Understanding Catastrophe by Janine Bourriau
Understanding Catastrophe examines the immense and varied impact that catastrophic change can have on the development of life on earth. Opening with a remarkable account of supernovae and the nature of stellar catastrophe, it then examines the way evolution itself can proceed through genetic jumps of catastrophic proportions. The primal forces of the earth, manifested in such natural catastrophes as earthquakes and cyclones, and the devastating impact these can have even today on human populations across the world receive extended scrutiny as does the power of famine historically in determining the future of humankind. To conclude, a fascinating final chapter on changing medical and social attitudes to epidemic diseases such as tuberculosis offers - in the age of AIDS particularly - some unsettling insights into our fundamental incapacity when confronted by major threats to life and health.
'.. beautifully clear and arresting trains of thought ... decisive, often novel and aware of their own ironies.' Daily Telegraph
Peter French is an Affiliated Scholar of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. After graduating from Cambridge with a degree in modern languages, he spent 19 years working in industry, during which time he obtained the London University Extra-Mural Diploma in Archaeology, specialising in Ancient Egypt. A career change initiated 40 years of fieldwork in Egypt, concentrating on ceramics and small finds, at sites from Buto in the Delta to Qasr Ibrim in Nubia. He continues to work in the field, completing the study of ceramics from sites in which he participated, but is now principally engaged in their publication. Janine Bourriau is a Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute, an Emeritus Fellow of Darwin College and formerly Keeper of Antiquities in the Fitzwilliam Museum. She has worked for the Egypt Exploration Society at Saqqara and Buto and directed the recording and publication of the ceramics from the excavations at Memphis, Kom Rabia. She is now engaged in the study and publication of the ceramics from Saqqara and Buto.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780521032193 |
| ISBN 10 | 0521032199 |
| Title | Understanding Catastrophe |
| Author | Janine Bourriau |
| Series | Darwin College Lectures |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 2006-11-23 |
| Number of pages | 220 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |