Following in the footsteps of its popular predecessor, the second edition of Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900–2010 provides the background needed to understand the key political and policy underpinnings of emergency management, exploring how major "focusing events" have shaped the development of emergency management. It builds on the original theoretical framework and chronological approach, but improves on the first edition by adding fresh information on older events such as Hurricane Katrina as well as a new chapter covering the BP oil spill in 2010 and the unprecedented characteristics of the disaster response to it. The final chapter offers an insightful discussion of the public administration concepts that constitute the larger context for consideration of emergency management in the United States for more than a century.

Some praise for the new edition of this award-winning book:

The first edition of this book filled a serious gap in the literature by providing historical context for present-day emergency management. This edition goes further to flesh out that context, detailing the political and practical underpinnings of emergency management organization and practice.
—Professor William L. Waugh Jr., Department of Public Administration & Urban Studies, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University

... a must-read for both undergraduate and graduate students who want to learn from our past and join a growing professional field committed to enhancing community resilience and sustainability.
— John C. Pine, director, Research Institute for Energy, Environment and Economics, Appalachian State University