Just got word that The Unthinkable will be published in Korea by DD World, in Portugal by Oficina do Livro and in Russia by Eksmo. I am flattered, though I suspect this has less to do with me than with the shared sense that disasters are a threat—and a bit of a mystery still—in every part of the world. (That and the fact that Crown’s Karin Schulze, who has been handling the foreign rights, is a tireless, passionate advocate for the book, for which I am eternally grateful.)
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I just got back from the one conference I go to every year. About 400 disaster experts get together near Boulder, Colo., and consider the country’s hazardscape.
Each time, there is a lot of lamentation about all the deaths and losses that could have been avoided from the year gone by. ("Natural disaster” is not a phrase you hear in that crowd, since they know most disasters could be turned into mere emergencies with foresight and money.) It’s a thoughtful, passionate group of academics and government types who are well-accustomed to suppressing their rage.
…
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The Unthinkable has officially launched in the US and the UK, and I’m proud and relieved to report that the reviews have been generous and positive so far. From O Magazine to FOX News to the Times of London, people have been captivated by the storytelling and the science in the book, just like I was while working on it. I have thought for a long time that this was a strangely unexamined part of the human condition, so it’s nice to see that other people agree.
Just as importantly, I’ve gotten a lot of thoughtful…
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Some reports coming out of Myanmar suggests that the expected second catastrophe there may not come to pass. Thankfully, there doesn’t appear to be a huge aftershock of disease and death. So the estimated 84,537 people killed during the cyclone itself will probably make up the bulk of the total casualties.
This is a challenging thing to report, given how closed Myanmar remains to outside aid organizations and reporters. But the fundamental point about the resilience of the locals is worth investigating further. From a recent AP story:
“The concept of ‘helpless victims’ is…
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Lots of great points in the comments. If guns made people safer, I would agree wholeheartedly that they should be legal and accessible to (almost) everyone. I would have one at home. The problem is, I have yet to see any evidence that they make us safer. In fact, all the evidence I have seen shows that the opposite is true.
This 2004 study analyzes U.S. mortality data to find out whether having a gun in your home affected your risk of dying by gun. It turned out that people with guns were at greater…
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I’ve been thinking about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn DC’s ban on guns. As someone who lives in DC and has in the past covered random, drive-by shootings and seen boys bleeding on the street become a routine part of the landscape, I am having a hard time understanding how more guns will make things better.
Before this decision, it was still easy to get a gun in DC, partly because it was easy to get one in neighboring states. DC is tiny, keep in mind. It’s an intersection,…
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And now we pause to celebrate that most rare and precious of news: FEMA may be getting stronger. At least in some places.
I wouldn’t trust everyone on this, but I trust Eric Holdeman. Based in Seattle, Eric ran King County’s Office of Emergency
Management in Washington state for 11 years, and he is a reporter’s lifesaver: he knows a ton; he will tell you the truth; and if he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll send you to someone who does.
Anyway, Eric’s blog is a useful clearinghouse for news in…
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An adaptation of the book is running in TIME this week. One of the many cool things about this is that TIME included a photograph of Kent Härstedt, who survived the sinking of the Estonia ferry in 1994. I had not photographed him for the book, though I wish I had. A very thoughtful, interesting guy who is now a member of Sweden’s parliament.
Also, the print edition includes a fetching news-you-can-use sidebar about 5 ways to boost your survival IQ. Always nice to have sparkly accessories next to your story, if I…
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