Vulcan's Fury: Man Against the Volcano - Couverture souple

Scarth, Alwyn

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0300091230 ISBN 13 : 9780300091236

Editeur : Yale University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Volcanic eruptions are the most spectacular displays in the natural world. They also present humanity with devastating environmental disasters. This enthralling book describes fifteen of the most remarkable volcanic eruptions across the centuries and, using rare firsthand accounts, analyzes their impact on the people in their paths.

In 79 a.d. Vesuvius produced the most violent eruption recorded in European history. The eruption of Etna in 1669 marked the first known attempt to divert a lava-flow. In 1783, the eruption of Laki indirectly killed a fifth of the Icelandic population and sent a blue haze over Europe. The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 drowned most of its victims and destroyed much of the island as well. In 1980 Mount St. Helens produced a new type of eruption and scythed down a majestic forest. Alwyn Scarth explores these and other eruptions, reconstructing the physical experience of the disaster, its origins, explosion, and aftermath, and interpreting (in many cases for the first time in English) eyewitness accounts that bring their own vividness to the unfolding drama. The accounts tell of fear, panic, miscalculation, and inefficiency as well as emergency organization, self-sacrifice, religious fervor, and heroism, revealing how each affected population handled--or mishandled--its crisis. Scarth's riveting survey shows that technology and volcanic surveillance have made enormous strides during the present century. But volcanoes remain indomitable: no one has yet learned how an eruption can be stopped.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Alwyn Scarth was lecturer in geography at the University of Dundee. His most recent book is Savage Earth.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Yale University Press
• Date d'édition: 2001
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0300091230
• ISBN 13: 9780300091236
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 312
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible