IRB Media Summary of Simon Winchester's A Crack in the Edge of the World

Annotation

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The earthquake in Ecuador in 1906 was the most powerful ever recorded by the machines of man. It destroyed the island port of Tumaco, and killed as many as 2,000 people.#2 There were several large earthquakes in the Caribbean in the 1970s, and they did not kill anyone. But they did trigger a burst of smaller earthquakes, which went on for two or three weeks. The island of St Lucia was designated an earthquake-prone territory.#3 The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 was the most severe in Europe for 300 years. The villages of Bosco Trecase, San Giuseppe, Ottajano, Poggiomarino, and Somma were all covered in several feet of ash, and some had to be hastily abandoned.#4 The most active year of the twentieth century was 1906, which was characterized by a series of earthquakes in major cities. The year was also the most seismically dangerous of the century.