Disaster Government

2015 saw the worst American maritime disaster in decades. The captain of the SS El Faro commanded his crew to sail straight into a hurricane. The ship sank and all 33 crew members died. The sinking raised troubling questions: Why did the captain choose to sail into the hurricane? Why did no one on board or on shore stop him? And why was such an old and heavily loaded ship even allowed on the water? The crew of the SS El Faro is gone, but their haunting final hours were preserved by the ship’s black box.

A mega-earthquake is coming. And it’s not natural. Beneath Los Angeles, something is moving. When mutilated bodies start appearing in the city’s subway tunnels, Detective Alana Williams is assigned a case that makes no sense— Until the ground begins to shake. Seismologist Dr. Michael Trent is tracking a series of impossible tremors. Not random. Not geological. Engineered. Something ancient is awake beneath California. Something intelligent. And it’s building toward a catastrophic event powerful enough to destroy the entire West Coast. As the tremors escalate, the government prepares...

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR An unsettling masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will impact us all. “The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I’ve ever read.” —Jonathan Lethem, New York Times...

The rise of the new far right has left the world grappling with a profound misunderstanding. While the spotlight often shines on the actions of charismatic leaders, the true peril lies elsewhere. Defeating these people will not stem the tide driving them forward. They are merely the embodiment of profound forces that are rarely understood. Propelled through the vast networks of social media and fueled by far-right influencers, enthralled by images of disaster and fantasies of doom, they have emerged from a reservoir of societal despair, fear, and isolation.

The creator of the wildly popular award-winning podcast Hardcore History looks at some of the apocalyptic moments from the past as a way to frame the challenges of the future. Do tough times create tougher people? Can humanity handle the power of its weapons without destroying itself? Will human...

From the Hugo award–winning author Naomi Kritzer comes a tense portrait of a future we desperately hope to escape. A Most Anticipated Book: Nerd Daily | Goodreads O Lord, deliver us. Doctor Liz has just been acquitted for performing the last abortion in North Dakota when she's kidnapped...

From an award-winning historian and Chernobyl survivor, a visceral account of the worst nuclear accident in history. "Vividly empathetic." —Wall Street Journal On the morning of April 26, 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl...

Should we stop caring about fading regional powers like China, Russia, Germany, and Iran? Will the collapse of international cooperation push France, Turkey, Japan, and Saudi Arabia to the top of international concerns? Most countries and companies are not prepared for the world Peter Zeihan...

A monumental, genre-defying novel that David Mitchell calls "Michel Faber’s second masterpiece," The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one...

"Baby Boomers (and I confess I am one): prepare to squirm and shake your increasingly arthritic little fists. For here comes essayist Helen Andrews."--Terry Castle With two recessions and a botched pandemic under their belt, the Boomers are their children's favorite punching bag. But is the...

Donald Trump: The Master of Disaster is a searing examination of a presidency defined not by leadership, but by chaos, erosion, and consequence. This book argues—methodically and relentlessly—that Donald J. Trump is not merely a controversial president, but a historically destructive one. Through vivid narrative and documented analysis, it traces how impulsive decision-making, contempt for democratic norms, and the personalization of power have repeatedly placed the nation’s institutions, economy, and moral standing at risk. From governance by grievance to rule by loyalty tests, ...

WITHIN 72 HOURS: Book Three - River of Fire The outbreak has spread beyond New York. The cities are burning. The government is running out of time. Across the United States, military commanders, scientists, politicians, and ordinary survivors struggle to hold together a nation that is unraveling by the hour. As millions flee west, the United States launches Operation Continental Shield, a massive military containment effort stretching across the heart of the country. Defensive lines are built, bridges are fortified, and entire regions are sacrificed to slow the spread. But the enemy is ...

On January 12, 2010, the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere struck the nation least prepared to handle one. Jonathan M. Katz, the only full-time American news correspondent in Haiti, was inside his house when it buckled along with hundreds of thousands of others. In this visceral first-hand account, Katz takes readers inside the terror of that day, the devastation visited on ordinary Haitians, and through the monumental--yet misbegotten--rescue effort that followed.

The dramatic and moving account of the struggle for life inside the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, when every minute counted. At 8:46 AM on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the twin towers -- reading e-mails, making trades, eating croissants at Windows on the...

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis, by a relentless physician who stood up to power. “Stirring . . . [a] blueprint for all those who believe . . . that ‘the world . . . should be full of people raising their voices.’”—The New York Times...

The legend is real, and it's watching. In Point Pleasant, a terrifying red-eyed creature stalks the night, heralding a dark conspiracy and an unthinkable disaster. When the infamous Mothman begins to terrorize the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, local deputy Joe Larkin and determined journalist Mary Kline are drawn into a deepening mystery. Their investigation into the red-eyed, winged creature uncovers a sinister government conspiracy stretching back decades, involving secret projects like Project Valkyrie and Project Chiron. They face chilling encounters with the enigmatic ...

The water is rising. The doors are locked. When Category 4 Hurricane Iris slams into the Louisiana coast, Port Mercy High School becomes the final refuge for 160 stranded residents. Disgraced disaster manager Grant Mercer knows the aging concrete building is their only defense against the catastrophic surge. But the refuge is a trap. The emergency supplies have been systematically stripped. The radios are dead. And as the muddy floodwaters breach the first floor, Grant makes a horrifying discovery: the exit doors have been chained and padlocked from the outside. Corrupt officials have sold ...

An urgent, transformative guide to dealing with disasters from one of today’s foremost thinkers in crisis management. “In a world marred by preventable miscalculation, Juliette Kayyem’s The Devil Never Sleeps provides a playbook for making it out alive.” —The New Yorker The future may...

""Your government failed you . . . and I failed you."" Richard Clarke's dramatic statement to the grieving families during the 9-11 Commission hearings touched a raw nerve across America. Not only had our government failed to prevent the 2001 terrorist attacks, but it has proven itself, time and...

Will Your Business Beat the Odd and Survive a Catastrophe? The Insurance Institute for Home & Business Safety, funded by insurance companies, states that slightly over 50% of businesses will not be able to reopen or close within three years, from an INSURED catastrophe. Will you be able to rebuild after a fire? Survive? What are the odds you will thrive afterward or will you just limp along? Add to this the growing number of natural disasters where FEMA reports that nearly half of businesses never reopen after a disaster, and the U.S. Small Business Administration warns that over 90% fail ...