The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet

Fountain, a veteran New York Times reporter and editor, adopts a human-interest perspective as he reports on the lives affected by the infamous Alaskan earthquake of Mar. 27, 1964. He begins by introducing George Plafker and his colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey who arrived in Alaska after the quake to quickly take stock of the damage. Fountain then turns back the clock for several chapters of backstory, detailing the lives of residents of the small village of Chenega and the little town of Valdez, both soon to be devastated by the quake. A multipart biographical sketch of Plafker sandwiches a brief history of Alfred Wegener’s continental-drift hypothesis, followed by still more prequake background on residents of the affected locales. Fountain sidetracks once more to discuss previous seismic activity in Alaska before finally presenting the actual quake. He tallies the lives lost, saved, and changed, only returning to Plafker and his paradigm-changing work supporting Wegener’s idea for the final two chapters. Readers interested in the human toll of Alaska’s Good Friday Quake will appreciate the story, but those looking for an in-depth scientific discussion will need to look elsewhere. (Aug.)