Publisher's Synopsis
In the same way that natural disasters have seemingly proliferated since 1990, there has also been an increase in the number of catastrophes caused by human error or destructive motivation. From the burning of Babylon in 538 BC to the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, this work offers a worldwide survey of cataclysmic events thats have devastated the globe and altered the course of human history. More than 350 entries organized by disaster-type including air crashes, acts of terrorism, explosions, maritime disasters, nuclear and industrial accidents, and railway and space disasters - offer insights into the background of the events as well as their impact on mankind and the environment. Eyewitness accounts, helpful chronologies and photographs are highlighted throughout. Events covered include: burning of Rome (AD 64); railway collision, Versailles, France (1842); sinking of the Andrea Doria, Atlantic Ocean (1956); Challenger disaster (1986); massacre in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China (1989); bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building, Oklahoma City,USA (1995); and the bombings ofUS Embassies at Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam,Tanzania (1998).
