(Un)natural Disasters in History (nonfiction)

1.
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World 3.89 avg rating — 55,256 ratings
2.
Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic 4.49 avg rating — 105 ratings
3.
Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti
Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti 4.14 avg rating — 209 ratings
4.
Meltdown in Tibet: China's Reckless Destruction of Ecosystems from the Highlands of Tibet to the Deltas of Asia
Meltdown in Tibet: China's Reckless Destruction of Ecosystems from the Highlands of Tibet to the Deltas of Asia 4.01 avg rating — 73 ratings
5.
Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters
Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters 4.13 avg rating — 1,370 ratings
6.
A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster
A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster 3.94 avg rating — 3,771 ratings
7.
Land on Fire: The New Reality of Wildfire in the West
Land on Fire: The New Reality of Wildfire in the West 4.06 avg rating — 215 ratings
8.
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa 4.19 avg rating — 66,216 ratings
8.
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It 3.91 avg rating — 7,614 ratings
8.
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World 3.91 avg rating — 7,931 ratings
8.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 4.04 avg rating — 445,039 ratings
8.
Age Of Pandemics (1817-1920): How they shaped India and the World
Age Of Pandemics (1817-1920): How they shaped India and the World 4.03 avg rating — 159 ratings
8.
Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima
Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima 4.21 avg rating — 2,846 ratings
8.
The great drought of 1976
The great drought of 1976 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings
8.
Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti
Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti 4.14 avg rating — 209 ratings
16.
Sea of Storms: A History of Hurricanes in the Greater Caribbean from Columbus to Katrina
Sea of Storms: A History of Hurricanes in the Greater Caribbean from Columbus to Katrina 3.91 avg rating — 43 ratings
16.
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed 3.93 avg rating — 73,872 ratings
16.
Hell Ship
Hell Ship 4.13 avg rating — 681 ratings
16.
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety 4.27 avg rating — 14,177 ratings
20.
The Future as Catastrophe: Imagining Disaster in the Modern Age
The Future as Catastrophe: Imagining Disaster in the Modern Age
by: Eva Horn
3.81 avg rating — 32 ratings
20.
The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World
The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World 3.61 avg rating — 556 ratings
20.
The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845 - 1849
The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845 - 1849 4.18 avg rating — 1,246 ratings
20.
Pandemic: The Spanish Flu in Australia 1918-20
Pandemic: The Spanish Flu in Australia 1918-20 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings
20.
Catastrophes and Heroes: True Stories of Man-Made Disasters
Catastrophes and Heroes: True Stories of Man-Made Disasters 3.83 avg rating — 173 ratings
25.
Proving Grounds: Militarized Landscapes, Weapons Testing, and the Environmental Impact of U.S. Bases
Proving Grounds: Militarized Landscapes, Weapons Testing, and the Environmental Impact of U.S. Bases 3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
25.
The Miraculous Fever-Tree: Malaria, Medicine and the Cure that Changed the World
The Miraculous Fever-Tree: Malaria, Medicine and the Cure that Changed the World 3.84 avg rating — 284 ratings
25.
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History 4.05 avg rating — 70,018 ratings
25.
Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone
Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone 4.20 avg rating — 7,742 ratings
29.
Climate Change and the Health of Nations: Famines, Fevers, and the Fate of Populations
Climate Change and the Health of Nations: Famines, Fevers, and the Fate of Populations 4.15 avg rating — 75 ratings
29.
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster 4.37 avg rating — 61,009 ratings
31.
Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620–1914
Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620–1914 4.12 avg rating — 368 ratings
31.
Fallout: Disasters, Lies, and the Legacy of the Nuclear Age
Fallout: Disasters, Lies, and the Legacy of the Nuclear Age 4.03 avg rating — 225 ratings
33.
Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900
Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 3.98 avg rating — 1,834 ratings
33.
The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters
The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters 3.66 avg rating — 1,224 ratings
35.
Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago 3.91 avg rating — 1,231 ratings
35.
Explosion at Orly: The Disaster that Transformed Atlanta
Explosion at Orly: The Disaster that Transformed Atlanta 3.78 avg rating — 37 ratings
35.
Deadly River: Cholera and Cover-Up in Post-Earthquake Haiti
Deadly River: Cholera and Cover-Up in Post-Earthquake Haiti 4.14 avg rating — 42 ratings
38.
March Was Made of Yarn
March Was Made of Yarn 3.72 avg rating — 302 ratings
38.
Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster
Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster 3.80 avg rating — 6,979 ratings
38.
Silent Spring
Silent Spring 4.05 avg rating — 53,316 ratings
41.
Black '47 and Beyond: The Great Irish Famine in History, Economy, and Memory
Black '47 and Beyond: The Great Irish Famine in History, Economy, and Memory 3.81 avg rating — 70 ratings
42.
Monsters: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Birth of Pathological Technology
Monsters: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Birth of Pathological Technology
by: Ed Regis
3.09 avg rating — 67 ratings
43.
Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China
Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China 3.79 avg rating — 144 ratings
43.
Seventeen Fathoms Deep: The Saga of the Submarine S-4 Disaster
Seventeen Fathoms Deep: The Saga of the Submarine S-4 Disaster 4.44 avg rating — 55 ratings
45.
Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America
Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America 3.78 avg rating — 175 ratings
45.
Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, Five Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles Into the Darkness
Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, Five Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles Into the Darkness 4.04 avg rating — 2,450 ratings
47.
Imaging Disaster: Tokyo and the Visual Culture of Japan’s Great Earthquake of 1923
Imaging Disaster: Tokyo and the Visual Culture of Japan’s Great Earthquake of 1923 4.35 avg rating — 17 ratings
47.
Scalded to Death by the Steam: Authentic Stories of Railroad Disasters and the Ballads That Were Written About Them
Scalded to Death by the Steam: Authentic Stories of Railroad Disasters and the Ballads That Were Written About Them 3.89 avg rating — 19 ratings
49.
Plagues and Peoples
Plagues and Peoples 3.87 avg rating — 4,936 ratings
49.
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa 4.18 avg rating — 5,457 ratings
51.
Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World
Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World 4.20 avg rating — 2,037 ratings
51.
Collapse of Dignity: The Story of a Mining Tragedy and the Fight Against Greed and Corruption in Mexico
Collapse of Dignity: The Story of a Mining Tragedy and the Fight Against Greed and Corruption in Mexico 4.10 avg rating — 39 ratings
53.
Fault Lines: Views across Haiti's Divide
Fault Lines: Views across Haiti's Divide 4.27 avg rating — 48 ratings
53.
Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health
Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health 4.13 avg rating — 1,345 ratings
55.
The Big Truck that Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster
The Big Truck that Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster 4.12 avg rating — 1,842 ratings
55.
Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board
Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board 3.65 avg rating — 1,187 ratings
57.
A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland
A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland 4.26 avg rating — 402 ratings
58.
Island on Fire
Island on Fire 3.85 avg rating — 824 ratings
58.
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide 4.26 avg rating — 10,877 ratings
60.
The Crash of Piedmont Airlines Flight 22: Completing the Record of the 1967 Midair Collision Near Hendersonville, North Carolina
The Crash of Piedmont Airlines Flight 22: Completing the Record of the 1967 Midair Collision Near Hendersonville, North Carolina 3.77 avg rating — 13 ratings
61.
Land of Tears: The Exploration and Exploitation of Equatorial Africa
Land of Tears: The Exploration and Exploitation of Equatorial Africa 4.02 avg rating — 86 ratings
62.
Bearing Witness: Journalists, Record Keepers and the 1917 Halifax Explosion
Bearing Witness: Journalists, Record Keepers and the 1917 Halifax Explosion 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings
63.
The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism
The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism 4.18 avg rating — 3,852 ratings
64.
Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917
Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917 3.98 avg rating — 1,182 ratings
65.
Chiefdoms, Collapse, and Coalescence in the Early American South
Chiefdoms, Collapse, and Coalescence in the Early American South really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings
66.
Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy
Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy 4.43 avg rating — 4,087 ratings
67.
The Killings at Kent State: How Murder Went Unpunished
The Killings at Kent State: How Murder Went Unpunished 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings
68.
Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice
Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice 3.66 avg rating — 197 ratings
69.
The Daughters of Juárez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border
The Daughters of Juárez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border 3.84 avg rating — 1,258 ratings
70.
Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character
Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character 4.31 avg rating — 1,861 ratings
71.
Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming
Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming 4.20 avg rating — 525 ratings
72.
Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War
Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War 4.16 avg rating — 758 ratings
73.
My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness
My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness 4.25 avg rating — 282 ratings
74.
The Best and the Brightest
The Best and the Brightest 4.27 avg rating — 12,645 ratings
75.
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War 4.22 avg rating — 9,183 ratings
76.
The Johnstown Flood
The Johnstown Flood 4.13 avg rating — 24,632 ratings
77.
The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America
The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America 4.31 avg rating — 1,436 ratings
78.
Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas
Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas 3.78 avg rating — 184 ratings
79.
The Ghosts of Guerrilla Memory: How Civil War Bushwhackers Became Gunslingers in the American West
The Ghosts of Guerrilla Memory: How Civil War Bushwhackers Became Gunslingers in the American West 3.40 avg rating — 10 ratings
80.
Empire of Guns: The Violent Making of the Industrial Revolution
Empire of Guns: The Violent Making of the Industrial Revolution 3.42 avg rating — 192 ratings
81.
America On Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s
America On Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s 4.22 avg rating — 975 ratings
82.
Central America's Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration
Central America's Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration 4.10 avg rating — 458 ratings
83.
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Volume 19: Violence
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Volume 19: Violence 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
84.
Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History after Genocide and Mass Violence
Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History after Genocide and Mass Violence 3.85 avg rating — 218 ratings
85.
New Worlds of Violence: Cultures and Conquests in the Early American Southeast
New Worlds of Violence: Cultures and Conquests in the Early American Southeast really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
86.
Shadows at Dawn: An Apache Massacre and the Violence of History
Shadows at Dawn: An Apache Massacre and the Violence of History 4.12 avg rating — 479 ratings
87.
Violence over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West
Violence over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West 3.99 avg rating — 388 ratings
88.
Lynching and Spectacle: Witnessing Racial Violence in America, 1890-1940
Lynching and Spectacle: Witnessing Racial Violence in America, 1890-1940 3.98 avg rating — 100 ratings
89.
Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast (The Henry Roe Cloud Series on American Indians and Modernity)
Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast (The Henry Roe Cloud Series on American Indians and Modernity) 3.85 avg rating — 54 ratings
90.
The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas
The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas 3.84 avg rating — 137 ratings
91.
Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence
Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence 3.96 avg rating — 2,328 ratings
92.
Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence
Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence 3.92 avg rating — 2,778 ratings
93.
A History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America
A History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America 4.05 avg rating — 740 ratings
94.
Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence
Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence 4.33 avg rating — 76 ratings
95.
Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida
Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida 4.45 avg rating — 11 ratings
96.
Remembering the Modoc War: Redemptive Violence and the Making of American Innocence (First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies)
Remembering the Modoc War: Redemptive Violence and the Making of American Innocence (First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies) 4.13 avg rating — 23 ratings
97.
The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence
The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence 3.99 avg rating — 214 ratings
98.
The Rosewood Massacre: An Archaeology and History of Intersectional Violence
The Rosewood Massacre: An Archaeology and History of Intersectional Violence 3.77 avg rating — 13 ratings
99.
The Bioarchaeology of Violence
The Bioarchaeology of Violence 4.40 avg rating — 20 ratings
100.
Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928
Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928 4.23 avg rating — 65 ratings
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