The Great Quake Debate

"Hough presents a well-researched narrative...Interesting read, tracing the history of this seismic and scientific debate."

"Seismologist Susan Hough's account offers a revealing glimpse of the personalities and issues within America's geologic community in the early twentieth century. But it also can be read as a cautionary tale about science and society."

"Hough's book...touches the history of a subfield of earth science that has been only rarely studied before: seismology."

"This book is historical and biographical writing at its very best."

"The Great Quake Debate gives all readers—historians, scientists, and interested non-experts—excellent insights into the unfolding of scientific community and scientific investigations of earthquakes in the United States, a topic crucial to public and private life then, and still."

"A delightful, timely glimpse into a little-known but fascinating debate among earthquake scientists regarding the seismic threat to southern California."

"A window into a formative time in earthquake seismology, extraordinarily well-researched and full of personal details."

"An important reminder to live with an open mind and prepare for the hazards that ravage this planet we live on, for our lives may depend on it...Willis's and Hill's stories in the book provide a detailed and valuable account of the work and life of geologists in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century United States."

"Hough is the ideal author for this story, being a seismologist herself, steeped in the history of her trade, and a masterful raconteur. Whether it's how to reopen the economy after a pandemic, or what to do about climate change, the great quake debate was a precursor for modern tussles between science and policy."