Emergency Management ─ The American Experience 1900-2010

Following in the footsteps of its popular predecessor, the second edition of Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900–2010 provides the background needed to understand the key political and policy underpinnings of emergency management, exploring how major "focusing events" have shaped the development of emergency management. It builds on the original theoretical framework and chronological approach, but improves on the first edition by adding fresh information on older events such as Hurricane Katrina as well as a new chapter covering the BP oil spill in 2010 and the unprecedented characteristics of the disaster response to it. The final chapter offers an insightful discussion of the public administration concepts that constitute the larger context for consideration of emergency management in the United States for more than a century.

Some praise for the new edition of this award-winning book:

The first edition of this book filled a serious gap in the literature by providing historical context for present-day emergency management. This edition goes further to flesh out that context, detailing the political and practical underpinnings of emergency management organization and practice.
—Professor William L. Waugh Jr., Department of Public Administration & Urban Studies, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University

... a must-read for both undergraduate and graduate students who want to learn from our past and join a growing professional field committed to enhancing community resilience and sustainability.
— John C. Pine, director, Research Institute for Energy, Environment and Economics, Appalachian State University

Claire B. Rubin (Book Editor & Chapter 1) is president of Claire B. Rubin & Associates, LLC (clairerubin.com), a small business specializing in disaster research and consulting, located in Arlington, Virginia, and is also CEO of the Disaster Bookstore (disasterbookstore.com). She has been affiliated with the Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., since 1998. She was the cofounder of the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and served as managing editor for six years. With thirty-four years of experience as a researcher, practitioner, and academic in the field of emergency management, she has authored more than eighty publications and delivered numerous lectures and presentations on emergency management and homeland security topics. Ms Rubin holds a BS from Simmons College and an MA from Boston University.

Keith Bea (Chapter 4) retired in 2011 from his duties as a specialist in American national government in the Government and Finance Division of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), having spent almost four decades in federal service. In addition to his research duties, Bea coordinated the work of other CRS analysts as team leader and section manager for homeland security emergency preparedness and response policy matters. He is founder and director of Logistics/Emergency Assistance for Families (LEAF), which serves the local community with shelter aid, food pantry operations, and emergency management consultation. Bea received a BA in history from Ohio University and an MPA from American University.

David Butler (Chapters 2 and 3) served as senior editor at the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, from 1984 to 2002. There he wrote and edited books, papers, and periodicals regarding disaster mitigation and hazards management. In the 1980s and 90s he was a pioneer in the use of Internet technology to disseminate hazard information. Since leaving the center in 2002, he has continued his work in hazards/disaster information and communications as a consultant to numerous disaster organizations around the world. His latest projects include the editing of a biography, the creation of a website, and the construction of a flood-level marker and monument on Boulder Creek in honor of his mentor and friend, hazards scholar Gilbert F. White (see colorado.edu/hazards/gfw).

Susan L. Cutter (Chapter 7) is a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography atthe University of South Carolina and the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute. Having worked in the risk and hazards fields for thirty years, she is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar. Her primary research interests are in the area of vulnerability and resilience science, with a particular focus on how vulnerability and disaster resilience are measured, monitored, and assessed. Cutter is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a former president of the Association of American Geographers and the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), and she serves on many national advisory boards and committees, including those of the AAAS, the National Research Council, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation. She is also a MunichRe Foundation chair on Social Vulnerability through the United Nations University in Bonn, Germany. She received her BA from California State University–Hayward and her MA and PhD from the University of Chicago.

Melanie Gall (Chapter 7) is a research assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University. She is a hazards geographer with expertise in geospatial technologies, risk assessments, and hazard mitigation planning. Her work and publications have focu