“Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis” by Samantha L. Montano, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Emergency Management Department at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, has been named a “Best Book of 2021” by USA Today and NPR’s “Science Friday.”
The 384-page book, published by Park Row Books and described as “part memoir, part expert analysis,” is a timely and cautionary narrative on the environmental disasters of today and those looming in the future in large part due to climate change and the disruption of ecosystems.
In “Disasterology,” Montano brings readers through some of the nation’s worst disasters, providing explanation of what really happened from an emergency management perspective, addresses lapses in prevention and preparedness during past crises, the critical role of the media, and how the approach to recovery was not designed to serve marginalized communities. A section of the book is devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Montano holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Loyola University and received both her master of science degree and doctorate in Emergency Management from North Dakota State University. Her current courses at Mass Maritime include Introduction to Emergency Management and Emergency Management Policy and Procedure, both part of the curriculum requirements for the Academy’s Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management.
“The entire MMA community congratulates Dr. Montano on the publication of Disasterology,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, USMS, president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “It is a deeply moving account and essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand how our country handles disasters and what we must do to better face them.”
