"God is said to have given humans freedom. Yet in the story of Genesis, God is a punishing father figure. Why have humans portrayed him this way? Here, a contemporary writer named Adam imagines God behaving as a good father should, seeing it is time for his children to leave home. Adam writes an account of this, and the story of his own child, Sophie, and his relationship with her. The scene moves from London to New York to Israel to Iran and Iraq. And might not God as well as Adam have a wife to take up the cause if things go wrong?"--BOOK JACKET.
The Environment as Hazard offers an understanding of how people around the world deal with dramatic fluctuations in the local natural systems of air, water, and terrain. Reviewing recent theoretical and methodological changes in the investigation of natural hazards, the authors describe how research findings are being incorporated into public policy, particularly research on slow cumulative events, technological hazards, the role played by social systems, and the relation of hazards theory to risk analysis. Through vivid examples from a broad sample of countries, this volume illuminates the range of experiences associated with natural hazards. The authors show how modes of coping change with levels of economic development by contrasting hazards in developing countries with those in high income countries - comparing the results of hurricanes in Bangladesh and the United States, and earthquakes in Nicaragua and California. In new introductory and concluding chapters that supplement the original text, the authors present new global data sets, as well as a trenchant discussion of implications of hazards research for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction and for attempts by the world community to come to grips with the threats of climate change.
The Crimean War is at its peak as the winter of 1854 sets in, and Commander Phillip Hazard of the 31-gun, steam-screw frigate Trojan is sent to bring troop reinforcements from Constantinople to Eupatoria. On the way, he must handle an overbearing young nobleman with a taste for blood and the pitiless power of a raging storm.
Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society provides analyses of environmentally related catastrophes within society in historical, political and economic contexts. Personal and corporate culture mediates how people may become more vulnerable or resilient to hazard exposure. Societies that strengthen themselves, or are strengthened, mitigate decline and resultant further exposure to what are largely human induced risks of environmental, social and economic degradation. This book outlines why it is important to explore in more depth the relationships between environmental hazards, risk and disasters in society. It presents challenges presented by mainstream and non-mainstream approaches to the human side of disaster studies. By hazard categories this book includes critical processes and outcomes that significantly disrupt human wellbeing over brief or long time-frames. Whilst hazards, risks and disasters impact society, individuals, groups, institutions and organisations offset the effects by becoming strong, healthy, resilient, caring and creative. Innovations can arise from social organisation in times of crisis. This volume includes much of use to practitioners and policy makers needing to address both prevention and response activities. Notably, as people better engage prevalent hazards and risks they exercise a process that has become known as disaster risk reduction (DRR). In a context of climatic risks this is also indicative of climate change adaptation (CCA). Ultimately it represents the quest for development of sustainable environmental and societal futures. Throughout the book cases studies are derived from the world of hazards risks and disasters in society. - Includes sections on prevention of and response to hazards, risks and disasters - Provides case studies of prominent societal challenges of hazards, risks and disasters - Innovative approaches to dealing with disaster drawing from multiple disciplines and sectors
The third in the ‘Chocolate House Mysteries’ series, Captain Hazard’s Game conjures up the vibrant life of early eighteenth-century gamesters and money-men.
Every spy has a past. Every man has his price. Long ago, a brutal war between the countries of Chaldus and Yndor left the mages with blood on their hands. To rid the world of destructive magic, they performed the Binding and vowed that never again would a magical war be fought upon the land. But the Unbinding has begun. Someone is killing former Chaldean ministers and leaving a unique calling card: a gold coin in their mouths. Galatine Hazard recognizes the sign, because once it was his own trademark. He’s a respected man now, but someone is setting him up. To clear his name, Hazard has to reach back into his bag of tricks to catch the killer, a wily assassin who could bring the country to the brink of war and unleash the power of the ancients.
