Earthquake Storms

The Fascinating History and Volatile Future of the San Andreas Fault

By: John Dvorak

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

The lives of millions will be changed after it breaks, and yet so few people understand it, or even realize it runs through their backyard. Dvorak reveals the San Andreas Fault's fascinating history - and its volatile future.

It is a prominent geological feature that is almost impossible to see unless you know where to look. Hundreds of thousands of people drive across it every day. The San Andreas Fault is everywhere - and primed for a colossal quake. For decades scientists have warned that such a sudden shifting of the Earth's crust is inevitable. In fact, it is a geologicn ecessity.

The San Andreas Fault runs almost the entire length of California, from the redwood forest to the east edge of the Salton Sea. Along the way, it passes through two of the largest urban areas of the country - San Francisco and Los Angeles. Dozens of major highways and interstates cross it. Scores of housing developments have been planted over it. The words San Andreas are so familiar today that they have become synonymous with earthquake.

Yet few people understand the San Andreas or the network of subsidiary faults it has spawned. Some run through Hollywood, others through Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. The Hayward Fault slices the football stadium at the University of California in half. Even among scientists, few appreciate that the San Andreas Fault is a transient, evolving system that, as seen today, is younger than the Grand Canyon and key to our understanding of earthquakes worldwide.

©2014 John Dvorak (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Interesting book on earthquakes

I enjoyed this book. Excellent history on California earthquakes and the study of earthquakes. One error noted. Reference to Alaska as the "50th state."

Interesting and Terrifying

California and the western states are shown to be geologically active. Focusing on the scientists and scientific discoveries that explain the ancient and recent earthquakes along the San Andreas fault, the reader is led to a frightening conclusion. The narrator is excellent as well.

Fascinating!

Written in a fluid, accessible story telling style, I found this book to be fascinating, especially for a Californian. It helped me better understand the shifting earth upon which I have lived most of my life. I am thinking, however, that having listened to it, I now want to buy it in hard copy form so that I can re-read the descriptions when I travel to the specific locations described.

Very nice

This book comes closer to answering my questions about the big one than any other thing I have ever read. It is a solid entertaining book and the reading performance is just right. I recommend it.

Great book

This is a great book. Very informative and well written. Definitely worth buying and reading