Wave of Destruction

by Krauss, Erich

• ISBN13: 9781594863783
• ISBN10: 1594863784
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-27
• Publisher: Rodale Books

Summary

This exquisitely written book puts a human face on the tragedy of last year's Southeast Asian tsunami through the heartbreaking and heroic stories of four who survived this cataclysmic natural disaster Erich Krauss arrived in the Thai village of Nam Keam on a relief truck 12 days after an underwater earthquake of unimaginable magnitude erupted across the ocean floor and unleashed a tsunami that destroyed millions of lives and decimated the coastline of Southeast Asia. Wandering around the wreckage in a contamination suit, trying to deliver food and water, he found survivors desperate to tell him what their village had been like and how their lives had been changed forever. In Wave of Destruction, Krauss shares the pain and privation of four villagers who made it through alive only to bury their family and friends. Beginning with their fight for life as a 40-foot wave crashed down upon their community, and ending with their slow, confusing quest to rebuild after the last of the bodies had been buried, Krauss unveils the actions and thoughts of ordinary people who were forced to brave extraordinary circumstances. Much like John Hersey did in his acclaimed book Hiroshima, Krauss, a gifted writer and expert in Thai culture, allows the reader to experience one of the worst disasters the world has ever known'”through the eyes of those who will never be able to forget.

Author Biography

ERICH KRAUSS is uniquely qualified to write this story of the world’s worst natural disaster. He has a degree in geomorphology with a specialization in natural disasters and is the author of Wall of Flame, a non-fiction account of the 2003 California wildfires. He resides in Thailand and San Diego, California.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	viii
PROLOGUE	ix
PART ONE: NAM KHEM
1. WICHIEN AND NANG	3	(13)
2. WIMON	16	(7)
3. PUEK AND LEK	23	(6)
4. DANG	29	(9)
5. WICHIEN AND NANG	38	(9)
6. WIMON AND WATCHAREE	47	(4)
7. PUEK AND LEK	51	(15)
8. DANG	66	(15)
PART TWO: THE WAVE
9. WIMON AND WATCHAREE	81	(14)
10. PUEK AND LEK	95	(13)
11. WICHIEN AND NANG	108	(8)
12, DANG	116	(7)
13. THE POLICEMAN AND THE DOCTOR	123	(7)
14. WIMON AND WATCHAREE	130	(10)
15. NANG	140	(8)
17. PUEK AND LEK	148	(7)
18. THE HOSPITAL	155	(17)
PART THREE: THE HUNT FOR THE MISSING
19. DANG	172	(4)
20. WICHIEN AND NANG	176	(3)
21. PUEK AND LEK	179	(5)
22. THE POLICEMAN AND THE DOCTOR	184	(5)
23. WIMON	189	(4)
24. DANG	193	(3)
25. WIMON	196	(3)
26. DANG	199	(7)
PART FOUR: THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
27. PUEK AND LEK	206	(4)
28. DANG	210	(3)
29. WICHIEN AND NANG	213	(7)
30. DANG	220	(4)
31. WICHIEN AND NANG	224	(4)
32. DANG	228	(9)
EPILOGUE/AUTHOR'S NOTE	237