Just recently while browsing through my local library, I checked out a copy of "Living with Earthquakes: A Survivor's Guide" by Robert S. Yeats. It was a good move.

I consider myself well informed on the subject of earthquakes, but this book contained a vast amount of information that was relatively new to me, well written and clearly presented. One section of the book deals with insurance issues, definitely a real world concern once the earth has stopped moving.

There is also a good section on earthquake preparedness, presented in a very realistic perspective.

If you are a fellow Californian, I recommend this book highly. Yeats has also written a companion volume for the Pacific Northwest. I would believe that one is a winner too.