Making a hard job more difficult

Citation

Wilson, H.C. (2009), "Making a hard job more difficult", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 18 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2009.07318eaa.001

Making a hard job more difficult

Article Type: Editorial From: Disaster Prevention and Management, Volume 18, Issue 5

As most of the subscribers to the DPM will be aware the editorial team and publishers try to maintain an apolitical stance within the DPM. The journal has always shied away from material that could be deemed to be of a particular political stance irrespective of the nature or reason of that stance. It has never been for one side or the other maintaining that information and research on the planning and response to disastrous events is what is important, irrespective of where, or how, the event has occurred or the politics of that country where it occurred.

This is often a difficult judgement call; what is a political statement and what is a reasoned statement of fact? Has an unduly biased, either intentional or unintentional, political position been adopted by an author or team of authors? It is appreciated that in certain disastrous events that have occurred over the past years there has been a political motive behind issues of terrorist attacks and bombings, but it is the emergency response to the casualties which is important. I have reviewed three books for inclusion in the Book reviews section for this issue of the journal, one of which I had serious doubt about, given the title of the book.

On later reflection I re-read the book, and although there are some small parts that I am not entirely happy with, in general I feel that the remainder of the book is an excellent work-book for emergency planners and first-responders. Global terrorism is a world-wide problem that is not going to go away anytime soon and this book supplies, I feel, a good grounding for the emergency services. Taking the two books together they cover a wide range of important topics in the response to emergency situations irrespective of their source or political motive.

When I review a book, paper or journal, I ask myself one simple question, and that is, “Have I learned anything that I did not know or has it reminded me of certain facts that I have put to the back of my mind?” With regard to the books by Granot and, Granot and Levinson the answer to both questions is “Yes, I have”, hence I have included the reviews within this issue of the journal.

I leave it those who read the books to make up their own minds as to whether my decision is correct or not.

H.C. Wilson