Superquake! Why Earthquakes Occur and When the Big One Will Hit

I bought this for a friend of mine and she said it is really interesting. Thank you.

I often teach about plate tectonics, a.k.a. continental drift, in my intro astronomy classes. Usually up to now, I didn't find geology too exciting and would seldom go out of my way to read a book on the subject. But this book by D. Ritchie is so well written, I am beginning to change my tune!For its writing alone the book definitely deserves 5 stars. But I have given it only 4 because, in my opinion, there are many places where the text is crying out for a diagram or a map to help clarify the author's description. There are far too few of these. In one case (p.69), Ritchie describes the plate tectonic "hang-up" of Southern California--at this point, the reader badly needs a diagram, but it makes an unexpected appearance 18 pages later.Don't be deceived by the reference to Southern California in the title. The scope is considerably broader than the "superquake" anticipated in the area of Los Angeles. Ritchie opens up diverse aspects of plate tectonics to the reader using earthquakes in general, and the expected L.A. quake in particular, as the chief focus for his narrative. Ritchie's writing places him among the best sciernce journalists for his ability to make the dry facts of science come to life. This book is a page turner: reading it from cover to cover was a pure delight. All the way through, he floats the cargo of science on a fabulous raft of human drama, quoting lively anecdotes and accounts of earthquakes by first-hand participants. All the major recorded quakes of California are described, and the the greatest of them all, the San Francisco quake of 1906, is described in fascinating detail. ( But as I say, the scope is wider yet, and other quake prone areas in the US are described in the penultimate chapter.)Unlike some popular science writings, he does not consign the science to play second string behind the human actors. While delighting the reader with the human drama of a diverse and articulate cast of human characters--including Mark Twain, Jack London, and charismatic indian chief Tecumseh--he seamlessly weaves the relevant geolophysics into his narrative. My knowledge of earthquakes and plate tectonics has just made a large jump, and with no sensation of boredom. This book demonstrates that geophysics can be a lot of fun.