When I was eleven years old, the big Sumatra earthquake and following tsunami on Boxing day shook the world with its devastating power. However, it also shook my interest into geology and tectonics. So when I came across The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet I was immediately curious.

I have to admit that I was completely unaware of this earthquake, although its significance became clear very quickly, with the new techniques that had been developed recently even if the human and material loss was relatively low due to it happening in a scarcely populated area.

Henry Fountain gives a rather complete overview of the different aspects surrounding the 'great quake', looking at it from many different points of view. However, I thought rather a lot of the book was filled with human interest stories which somehow made it feel a little overdramatic. It also took a long time to get to the actual quake and its aftermath. However, I thought it was an interesting book and I would definitely recommend it to those interested in earth quakes and geology.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for providing me with a free book in exchange for an honest review!