Gaul’s work provides a sobering historical and present-day account on a seemingly never-ending cycle ... Thoughtfully written, minutely researched, and eminently readable, this sobering analysis seeks to make people start asking questions about the viability of building on the coasts in an era of climate change.
... carefully researched and eye-opening ... Gaul doesn’t tell us what to do about New York City or New Orleans, paycheck-to-paycheck victims of coastal hurricanes or inland disasters. Nor does he fully trace the logic between the facts he lays out and the greater problem they point to: climate denial ... Critical as they are of the federal government, they staunchly defend the idea of disaster relief. Gaul’s book both affirms that faith and alerts them to high-end developers and others with a financial interest in denial.
Gilbert Gaul shows unmistakably what we thought we knew all along: disaster relief and flood insurance have become a stealth entitlement for the wealthy. In his excellent The Geography of Risk, Gaul piles up the evidence through research, interviews and actual examination. It is a patient and relentless investigation.
... punchy ... In the clipped style of a beat reporter, [Gaul] recounts the histories of early developers ... Tallying up the enormous national tax burden of protecting and rebuilding coastal towns and beaches after storms, Gaul captures the overall head-in-the-sand mentality of coastal investors and administrators. While some readers may wish he would have vented more ire, Gaul sticks to the facts in this close-up expose about land at risk.
Climate-change deniers will doubtless dismiss the waters lapping at their ankles, but coast dwellers will want to give this book their urgent attention.
