There is plenty of history in this book, lots of anecdotes. It was like a sampler of history, so I do think that a person could use this book as a springboard for discovering more historical events to learn about. For instance, because of this book I am interested in learning more about Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison. I thought the author tried very, very hard to use the big New Madrid earthquakes as a thread that laced all of these events in this historical sampler together, but I don't think that was terribly successful. I thought the book seemed unfocused, and the link between the historical events discussed and the New Madrid earthquakes was tenuous at best. Much more about the actual earthquakes and their aftermath would have been worthwhile; I just finished this book about these quakes, and honestly, I don't feel very educated about the quakes, the New Madrid fault system, the science and study currently being done on this fault system, the social and economic impacts of those quakes, and what an earthquake of similar magnitude along the New Madrid fault system would mean for our nation if it was to happen today. I'm just not sure what I was supposed to take away from this book.
