In spite of a somewhat narrow focus, giving too much attention to the misadventures of the British, this book offers a breathtaking account of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the deadliest tragedy of this kind to take place in a west european city. ( )

It's early morning, and you are heading to church. Once there, a massive earthquake strikes. You rush outside to see buildings start to collapse due to a second tremor just minutes later. Within an hour, parts of the city are ablaze, which does nothing to quell the panic. You rush to the river, hoping to flee the city in a boat. But several huge waves come rushing down the riverbed. It sounds like a plot for a summer blockbuster, but this "perfect storm" really did strike Lisbon in 1755. Two recent books cover the history of the event: Wrath of God by Edward Paice, and The Last Day by Nicholas Shrady.

The Last Day starts out in media res, putting the reader in the churches of the somewhat devout Portuguese city minutes before the earthquake. Shrady then gives some of the history of Portugal, especially concentrating on the Catholic influence and the Brazilian importation of gold and slaves. The book bounces back and forth through history as Shrady takes a topic and gives its history, which made it feel like some parts were repetitive. Shrady's main focus through the last half of the book is the Marques de Pombal (Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo), a man who positioned himself well in the rebuilding of Lisbon (and, in essence, the entire country).

Wrath of God follows a more chronological structure, giving the history of Lisbon for the first seventy pages (one irritating point: the author uses many Portuguese words without always giving definitions). When the earthquake finally happens, Paice has established a number of characters which he follows throughout the middle third of the book. While this sometimes seems to jumble their stories, it really shows the confusion and terror that must have occurred during this disaster. The end of the book does discuss the rebuilding process, plus it gives a longer philosophical discussion starring Voltaire, who wrote two commentaries on the earthquake.

With his important part in the rebuilding of Lisbon, the Marques de Pombal plays a large role in both books. He's generally portrayed with all his faults: he's certainly a man of action who seems to have wanted to revitalize his country, but he's not above petty politics, likely fabricating plots to have his detractors exiled or killed. The Last Day offered a slightly more positive story, noting other areas of Pombal's interest (his ideas for educational reform, for example).

Because both books work from the same primary sources, there's a lot of repetition between the books. Even so, they both tell slightly different stories. The Last Day was a quicker read, which told the story of the disaster and its aftermath. Wrath of God was a bit more academic, noting the struggle of the Church and philosophers to explain why such a religious country would be punished by God in this way. While both titles offer extensive footnotes and bibliographies, I'd recommend The Last Day if you're just interested in the history of the great earthquake, but read Wrath of God if you're doing research in history or earth science. ( )