Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 | 
| Author: Simon Winchester
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  213 reviews
Sales Rank: 358421
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 006093736X
Dewey Decimal Number: 551.2109598
EAN: 9780060937362
ASIN: 006093736X
Publication Date: March 2004
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Amazon.com Review
It may seem a stretch to connect a volcanic eruption with civil and religious unrest in Indonesia today, but Simon Winchester makes a compelling case. Krakatoa tells the frightening tale of the biggest volcanic eruption in history using a blend of gentle geology and narrative history. Krakatoa erupted at a time when technologies like the telegraph were becoming commonplace and Asian trade routes were being expanded by northern European companies. This bustling colonial backdrop provides an effective canvas for the suspense leading up to August 27th, 1883, when the nearby island of Krakatoa would violently vaporize. Winchester describes the eruption through the eyes of its survivors, and readers will be as horrified and mesmerized as eyewitnesses were as the death toll reached nearly 40,000 (almost all of whom died from tsunamis generated by the unimaginably strong shock waves of the eruption). Ships were thrown miles inshore, endless rains of hot ash engulfed those towns not drowned by 100 foot waves, and vast rafts of pumice clogged the hot sea. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away, and the eruption's shock wave traveled around the world seven times. But the book's biggest surprise is not the riveting catalog of the volcano's effects; rather, it is Winchester's contention that the Dutch abandonment of their Indonesian colonies after the disaster left local survivors to seek comfort in radical Islam, setting the stage for a volatile future for the region. --Therese Littleton
Product Description
Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogota and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all -- in view of today's new political climate -- the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims, one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere. Krakatoa gives us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 208 more reviews...
 Winchester misfires August 3, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Gratuitous slaps at creation science didn't help to positively influence my opinion of this book, but ultimately this book just wasn't as well-written as expected from Winchester, renowned as he is for his popular scientific treatments such as
--The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary
--A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
The book takes too long to get going with too many side trails from the main subject that are only marginally interesting.
In the side trails that are of interest, we learn that
--amateur weather observers indulging in their newly-popular pastime helped record the shock waves that circled the globe seven times after the explosion.
--the explosion is believed to be the loudest ever in human history, and was heard nearly 3,000 miles away.
 Fascinating, interesting, but wordy. July 22, 2008
This is a generally well-written account of the famous volcanic eruption which was one of the first such major events to take place after the development of worldwide communication technology. The author has been criticized for including details - many details - about not only geology, but also the history of the region and it's people, in addition to the narrative of the explosive eruption itself. If you are not a geologist or an Asia specialist, you will unreservedly enjoy this book! All the details provided by Mr.Winchester give the reader a feel for the place and the time. A perfect "read" for the intelligent non-specialist! My only complaint is that this book could be one-third shorter without losing any information, if the author would curb his use of literary devices like foreshadowing and the use of rhetorical questions. These are not bad writing "tricks", to be sure - but enough is enough! The fifth or sixth time that Winchester tells you of other volcanic eruptions, or of lesser events in the Krakatoa volcano which "would pale compared to what was about to take place" ( or some such comment ) you have a feeling which is beyond "deja vu". Despite this, I recommend the book wholeheartedly. The missing fifth star is due only to my quarrel with the writer's style.
Thorough and interesting July 18, 2008
I bought this book because of a reference to it in an earth sciences lecture on iTunesU, expecting to learn all the details of the Krakatoa eruption. Simon Winchester fulfilled that expectation and gave me a detailed and interesting snapshot of the times as well. In that way it was reminiscent of William Manchester's excellent work, A World Lit Only By Fire. Winchester also covered the subsurface causes of the event in a substantial but readable way. I was pleased to find a very up to date account of the current geological state of the site. His ability to paint word pictures is obvious and enjoyable, and I'd recommend the book to anyone.
Exceptionally interesting, detailed account of the worst volcanic eruption in recorded history July 1, 2008
The first 90 pages of this book are boring, but after that point, the story picks up into a gripping, detailed account of the worst volcanic eruption in recorded history.
This book not only recounts the geology and history of the event, but aptly points out the complex interplay between natural events and people. Moreover, it shows how much the world had become a global village, even by 1883 and that politics and the environment are intertwined.
It is masterfully written (minus the first 90 pages) and is perhaps the best science related book I have read this year...and as a geologist I read quite a few.
 Not what I wanted May 7, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you want a book that tells you about the Krakatoa eruption only--this is not your book. This one goes back to the settlement of the area in extreme detail. You don't get close to the eruption until after 200 pages. This is more like a history text in my opinion. I am not even sure I will finish reading it.
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