'In this compendium of the worst natural, manmade, and political catastrophes of all time are chilling stories of mass destruction, horrific plagues, shocking acts of terrorism, and killer storms - proof that life can change in the blink of an eye. More than half of the disasters chronicled are natural ... floods, droughts, famines, storms and epidemics ... From the Great Influenza Epidemic after WWI, which took nearly forty million lives, to the Irish Potato Famine of 1846, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the 1888 New York City Blizzard, and the Dust Bowl ... manmade calamities make the list as well: technological mishaps, transportation accidents, and large-scale riots, including ... the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, the sinking of the Titanic, the Hindenburg and Challenger explosions, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - along with horrific accounts of mining disasters, hazardous chemical releases, building collapses, radioactive fallout, and airplane crashes. ' (From back cover) Also included in the 100 disasters are the 9/11 World Trade Center [sic] and Pentagon attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing.