Wrath of God The great Lisbon earthquake of 1755

In the middle of the eighteenth century, the city of Lisbon was the political and cultural center of the Portuguese Empire and was probably the fourth most populous city in Europe. Then, on All Saints' Day November 1, 1755 a devastating earthquake, which might have registered 9.0 on the Richter scale, flattened much of the city. Thousands were buried under rubble, fires burned out of control for a week, and tsunamis were launched that reached across the Atlantic. Paice writes an ambitious and wide-ranging account of the disaster and the broad effects it had on the attitudes of European elites. As Paice illustrates, the kingdom of Portugal at midcentury was half medieval, deeply influenced by narrow Jesuit dogma, and actively pursued heretics and Jews during the Inquisition. The immediate effects of the quake are described in horrifying detail, as Paice utilizes the observations of contemporary witnesses. In a broader context, many of the faithful across Europe saw the hand of God, while cynics and secularists, including Voltaire, saw the impersonal, unpredictable hand of fate. Scientists saw an opportunity for investigation, and the science of seismology was launched.--Freeman, Jay Copyright 2010 Booklist

In 1755, a tremendous earthquake shattered Lisbon. Despite the scale of the tragedy, the earthquake is now largely forgotten. In this paperback import from the UK, Paice (Lost Lion of Empire) seeks to reclaim the importance of the event. That he succeeds is in good measure owing to his narrative skills. The reader is provided with a description of Lisbon before the disaster strikes; once the scene has been set, the story of the disaster is related from the perspective of firsthand observers, which gives the narrative an immediacy and poignancy that would have been absent otherwise. Unfortunately, the reader is presented chiefly with the personal experiences of British and North American residents and tourists. It would have been useful to have the perspectives of a more diverse cross-section of observers. Paice concludes the book by examining the earthquake's effects on both Portuguese politics and Western thought. These final chapters are less gripping but bolster Paice's contention that the earthquake had a lasting impact. VERDICT This is a compelling, fast-paced read that will greatly appeal to most readers of popular history. Recommended.-Sharon E. Reidt, Marlboro Coll. Lib., VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.