Book Review: The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation

RealisticPreparedness.com Book Review

The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation

by: Stephen Flynn

Summary:

The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation takes a look at our nation’s old and sometimes crumbling infrastructure as a source of potential disaster.

Sources:

The information in this book comes from the author’s first hand observations and interviews with a variety of professionals.

Depth:

Stephen Flynn runs through both hypothetical scenarios and actual, historical disasters to build a picture of where we currently stand as a nation in terms of disaster preparedness. The author makes the case that there are multiple situations where lack of maintenance, readiness or forethought have created risks along the lines of the failure of the levees that protected New Orleans. The more resilient our national infrastructure, the better prepared we are to handle both natural and man-made threats.

Overall:

  The author does a good job making that case that being prepared for both natural disasters and terrorism are important parts of national security. He details specific problems across the country and talks with local experts.

   I felt that the number of pages spent detailing a hypothetical terrorist attack was a bit unnecessary, but certainly made the author’s case.