Book Revew Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Book Revew - Essay Example Acknowledging that her information is strung together by a lifetime of personal interest in the field and journalistic information gathering during her career as a writer for the New York Times, Dean’s book promises an overview of the issues involved and a reasoned plea for restraint in building up the beaches. In the final analysis, though, this book delivers high-quality information presented in a readable style that conveys not only the problems facing the nation’s beaches, but also the significance of this problem to the rest of the world. As an attempt to convince Americans not to build on the beaches, thus contributing to the erosion problem, the book is a success. Dean pulls her readers in by starting the book with an account of the devastating effects of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane and how the city responded. After outlining the city’s natural sense of vengeance against the uncaring ocean and its Herculean efforts to place it out of harm’s reach, she then outlines the long-term effects the sea wall and raising of the city have had on the coastline itself. Interspersing personal stories regarding coastline studies and devastating storms or other issues caused by erosion with factual and explanatory information regarding what these studies actually mean creates a solid argument against the process of building on the beach or attempting in any way to protect those buildings once constructed. Although she claims no scientific or special expertise on her own part, Dean’s work is widely recognized as a credible source for a number of other volumes including American Disasters by Stephen Biel (2001) and The Earth Around Us: Maintaining a Livable Planet by Jill Schneiderman (2003). As she outlines storm after storm and lost town after lost town, Dean continues to highlight the involvement of human encroachment on the