04415nam 2200841 a 450 991081852530332120200520144314.01-283-89855-10-8122-0799-810.9783/9780812207996(CKB)2550000000707678(OCoLC)835765510(CaPaEBR)ebrary10642111(SSID)ssj0000810791(PQKBManifestationID)12336126(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000810791(PQKBWorkID)10833747(PQKB)11185690(MdBmJHUP)muse21393(DE-B1597)449573(OCoLC)1013950269(OCoLC)979910470(DE-B1597)9780812207996(Au-PeEL)EBL3441776(CaPaEBR)ebr10642111(CaONFJC)MIL421105(MiAaPQ)EBC3441776(EXLCZ)99255000000070767820110609d2011 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrThe disaster experts mastering risk in modern America /Scott Gabriel Knowles1st ed.Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Pressc20111 online resource (361 p.) The City in the Twenty-First CenturyBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-8122-4350-1 0-8122-2246-6 Includes bibliographical references and index. Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. The Devil's Privilege -- 2. Reforming Fire -- 3. The Invisible Screen of Safety -- 4. Ten to Twenty Million Killed, Tops -- 5. What Is a Disaster? -- 6. A Nation of Hazards -- NOTES -- INDEX -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, many are asking what, if anything, can be done to prevent large-scale disasters. How is it that we know more about the hazards of modern American life than ever before, yet the nation faces ever-increasing losses from such events? History shows that disasters are not simply random acts. Where is the logic in creating an elaborate set of fire codes for buildings, and then allowing structures like the Twin Towers-tall, impressive, and risky-to go up as design experiments? Why prepare for terrorist attacks above all else when floods, fires, and earthquakes pose far more consistent threats to American life and prosperity?The Disaster Experts takes on these questions, offering historical context for understanding who the experts are that influence these decisions, how they became powerful, and why they are only slightly closer today than a decade ago to protecting the public from disasters. Tracing the intertwined development of disaster expertise, public policy, and urbanization over the past century, historian Scott Gabriel Knowles tells the fascinating story of how this diverse collection of professionals-insurance inspectors, engineers, scientists, journalists, public officials, civil defense planners, and emergency managers-emerged as the authorities on risk and disaster and, in the process, shaped modern America.Emergency managementUnited StatesHistory20th centuryEmergency managementResearchUnited StatesHistory20th centuryDisastersUnited StatesHistory20th centuryDisaster reliefResearchUnited StatesHistory20th centuryRisk assessmentUnited StatesHistory20th centuryHazard mitigationResearchUnited StatesHistory20th centuryAmerican History.American Studies.General.Political Science.Public Policy.Social Science.Urban Studies.Emergency managementHistoryEmergency managementResearchHistoryDisastersHistoryDisaster reliefResearchHistoryRisk assessmentHistoryHazard mitigationResearchHistory363.34/2Knowles Scott Gabriel1490610MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910818525303321The disaster experts4026487UNINA