This book is a portrayal of the world"s worst disasters, including catastrophe"s from the fall of Pompeii, the Black Death and the Great Fire of London to the most recent disasters - including Chernobyl, the Alaskan oil spill and the San Francisco earthquake. Fire, flood, storm, drought, pollution, disease and the horrors of war are all vividly covered in this book which provides a reminder of the ever-present threat of death and destruction, whether from natural causes or by the hand of man.