ABOUT BOOK

This monograph provides an overview of research into disasters from ~a historical perspective, making two new contributions. First, it introduces ~the field of ‘disaster studies’ to history, showing how we can use ~history to better understand how societies deal with shocks and hazards ~and their potentially disastrous outcomes. Second, we introduce historians to the topic of disasters and the field of disaster studies, and explicitly show the relevance of studying past disasters ~to better understand the social, economic, and political functioning ~of past societies.