This collection looks at some of New Zealand's most significant national tragedies. Spanning more than 150 years, it tells stories of drama, caution, hope and recovery — from the 1863 wreck of the Orpheus at Manukau Heads, to Tarawera, the Wahine, Erebus, Pike River and the Christchurch quakes. In the backgrounder, historian Jock Phillips writes about the collection, and the "common sequence" to disaster.