A gripping account of one of the most devastating catastrophes ever to hit a major city in the Western worldJust after half past nine on the morning of Sunday, November 1, 1755, the end of the world came to the city of Lisbon. On a day that had begun with blue skies and gentle warmth, Portugal s proud capital was struck by a massive earthquake estimated at 8.7 on the Richter scalemore powerful than the 1906 San Francisco or the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquakes. An hour later, Lisbon and the Algarve coast were engulfed by a series of tsunamis, while in areas of the city unaffected by the waves, fires raged for six days, completing the destruction of Europe s fourth-largest city. By the time it was all over, 60,000people had perished and 85 per centof Lisbon s buildings, plus an unimaginable wealth of cultural treasures, had been destroyed by quake, fire, or water. The earthquake had a searing impact on the European psyche, and for Portugal itself, despite an ambitious program of reconstructionwhich gave birth to the modern science of seismologythe quake ushered in a period of decline. Drawing on primary sources, a vivid picture is paintedof a city and society changed forever by a day of terror. The quake itself and its immediate aftermath is described in detail, as are the political, economic, and cultural consequences."