To understand and avoid future calamities, decision makers must have a more accurate way of understanding past calamities. Most of what we know about calamities comes from eye witness accounts that favor relief efforts and damage reports rather than the specific events that come together initially to form a disaster. This suggests that previous models of disaster may be inaccurate. This book looks for similarities between numerous disasters and examines social-, psychological-, and communicationbased research to form a more accurate model of the events that create and propel disasters. The authors offer suggestions to guide organizations and managers in developing a culture of safety in an environment that promotes learning from past mistakes.