Mooallem does a nice job of showing the domino of damage in cinematic slow motion — the crevasses opening in city streets, the land slinking and sliding, the indiscriminate collapse of homes of both the rich and the poor. And he’s astute in explaining the science.

Mooallem's second book...is an invigorating retelling of three days in March 1964.

Mooallem makes brilliant use of two fortunate circumstances for telling this story.

This is a story about how communities pulled together in the face of extreme adversity; while several people described throughout were also pivotal to the disaster relief and recovery process, Mooallem uses Genie Chance as the anchor and heart of the story.

Mooallem likes elaborate titles, but he’s an elegant writer, a fine chronicler of disaster and a smart student of the ironies and contradictions of contemporary culture.

... [an] impressively rendered narrative.

Interweaving accounts of search-and-rescue operations with the story of a local production of Our Town staged the weekend after the earthquake, Mooallem delivers a moving tribute to the spirit of community in the face of disaster. This inspiring tale feels bound for the big-screen..