Running the Risk: From Shark Attacks to Nuclear Disaster - Understanding Life's Biggest Risks and How We Build a Safer Future - Hardcover

by David Reid (Author)

"Entertaining and illuminating, this is odds-on to recalibrate your reasoning about every threat and opportunity. The only risk would be not to read it." --Quentin Cooper, science journalist and host of BBC Radio 4's Material World

"A must-read for anyone who wants to know about the risks we run in this highly complex world we're living in." --Vincent Doumeizel, author of The Seaweed Revolution

"I have been studying risk for more than sixty years and have seen a lot of books on the subject... Running The Risk is one of the best." --Professor Paul Slovic, founder and president of Decision Research

"A genuinely fabulous book... my bet is that this book will be talked about for years to come." --Professor Richard Clegg, chairman of the Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk, National University of Singapore

Crossing the road, sitting next to someone on the subway who might have a virus, or going out at night alone, we are surrounded by hidden risks. Running The Risk delves into the fabric of our daily existence, posing crucial questions about the risks we face, what we need to know about them, and what we can do to engineer a safer, more resilient future.

From the roots of the concept of risk to new threats brought by climate change, each chapter unfolds a captivating narrative, weaving together major historical incidents and topical news events. Explore the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and how it transformed the way we prepare for disasters. Travel to Fukushima and witness the importance of listening to our ancestors. Uncover the way coastal communities are adapting to rising sea levels in Indonesia. Dive into the digital realm with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, revealing a new era of digital risk and anxiety.

Through riveting storytelling, Running the Risk invites readers to reflect on the risks we navigate in a rapidly changing world and understand the global implications of interconnected threats. This exploration of risk is not just an exposé it's a guide to building resilience, making informed choices, and ultimately leading safer, healthier, happier lives.

"A well-rounded book that draws on history in a thought-provoking way." --Claire Fox, Baroness Fox of Buckley, panelist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and Director of the Academy of Ideas

Author Biography

An expert in strategic communications, David Burrett Reid is a member of the executive leadership team of Lloyd's Register Foundation. A former physicist, David is also passionate about communicating science and the need to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. He was the Director of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival and led public engagement for various organizations including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Institute of Physics (IOP). He is the founder and executive chairman of Matter PR, one of the world's only communications agencies specializing in helping science and engineering organizations. He is a Board Trustee of The Oxford Trust which encourages the pursuit of science, and The BRE Trust, an independent charity dedicated to improving the built environment for the benefit of all.