The World's Worst Historical Disasters - Chris McNab

This is the non-fiction book I have been reading this week.

This book is a small chronicle of disasters (about 70) that have affected mankind - from ancient times right up to 2004 and the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

All kinds of disasters are covered in this book - with a few facts on each - the effect of each one and the number of people who died/affected by them.

Disasters covered include:
Natural Disasters - whether climatological, geological or originate in famine and disease.
Social and technological disasters.
Manmade disasters.

Each account gives a detailed perspective of the run-up to the disaster - the cause and the aftermath and each one is accompanied by photography/illustration and a basic fact box.

This book is not meant to be in depth. It gives the basic facts in a very concise manner without being boring and may even prompt the reader to search for more information for themselves - which I have done with a few. It is nicely presented and well enough done to not be boring if you do not want to have to read a whole book on a subject.