Showing titles in Disaster Relief

Brought to you by Penguin. Wreckers sinks the old narratives of imperialism, revealing the violent, chaotic and improvised reality of empire-building from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. While figures such as Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan are celebrated for...

Erik Ronningen was on the 71st floor of the North Tower on September 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the building. After an incredible, near miraculous journey down through the acrid, smoke-filled building, Erik tried to get to the security command center in the South Tower. Unable to do so, he was the last person to make it out of the South Tower alive. Here is the story of his harrowing escape, interwoven with the accounts of 14 others who were lucky enough to be able to recount them.

Paul Collier reveals that 50 failed states - home to the poorest one billion people on earth - pose the central challenge of the developing world in the 21st century. The book shines much-needed light on this group of small nations, largely unnoticed by the industrialized West, that are dropping further and further behind the majority of the world's people, often falling into an absolute decline in living standards.

As hundreds of rescue workers waited on the ground, United Airlines Flight 232 wallowed drunkenly over the bluffs northwest of Sioux City. The plane slammed onto the runway and burst into a vast fireball. The rescuers didn't move at first: nobody could possibly survive that crash. And then people began emerging from the summer corn that lined the runways. Miraculously, 184 of 296 passengers lived. No one has ever attempted the complete reconstruction of a crash of this magnitude.

The story of a tragedy never forgotten, and a community who came together to mourn a generation of children In October 1966, a small Welsh mining village was hit by disaster. Heavy rain had been pounding the village for days and over time filled a tip containing coal waste, situated high above...

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake large enough to knock the earth from its axis sent a massive tsunami speeding toward the Japanese coast and the aging and vulnerable Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power reactors. Over the following weeks, the world watched in horror as a natural disaster became a man-made catastrophe: fail-safes failed, cooling systems shut down, nuclear rods melted.

A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster's grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become - one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local.

When HurricaneKatrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun - a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four - chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the eerie days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and rescuing those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared.

Uncover the tense history of catastrophic engineering failures, where minor oversights ignite deadly chain reactions. Perfect for an engaging daily commute or deep-focus learning, this analytical journey transforms tragic human errors into vital survival lessons. From collapsing bridges to...

When a giant bridge collapses, a gas explosion blows up a building, or a major dam bursts, it’s hard not to wonder how things could have gone so catastrophically wrong. According to Grady Hillhouse, those failures are the defining force of engineering, where the most important lessons were...

Sandy Stott, the "Accidents" editor at the journal of the Appalachian Mountain Club, delivers both a history and a celebration of the search and rescue workers who save countless lives in the White Mountains - along with a plea for us not to take their steadfastness and bravery for granted. Filled with tales of astonishing courage and sobering tragedy, Critical Hours will appeal to outdoor enthusiasts and armchair adventurers alike. 

A heroic doctor’s unflinchingly honest and visceral tale of impossible choices in emergency medicine. ‘A brilliant insight into the forgotten heroes at the sharp end of humanitarian emergencies.’ Jon Snow, Channel 4 News This is a story of tireless hard work and astonishing bravery. Tony...

Transform paralyzing disaster anxiety into practical survival preparedness with this grounded, science-based guide. Navigate rising global tensions and the daily news cycle without fear by understanding exactly what happens during a nuclear exchange. You will learn to replace vague dread with...

Let’s not deny facts—the question isn’t if a nuclear attack will happen, but when.The ever-changing, volatile political landscape has the entire world on edge. Preparing now is the best and only way to ensure your family survives when the attack happens. Be the safe haven for your loved ones despite their doubts when the time comes. Prepare for the worst to provide them with the best chances of survival.

The in-flight explosion of TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996, was one of the deadliest air disasters in American history, triggering one of longest and most confounding investigations. Even today, many people still believe there was a government conspiracy to hide the real cause of the crash. If anyone was covering up the truth about the blast that brought down the jumbo jet as it departed New York for Paris, it was Boeing. For years, the company kept from investigators, vital information about a dangerous design flaw at the heart of the airplane.

Brought to you by Penguin. 'In the twenty-first century, infectious disease seemed like a nuisance, not like a mortal threat' Just as Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower became the defining account of our century's first devastating event, 9/11, so The Plague Year will become the defining...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Ted Koppel reveals that a major cyberattack on America’s power grid is not only possible but likely, that it would be devastating, and that the United States is shockingly unprepared. “Fascinating, frightening, and beyond timely.”—Anderson Cooper Imagine a...

Chernóbil, 1986. «Cierra las ventanillas y acuéstate. Hay un incendio en la central. Vendré pronto.» Esto fue lo último que un joven bombero dijo a su esposa antes de acudir al lugar de la explosión. No regresó. Y en cierto modo, ya no volvió a verle, pues en el hospital su marido dejó de ser su marido. Todavía hoy ella se pregunta si su historia trata sobre el amor o la muerte.

An Observer ‘book to look out for’ in 2026 A New Scientist pick for 2026 The Surge is a timely, gripping account of humanity’s battle against rising waters — and the urgent choices we must make for our future. Rising waters are flooding cities and homes across the globe, from Florida to...

This is an unconventional biography of an unconventional woman. Eglantyne Jebb moved from drawing rooms to war zones, often defying expectation and at times breaking the law. Although not fond of individual children, she founded Save the Children and originated the revolutionary concept of children's human rights. Clare Mulley brings to life the brilliant, charismatic, passionate, and compassionate woman, whose work has saved millions of lives and permanently changed the way the world treats children. Save the Children ambassador Joely Richardson narrates this extraordinary story.