Furious Earth: The Science and Nature of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis

Book Description

Furious Earth sheds light on the life-threatening power and magnitude of nature's mighty trio: earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. With the latest reseach findings from top scientists in the field, as well as insider's information from The U.S. Geological Survey, this is a comprehensive and fascinating guide to the natural forces that literally shape our world.

Customer Reviews:

Good general or introductory book.......2005-08-23

Very well organized and presented. Covers the basics very well with easy to understand terminology. It lacks extensive detail regarding the topics covered....but I think that's the point.

A Choice Of Disasters.......2002-12-23

Furious Earth by Ellen J. Prager [with help from Stanley Williams (Surviving Galeras), Kate Hutton (one of SoCals TV seismologists and the author of the earthquake updates on the TriNet earthquake website), and Costas Synolakis] is a well-written introduction to earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. This book appears to be aimed at junior high/high school aged readers, but adult readers who have no background in these subjects will also enjoy the book. An earlier reviewer suggested that the book has the coverage of the better chapters of an earth science textbook, but I wish high school earth science texts were this well-written. I enjoyed reading the book despite the depth of my background and appreciate the refresher course that Furious Earth gave me. My only complaint concerns the ordering of the color plates at the center of the volume. The pictures are out of order to their mention in the text and the only thing that comes to mind is that they were ordered the way they were to make them fit on a limited number of plate pages. Furious Earth belongs on the shelves in as many elementary and secondary school libraries as possible and would be a wonderful gift for a budding earth scientist.

Furious Earth-.......2000-09-19

I am a sixth grade teacher and was given this book at a science conference. After just beginning to read it, I immediatly went online to see how much the book cost- I want to order one for each for my students! It will be a bit hard and I will have to do some serious directing, but the book is an excellent example of a clear, scientific, organized, up-to-date, and interesting (yes- interesting enough for 30 sixth graders) nonfiction book in the field of earth science. Furious Earth combines "PBS-like" research discussions and theory- (Plate Techtonics Discovered, Paleotsunamis...) with "RealTV-like" examples (Italy, 79 A.D.: Vesuvuis; The World's Largest and Smallest Quakes). The book is a surprisingly suspenseful, fascinating, and easy read (for us unscientific folk). The 16 color pages of graphs and pictures also add to the subject. I can't wait to see their eyes grow when I read to them Chapter 2- Earthquakes. It starts off with the 1994 Northridge, CA quake... It hooked me at least...

non-technicle, intro earth-science book.......2000-09-16

very basic, simple geological concepts and explanations involving volcanology, ocanography, geophysics, etc. anybody can read this interesting book about the processes of the earth, and how humans have attempted to understand it. it is basicaly the more interesting chapters in any college-level Geology 101 course. up to date, very easy to read.

Volcaniclastic Rocks, from Magmas to Sediments

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Volcaniclastic Rocks, from Magmas to Sediments

Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9056992783

Book Description

Recent research has emphasised the important part played by tephra during the evolution of volcanoes and their subsequent emission. Huge amounts of volcaniclasts are released by explosive volcanoes with significant impact on diverse aspects such as population safety, hydrology and the filling of sedimentary basins. This volume examines the production, transport and deposition of volcaniclasts (tephra and epiclasts) as well as their economic geology, particular in terms of reservoir engineering, hydrothermalism and hydrothermal mineralisations, hazard and development. Volcaniclastic Rocks, from Magmas to Sediments is an excellently written and beautifully illustrated textbook compiled by a multidisciplinary group of experts which will be of great value to postgraduates, researchers and working professionals in the earth sciences, especially in volcanology as well as economic, engineering and environmental geology.

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Volcanology
Howell Williams
Manufacturer: Freeman Cooper & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Outstanding book for anyone who loves earth science
The book content
The best book on volcanoes that I have ever read.

Volcanism
Hans-Ulrich Schmincke
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Encyclopedia of Volcanoes
Volcanoes
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Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change

Accessories:

Continental Scientific Drilling: A Decade of Progress, and Challenges for the Future
Soils of Volcanic Regions in Europe

ASIN: 3540436502

Book Description

Volcanic eruptions are the clear and dramatic expression of dynamic processes going on in planet Earth. The author, one of the most profound specialists in the field of volcanology, explains in a concise and easy to understand manner the basics and most recent findings in the field of volcanology. Based on plate tectonics and illustrated with more than 300 color figures, the book offers insights into the generation of magmas and the occurrence and origin of volcanoes. The analysis and description of volcanic structures is followed by process-oriented chapters discussing the role of magmatic gases, as well as explosive mechanisms and sedimentation of volcanic material. The final chapters deal with the forecast of eruptions and their influence on climate. Students and scientists from a broad range of fields will find this book an interesting and attractive source of information.

From the reviews:

"The science of volcanology has made tremendous progress over the past 40 years, primarily because of technological advances and because each tragic eruption has led researchers to recognize the processes behind such serious hazards. Yet scientists are still learning a great deal because of photographs that either capture those processes in action or show us the critical factors left behind in the rock record.

Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke has photos of the best quality I have ever seen in a text on the subject. I found myself wishing that I had had the photo of Nicaragua’s Masaya volcano, which was the subject of my dissertation, but it was Schmincke who was able to include it in his book. In addition, the schematic figures in their wide range of styles are clear, colorful, and simplified to emphasize the most important factors while including all significant features. The book’s paper is of such high quality that at times I felt I had turned two pages rather than one.

I have really enjoyed reading and rereading Schmincke’s book. It fills a great gap in texts available for teaching any basic course in volcanology. No other book I know of has the depth and breadth of Volcanism. I was disappointed that the text did not arrive on my desk until last August, when it was too late for me to choose it for my course in volcanology. I am also disappointed about another fact—the book’s binding is already becoming tattered because of my intense use of it!

Schmincke is a volcanologist who, in 1967, first published papers on sedimentary rocks of volcanic origin, the direction traveled by lava flows millions of years ago, and the structures preserved in explosive ignimbrites, or pumice-flow deposits, that reveal important details of their formation. Since then, his studies in Germany’s Laacher See, the Canary Islands, the Troodos Ophiolite of Cyprus, and many other regions have forged great fundamental advances. Such contributions have been recognized with his receipt of several international awards and clearly give him a strong base for writing the book.

However, as a scientist who has focused on the challenges of monitoring the very diverse activities of volcanoes, I think that the text’s overriding emphasis on the rock record has its cost. The group of scientists who are struggling with their goals to reduce or mitigate the hazards of the eruptions of tomorrow need to learn more about the options of technology, instrumentation, and methodology that are currently available. More than 500 million people live near the more than 1500 known active volcanoes and are constantly facing serious threats of eruptions. An extremely energetic earthquake caused the horrific tsunamis of 2004. However, the tsunamis of 1792, 1815, and 1883, which were caused by the eruptions of Japan’s Unzen volcano and Indonesia’s Tambora and Krakatau volcanoes, each took a similar toll.

( Stanley N. Williams, PHYSICS TODAY, April 2005)

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding book for anyone who loves earth science.......2007-08-11

I didn't have the opportunity to take a volcanology class as a student, so bought this book to read for "fun." Dr. Schmincke's text is easy to understand (even when he explains relatively difficult concepts) and the photographs and illustrations are great - straightforward, colorful, and all definitely add to the text. As a former college geology instructor, I appreciate a book like this and, just from a pure enjoyment perspective - "Volcanism" was super; I had a tough time putting it down.

The book content.......2007-05-14

The book is powerfull mostly for beginner and intermediate skill in volcanology. Many nice images and pictures make the book easy to digest eventhough read by the very beginner people. The complex earth system explained simply but sharply to the point.

The best book on volcanoes that I have ever read. .......2006-06-08

As a glance at some of my other reviews may indicate, I am very interested in nearly all aspects of volcanoes and volcanology. This is by far the best book that I have ever read on the general subject.

The photography is in four-color format and is about the best I have ever encountered on the topics. The book is jam-packed with illustrative diagrams of high quality, and both photos and diagrams follow the text in a crisp, well-crafted manner. The book was obviously written in German first, and sometimes the grammatical translations seem awkward, but remain easily understandable. This is no way detracts from the substantive content of the book.

Not surprisngly, many of the illustration are from sites of European volcanism, such as the Lacher See region of Rhineland, Germany, and the Canary Islands. The discussion of the extremely violent, but hardly known, Lacher See event is well done, and should be carefully perused by any reader. Dr. Schminke reveals a history that is hardly known about, and sorely unappreciated, by readers on this side of the Atlantic. A repetition of the event today, which is cetainly not out of the question, would a major disaster for Western Europe.

While the book uses many terms not familiar to one not acquainted with geology, these are explained for the most part, so the book should be enjoyed by anyone with a high school background in science. Of the many new books on volcanoes in recent years, this is unquestionably the finest one in my belief. I recommend it very highly to anyone who really enjoys the subject of volcanoes.

Volcanism in the Campania Plain, Volume 9: Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ignimbrites (Developments in Volcanology)

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Volcanism in the Campania Plain, Volume 9: Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ignimbrites (Developments in Volcanology)

Manufacturer: Elsevier Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0444521755

Book Description

The book deals with the study of three important volcanisms in the Campania Plain: Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ignimbrites. The knowledge of the volcanic evolution of Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei has a particular relevance because of the hazards that these volcanoes pose to the about 1.5 million people living in the Neapolitan area.

The contributors to the volume bring new data (experiments on volatile solubility, fluid-melt inclusions, tectonic, geophysical, isotope, geochronology), which are helpful in the creation of new models for a better understanding of the behaviour of the volcanic systems. In particular a hydrothermal model is used to explain the ground movements (bradyseism) at Campi Flegrei. To develop such a model, the authors use an analogue for the evolving Campi Flegrei sub-volcanic system, the model of the porphyry mineralized systems. For Campanian Ignimbrite the authors highlight the impact crystal-liquid separation has on melt compositional evolution and particularly focus on trace element and Th isotope evidence for open-system processes in the magma body associated with the Campanian Ignimbrite.

Book Description

In this new edition of Volcanology, Dr. McBirney joins Dr. Bardintzeff, author of two previous French editions, to revise and update the text's presentation of volcanology for an American audience, and for English-speaking students of geology in particular. The text examines a wide breadth of topics including the origins and mechanisms of volcanoes, their impact on humans and the environment, the contribution volcanoes have made to a wealth of our world's basic resources, and the role volcanoes have played in shaping the Earth and other planets.

Hot off the presses this month, and written by two of the world's leading experts in the field, Volcanology, Second Edition is a must-have resource for geology students or anyone interested in the inner workings of volcanoes. The text is written at a level that makes even the most sophisticated concepts easily understood by the non-specialist.

Customer Reviews:

A coherent & detailed scientific look at how volcanoes work.......2003-04-19

Now in its newly second updated and expanded edition, Volcanology by volcanologists Jacques-Marie Bardintzeff and Alexander R. McBirney, provides a coherent and detailed scientific look at how volcanoes work, their impact on humans and upon the environment, how volcanoes shape the Earth and other planets, and much, much more. Enhanced with a gorgeous eight-page insert of color plates and highly recommended for school and community library Earth Sciences collections, Volcanology presents the complex science of volcanology in terms the astute and keen-minded non-specialist readers can readily acquire.

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Statistics in Volcanology

Manufacturer: Geological Society of London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1862392080
Release Date: 2006-10-01

Product Description

Statistics in Volcanology is a comprehensive guide to modern statistical methods applied in volcanology written by today's leading authorities. The volume aims to show how the statistical analysis of complex volcanological data sets, including time series, and numerical models of volcanic processes can improve our ability to forecast volcanic eruptions. Specific topics include the use of expert elicitation and Bayesian methods in eruption forecasting, statistical models of temporal and spatial patterns of volcanic activity, analysis of time series in volcano seismology, probabilistic hazard assessment, and assessment of numerical models using robust statistical methods. Also provided are comprehensive overviews of volcanic phenomena, and a full glossary of both volcanological and statistical terms. Statistics in Volcanology is essential reading for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and research scientists interested in this multidisciplinary field.

Fire, Faults, & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book)

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Best day trip guide for the Missoula Floods I've read.
Fascinating read for the amateur geologist/hiker
When Imagination Falters!
Overlooked Beauty

Fire, Faults, & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book)
Marge Mueller , and Ted Mueller
Manufacturer: University of Idaho Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods
On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A Geological Field Guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin
Cataclysms on the Columbia (Scenic Trips to the)
The Restless Northwest: A Geological Story
Roadside Geology of Washington (Roadside Geology Series) (Roadside Geology Series)

ASIN: 0893012068

Customer Reviews:

Best day trip guide for the Missoula Floods I've read........2006-03-10

If you have interest in geology, catastrophies, and particularly in the Missoula Floods, this is one of the best books to read.

It provides an overview of the geology and effects of these massive floods of 15,000 years ago, but even more, it provides driving directions, lodging and fuel suggestions, and fantastic day and multi-day trips to view the current day results of the Floods.

I've been to many of the areas covered by the book, and it still pointed out many things I had failed to see and understand.

If you are going to be traveling anywhere in Eastern Washington, the Columbia River Gorge, Northern Idaho, or around Missoula Montana--buy the book. It's a very entertaining read and a wonderful way to open your eyes to what has happened to create the extraordinary formations in the inland Northwest.

Fascinating read for the amateur geologist/hiker.......2003-01-07

Growing up in Oregon's Willamette Valley, basalt cliffs have watched over my life. More flood basalt and Rocky mountain gravels and mud are under my feet, and for most of my life I've lived within the shores of glacial lake Allison. When I go the rugged Pacific coast I look at beautiful haystack rocks and headlands where the same lava streams flowed, or I climb volcanic peaks just inland. Flood-wrenched lavas greet me in my travels up the Columbia and Snake Rivers, through the gorge, coulees and hills and through the valley of the Grande Ronde to overlook the Snake River canyon, over a mile deep. Fossils lie beneath similar formations in John Day country.

Fire, Faults & Floods bring the processes that created this to life. It would be useful and handy enough as a guidebook for traveling to various places and interpreting them with short hikes and drives. However, it goes way beyond this, interesting enough to hold your attention as you turn each page, filling in more and more details and drawing them into a cohesive whole.

If you have money and interest left after this book, for a more historically-oriented story of Harlan Bretz, and additional local details, pick up a companion book "Cataclysms on the Columbia" by Allen, Burns, Sargent, and Sargent.

When Imagination Falters!.......2000-06-04

This book tells of events so implausible that even your imagination will have difficulty comprehending them. If I have any complaint about the book it is that it fails to sufficiently emphasize how amazing it is, for example, that molten lava once upon a time ran nearly 400 miles before coming to its stopping place. The authors seem to almost be afraid that if they point up the apparent absurdity of it all, the reader would decide the whole book was a well written hoax! It was not a hoax, though, and the story of what happened in the Pacific Northwest once upon a time is well told. It is of greatest interest, obviously, to those of us who live here in the midst of the results of fire, fault and flood, but, for those elsewhere with vivid imaginations, it is a cracking good book. This is one time when what actually happened is more exciting than anything one's imgination can possibly conjure up!

Overlooked Beauty.......2000-05-01

I really enjoyed this book. But I may be different that you. I like rocks, massive basalt cliffs, immense coulees, and the beauty of arid lands. These and much more can be found in this wonderful book by Marge and Ted Mueller. If you're excited about these things then this may be a book you'd enjoy also, especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. This book is really more than just a basic, easy-to-read geological primer of the Columbia River Basin. It is a trip-planner with detailed instructions on how to go and see the stuff for yourself. I've already been to a couple of the locations and have another short trip planned for this fall. This book is exactly what I hoped it would be when I bought it from Amazon.com. I've never found another book quite like it. Enjoy!

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Exploding lakes and erupting volcanoes
Vulcan's Fury: Man Against the Volcano

Vulcan's Fury: Man Against the Volcano
Alwyn Scarth
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Volcanoes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions
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Volcanoes (A Firefly Guide)

ASIN: 0300075413

Book Description

This enthralling book describes fifteen of the most remarkable volcanic eruptions in history and, using rare firsthand accounts, analyzes their impact on the humans in their paths. Alwyn Scarth surveys volcanic disasters from the violent eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. to the fatal eruption of Laki that killed one-fifth of the Icelandic population in 1783 to the forest-razing eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in 1980.

Customer Reviews:

Exploding lakes and erupting volcanoes.......2004-08-18

Alwyn Scarth, former Professor of Geography at the University of Dundee also wrote "La Catastrophe" which is the best treatment I've read of Mount Pelée and the destruction of Saint-Pierre by a nuée ardente (pyroclastic flow).

"Vulcan's Fury" is a more general treatment of 'Man Against the Volcano' and the score in this book, at least is Volcanoes: 15 - Man: 0, although Parícutin had to make its kills by lightning and death by homesickness in 1943. As the author says in his preface, "This book is about an unequal contest."

The eruptions covered in this book are Stromboli (multiple), Vesuvius (AD 79), Monte Nuovo (1538), Etna (1669), Õraefajökull (1727), Lanzarote (1730 - 1736), Laki (1783), Cosegüina (1835), Krakatau (1883), Mount Pelée (1902), Parícutin (1943), Mount St. Helens (1980), Nevado del Ruiz (1985), Lake Nyos (1986), and Pinatubo (1991).

The most controversial inclusion in this book is the Lake Nyos carbon dioxide eruption that asphyxiated about 1,742 people. Professor Scarth is in the minority among volcanologists in his belief that the trigger for this disaster was an eruption of carbon dioxide from the throat of the volcano beneath the lake. Most people believe the trigger was a landslide. If the lake bottom's carbon dioxide build-up is slow, rather than eruptive, then it can be piped to the surface and dissipated in a controlled manner. In fact, this is currently being done. If the author is correct, there about thirty similar lakes in this region of Africa that could explode at any time--as if this continent didn't already have enough problems!

Hardly anyone ever dies in an actual lava flow except in Hollywood. In his conclusion, Professor Scarth categorizes the different ways to perish by volcanic eruptions, including the indirect ones--mudflows, tsunamis, fires, famines and social disruptions. Krakatau took its biggest toll via tsunamis. Nevado del Ruiz killed 23,000 people by melting its glacier and triggering mudslides. Pinatubo claimed most of its casualties by combining with Typhoon Yunya to collapse roofs under a mess of drenched ash. Laki killed its victims through the 'Haze Famine'--an acrid, blue haze of sulphur dioxide and fluorine that withered the crops and killed the farm animals.

"Vulcan's Fury" is a good general read, and could also serve as a manual for disaster management. Pinatubo was a much more violent eruption than Nevado del Ruiz, but its casualty list was miniscule compared to the latter because of "surveillance, political will, [and] evacuation of the threatened population." It is very likely that most of the 23,000 casualties in the river valleys of Nevado del Ruiz could have been averted through similar measures.

Vulcan's Fury: Man Against the Volcano.......2000-04-05

Alwyn Scarth's book is ideal for anyone interested in volcanoes and their eruptions. His writing style is lively and keeps the reader turning the pages. I would class this, together with Peter Francis' "Volcanoes", as the best reference book on volcanoes available at present.

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A gripping read
Great adventure read
Nothing but a damn lie
Daring the goddess
the perils of vulcanology

Surviving Galeras
Stanley Williams , and Fen Montaigne
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Environmental Values in American Culture

ASIN: 0618031685

Amazon.com

On January 14, 1993, Stanley Williams led a party of fellow geologists up Galeras, a Colombian volcano that, though historically active, had been lying quiet long enough that they suspected it was due for an episode--and thus an opportunity for the volcanologists to practice their predicting skills. As they reached the lip of its great crater, Galeras obliged them with a vengeance: it erupted in a burst of fire and toxic gas, killing several members of the party and leaving Williams scorched and broken, "sprawled on my side, caked in ash and blood, wet from the rain, bones protruding from my burned clothes, my jaw hanging slackly."

Rescued by two colleagues, Marta Velasco and Patty Mothes, Williams faced several challenges in the years to come--not only healing his body and exorcising the ghosts of Galeras, but also contending with other colleagues' whispered charges that he should have known the mountain was about to blow. But death, Williams and collaborator Fen Montaigne (Reeling in Russia) write, comes with the territory. Whenever a volcano has erupted in recent years, it seems, a volcanologist is among its victims, for, Williams notes, "the best way to understand a volcano is still, in my opinion, to climb it," and to climb it in all of its moods. And those moods, Williams and Montaigne add, are not easy to forecast, even if earth scientists have developed ever more accurate ways to predict events such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

At once a study in mountains, the history of geology, and the will to endure, Surviving Galeras is often terrifying, and altogether memorable. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Through a harrowing first-person account of an eruption and its aftermath, SURVIVING GALERAS reveals the fascinating, high-risk realm of volcanology and explores the profound impact volcanoes have had on the earth's landscapes and civilizations. In 1993, Stanley Williams, an eminent volcanologist, was standing on top of a Colombian volcano called Galeras when it erupted, killing six of his colleagues instantly. As Williams tried to escape the blast, he was pelted with white-hot projectiles traveling faster than bullets. Within seconds he was cut down, his skull fractured, his right leg almost severed, his backpack aflame. Williams lay helpless and near death on Galeras's flank until two brave women -- friends and fellow volcanologists -- mounted an astonishing rescue effort to carry him safely off the mountain. The tale of how Williams survived Galeras is the framework for a groundbreaking book about volcanoes, their physical and cultural impact, and the tiny cadre of scientists who risk their own lives to gain knowledge that might one day save many others' lives. Volcanoes unleash supremely powerful, unpredictable forces, and we have paid dearly for our understanding of their behavior. Even with ever more sensitive measuring tools and protective equipment, at least one volcanologist, on average, dies each year. Yet Williams and his fellow scientist-adventurers continue to unveil the enigmatic and miraculous workings of volcanoes and to piece together methods for predicting their actions. Volcanologists often put themselves in peril, not only because the discipline attracts risk-takers but because they know that volcanoes threaten as many as 500 million people worldwide. For Seattle, Tokyo, Mexico City, Naples -- and for volcanologists -- the clock is ticking.

Customer Reviews:

A gripping read.......2005-06-18

A friend loaned me this book, as he had shared a long hospital experience in Phoenix with Stanley Williams; both of them had grievous head wounds.

I write as a geologist, though not a volcanologist. The relevant geologic facts about our planet are beautifully interpreted for the layperson, who is introduced to the small cadre of scientists who work with active volcanoes. I've known two volcanologists with the USGS, both of whom have suffered severe burns in the course of their work; it's a tremendously dangerous field working alongside a superheated, unknowably complex, hidden, overpressured, shuddering, wildly branching plumbing system.

Dr. Williams ego AND his suffering over the loss of so many are both fully on display. Anyone who has experienced severe trauma, especially to the head, knows that their memory is horribly impaired, along with judgment. In my experience people who deliberately place themselves in terribly dangerous places MUST have a strong ego [I've known a lot of carrier pilots; they're often a cocky lot!] with self-confidence in spades. They are adrenaline junkies.

I don't second-guess the author; there are probably less than half-a-dozen people in the world who have the educational background and experience to look BACK at the data pre-eruption and evaluate if the author should have stayed home that day.

I do think this is an enormously interesting book, impossible to put down, and a terrific introduction to those few who try, at great risk, to save our lives if we live close to one of these fire-breathing monsters. I close with a quote from the philosopher, Will Durant: "Civilization exists by geologic consent, subject to revocation at any moment."

Great adventure read.......2003-04-16

I couldn't put this down. It is a great adventure story and and excellent look at a breed of the most adventure-seeking people in the world -- field vulcanologists.

Nothing but a damn lie.......2002-09-28

Unfortunately, most of this book is built on nothing but Stanley Williams' ego. After parading around the media for years bragging about how he had been the only survivor of a scientific expedition on Galeras, Williams continues the lie by writing a book about the explosion but conveniently forgets about the other 5 scientists who got out alive. A more compelling and truthful account about Galeras is the book by Victoria Bruce called "No Apparent Danger". Bruce took the time to interview the dozens of people involved with the Galeras tragedy and so her book is much more broad-based than the single-handed novel written by Williams.

Daring the goddess.......2002-08-27

In his quest for knowledge that could save thousands of lives, Williams entered where most would fear to tread, the crater of an active volcano. Like others before him, he was caught by whimsical nature of this most awesome phenomenon. It erupted, taking the lives of six of his colleagues; Williams was perched just over the rim of the crater. Williams, to his own amazement, survived, but remains of some of his friends and co-workers were never found. This book is a testament to the few courageous scientists around the world who climb and investigate these capricious mountains. Williams captivates the reader with the subject of volcanology and descriptions of those who brave the risks to study the goddess Pele's offspring.

In telling his own story of risk, injury and survival, Williams recounts his life and his colleagues' around the world. They come from many lands - Russia, Italy, Columbia and other regions beset by earth's upheavals. Williams, almost an anomaly as a native of Illinois - far from any volcanic activity [except, perhaps, politically], is intensely dedicated to the science. He describes the various volcanic processes and the impact volcanoes have had down the ages. The aim of the studies is to learn how to forecast eruptions. A major success in that endeavour was the saving of thousands of lives when the Philippine mountain Pinatubo erupted in 1991. Galeras, the Columbian volcano that nearly took Williams life, is neighbour to a town of three hundred thousand, Pasto. Attempts to instill evacuation programmes there was met with derision and resentment - it would hurt business.

Williams' accounts of volcano disasters make enthralling reading. From Pliny the Younger's attempt to rescue his uncle during Pompeii's famous outburst to modern eruptions, the failure of human populations to accommodate the threat are vivid examples of short-sighted views. Williams stresses the obvious threats, lava flows, "pyroclastic" flows of mud, ash and rocks mixed with toxic gases. He also recounts poorly recognized after effects the debris can evoke - chemical poisonings and crop and herd losses. Famine is a regular result of volcanic activity. Volcanoes are capable of global climate impact, the most famous being the 1815 Tambora explosion resulting in New England's "Year Without A Summer" which devastated crops and herds over wide areas. Williams attributes the wave of Western expansion to the impact of an eruption "a world away."

As a combined personal account and scientific study, there are few faults in this book. One can only hope someone derives a synonym for "pyroclastic flows" someday. Williams feelings about the event and the subsequent lives of the survivors are told with intense feeling. One can only sympathise with his distress at losing friends and co-workers and how the families bore up under the stress. His historical accounts cover both fact and mythology. Strangely, although Williams describes many of the gods associated with vulcanism, he omits the only American deity - Pele. As capricious as the Hawaiian goddess is, Williams reminds us that the island volcanoes don't threaten explosive eruptions. While that might offer some mild comfort to that State, Mammoth Mountain in California remains an unheralded threat to thousands in the Golden State.

the perils of vulcanology.......2001-12-02

Galeras is a Colombian volcano within hiking distance of the Colombian town of Pasto. When it showed increased activity, several scientists were killed in a minor eruption that made headlines, and provoked controversy: mainly about whether or not the scientists' deaths could have been prevented.
Williams book is a well written personal account of the disaster and of William's life afterward, including his struggle with his injuries and his guilt over whether he could have better predicted and prevented the deaths.
For those interested in vulcanology, it would be a good introduction on what scientists do to monitor dangerous volcanos, and the very real risk that many of them take with little publicity to protect hundreds of thousands of lives of those people living within the shadow of these dangers.

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