A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906.A CRACK IN THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 SIMON WINCHESTER Simon Winchester, OBE (born September 28, 1944), is a British author and journalist. Winchester studied geology at St Catherine's College, Oxford before working in Africa and on offshore oil rigs. Shortly after 5 a.m. on April 18, 1906, San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden was rocked by a strong earthquake that, along with the subsequent fires, destroyed the city. Bestseller author Winchester brings that legendary day and its terror to life in this detailed history. He reviews not only the event, but also the complex geology of the San Andreas Fault San Andreas fault, great fracture (see fault) of the earth's crust in California. It is the principal fault of an intricate network of faults extending more than 600 mi (965 km) from NW California to the Gulf of California. . The book thus includes an illuminating primer on plate tectonics plate tectonics, theory that unifies many of the features and characteristics of continental drift and seafloor spreading into a coherent model and has revolutionized geologists' understanding of continents, ocean basins, mountains, and earth history. , unlike other areas of the country, the West was greatly affected by the quake Quake - A string-oriented language designed to support the construction of Modula-3 programs from modules, interfaces and libraries. Written by Stephen Harrison of DEC SRC, 1993. . The author cites the major effects of the quake on population growth and architecture, but also includes some of its quirkier consequences. For example, the budding Pentecostal movement of the time was energized because its practitioners saw the quake as divine affirmation of their beliefs. Winchester rounds out his story by considering how modern Californians deal with the inevitability of another massive jolt. This is an interesting and a sobering read, especially for people living in earthquake zones. HarperCollins, 2005, 480 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $27.95. |
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