The Big Ones by Lucy Jones

THE BIG ONES by Lucy Jones is subtitled “How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us” and Jones, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist for thirty years, discusses eleven natural disasters from volcanoes (Pompeii) to hurricanes (Katrina) to earthquakes and tsunamis (Indian Ocean in 2004 and Fukushima). Having devoted her working life to better preparedness (e.g., running early versions of the Great ShakeOut Drill which in 2016 involved over 53 million people around the world), Jones encourages readers to accept the inevitability of natural events while questioning the role of human response. Her final chapter deals with the likely earthquake event in Southern California (which is an eye-opening and scary read) where she offers several suggestions for local governments and private citizens. THE BIG ONES is an accessible book which will appeal to our students across a range of disciplines such as science, history, architecture and engineering, anthropology, civics, and even politics and journalism.