc) explores our planets destructive tendencies, and its a thriller. Volcanic eruption, cosmic destruction, earthquake, tidal wave, tornado, hurricane and disease are all analyzed with academic pragmatism and occasional reassurance. However, such niceties fall short in light of the evidence he offers that we could soon face a global catastrophe that would make the December 2004 tsunami look trivial. If were living in a relatively rare era between ice ages called an "interglacial period," which is characteristically marked by a preceding global warming, then our reckless destruction of the environment might make the next 100,000 years or so more uncomfortable, but its hardly going to alter the inevitable. Besides, a wayward meteor or SARS might kill us first. De Villiers is not all gloom and doom. Experts since the dawn of communication have been predicting apocalypse, he writes, but in fact disasters of extinction are unpredictable and rare. Population may well be the more pressing issue. If humans, particularly in developing nations, continue to reproduce at the current pace, we will simply run out of space and resources, while exponentially improving the conditions for disaster. Overforestation worsens flooding; overcrowding breeds disease; overdevelopment near tectonic shift sites invites calamity by earthquake. In modern times, places like Tokyo, Sumbara and Yellowstone are recognized as vulnerable, yet populations choose to play down the risk until calamities like New Orleanss breached levees force the issue. While it may remain a tenuous argument that human behavior has strengthened natural disasters, it has exacerbated the ensuing devastation -- and recent U.S. leadership certainly hasnt helped the situation. The answer, if there is one, lies in a combination of education, prevention and planning. Innovations such as electric cars and nuclear power, with a hearty dose of sex ed, might make all the difference, de Villiers concludes, but the time to act is now. Humbling, invigorating analysis.
Review
“[A] scary and exciting new book … a clear narrative analysis that anyone without an ideological axe to grind will find beautifully presented.” - Chicago Sun-Times
“Readers… will be impressed by de Villiers presentation and prognosis of how humanity might survive the inevitable.” - Booklist
“De Villierss even tone and humor make what couldve been the most depressing story ever told oddly inspiring, finding something like hope in lifes struggles to continue in the face of the worst of everything.” - The Onion AV Club
Synopsis
In sparkling, insightful prose, the author explains how to understand natural calamities, prepare for their inevitable occurrence, and cope with the mass destruction they leave behind in their wake.
About the Author
MARQ DE VILLIERS is a journalist and the author of thirteen books including Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, Sahara: The Life of the Great Desert, and Windswept The Story of Wind and Weather. Born in South Africa, he now lives near Port Medway, Nova Scotia.