SOCIAL SCIENCES

The Disaster Profiteers: How Natural Disasters Make the Rich Richer and the Poor Even Poorer

by John C. Mutter
Palgrave Macmillan. Aug. 2015. 288p. notes. index. ISBN 9781137278982. $28; ebk. ISBN 9781466879416. SOC SCI
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Mutter (geophysics, modern & future climate; Columbia Univ.) uses both the natural and social sciences to argue that what occurs during a natural disaster should not be the main focus. Rather, what happens afterward is most important. Using current and historical events but mostly focusing on four incidents—the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina (2005), Cyclone Nargis (2008), and the 2010 Haiti earthquake—he shows why. In general, it is in the aftermath that existing inequalities between rich and poor are exacerbated and will even increase. While this is owing to many factors, it is generally because the wealthy fare better before, during, and after a disaster and, as such, are able to take advantage of political, economic, and social opportunities.
VERDICT Foregoing vitriol and industry jargons, Mutter's book is accessible to all readers. His bridging of the two sciences lends an in-depth feeling to an important and timely issue.
Reviewed by Laura Hiatt-Smith, Conifer, CO , Jul 01, 2015
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