The Last Day Wrath, Ruin, and Reason in the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755

by Shrady, Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9780670018512
• ISBN10: 0670018511
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-04-10
• Publisher: Viking Adult

Summary

A riveting history of how the cataclysmic Lisbon earthquake shook the religious and intellectual foundations of Enlightenment Europe Along with the volcanic destruction of Pompeii and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Lisbon quake of 1755 is one of the most destructive natural disasters ever recorded. After being jolted by a massive quake, Lisbon was then pounded by a succession of tidal waves, and finally reduced to ash by a fire that raged for five straight days. In The Last Day, Nicholas Shrady provides not only a vivid account of this horrific disaster but also a stimulating survey of the many shock waves it sent throughout Western civilization. When news of the quake spread, it inspired both a lurid fascination in the popular imagination of Europe and an intellectual debate about the natural world and God’s place in human affairs. Voltaire, Alexander Pope, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among other eminent figures, took up the disaster as a sort of cause célèbre and a vehicle to express Enlightenment ideas. More practically, the Lisbon quake led to the first concerted effort at disaster control, modern urban planning, and the birth of seismology. The Last Dayis popular history writing at its best and will appeal to readers of Simon Winchester’s Krakatoaand A Crack in the Edge of the World.

Author Biography

Nicholas Shrady is a journalist whose articles have appeared in Architectural Digest, Travel & Leisure, Forbes, The New York Times Book Review, and Town & Country. His previous books include Tilt: A Skewed History of the Tower of Pisa and Sacred Roads: Adventures from the Pilgrimage Trail.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
All Saints' Day	p. 3
Order Out of Chaos	p. 25
Taking Stock	p. 49
Alis Ubbo ... Olisipo ... Al-Ushbuna ... Lisboa	p. 63
A Golden Age, of Sorts	p. 81
The Preacher and the Philosopher	p. 113
Like a Phoenix from the Flames	p. 147
Enlightenment at Any Price	p. 169
Epilogue	p. 203
Notes	p. 211
Bibliography	p. 215
Index	p. 221
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.