Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 | 
| Author: Simon Winchester
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $0.97
You Save: $24.98 (96%)
New (43) Used (160) Collectible (27) from $0.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  211 reviews
Sales Rank: 69409
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0066212855
Dewey Decimal Number: 551.21095982
EAN: 9780066212852
ASIN: 0066212855
Publication Date: April 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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
The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World examines the enduring and world-changing effects of the catastrophic eruption off the coast of Java of the earth's most dangerous volcano -- Krakatoa. The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa -- the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster -- was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. 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. Simon Winchester's long experience in the world wandering as well as his knowledge of history and geology give us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event as he brings it telling back to life.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 206 more reviews...
 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 1 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.
 great description of the eruption April 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Winchester does a wonderful job describing the eruption of Krakatoa and the subsequent effects it had on the world. Using first hand accounts, he reconstructs the day of the eruption. In addition, Winchester describes the area as it is today, awaiting the next eruption.
 excellent March 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Excellent author, excellent book....both interesting and informative.
If you like books that teach in a fun way, I highly recommend this guy.
|
|
|
