Volcanoes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions

by Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders

Book Overview

When the volcano Tambora erupted in Indonesia in 1815, as many as 100,000 people perished as a result of the blast and an ensuing famine caused by the destruction of rice fields on Sumbawa and neighboring islands. Gases and dust particles ejected into the atmosphere changed weather patterns around the world, resulting in the infamous ''year without a summer'' in North America, food riots in Europe, and a widespread cholera epidemic. And the gloomy...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691118388
• ISBN13: 9780691118383
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Science and Humanity

This book is written in a clear and engaging style that conveys a scientific understanding of vulcanoloy and the consequences, both positive and negative, of volcanic activity on human life and society.The authors incorporate a discussion of the physical processes that drive volcanic activity with vivid descriptions of historic eruptions. The book includes nine well-chosen case studies that highight differences in type, intensity and effects of eruption. The authors vividly describe the effects of volcanic eruptions on natural and human environments, human history and human behavior. Throughout the book are highly explanatory yet simple illustrations of the natural processes at work and the specific volcanoes under study. The authors convey the inspiring power of volcanic acitivity and place natural and human impacts within short and long-term perspectives. This book is clear and informative science coupled with thought provoking history and engaging human interest. From plate tectonics and environmental impact, to entertaining stories of the effects of volcanic eruptions on art and literature or the creation of mythology, to thought-provoking effects on human life, migration and economic decline - its all here.

Volcanoes in Human History

Volcanoes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions written by Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders is an engaging book about the awesome power of volcanoes its effects and how volcanoes are born. This book takes the reader on a short journey through time as we explore the origins and mechanisms of volcanism and shoing us how this affected human history, societies, cultures, and the environment.This book explores nine volcanic eruptions, diccussing the geological setting in terms of plate tectonics; the theory that virtually rigid segments of the earth's crust move about over a less rigid layer and collide, and that the collisions give rise to earthquakes and volcanic activity. Then the book goes over the human terms following the aftereffects of volcanic eruption.Volcanism is the surface manifestation of a living earth, the author likens a volcanic eruption as the plucking of a long tight-stretched string representing time: when the string is plucked it vibrates. Where the string is plucked is the volcanic activity or eruption where a great deal of energy is being released, the vibrations will have high amplitudes and short wavelengths. These vibrations will be powerful, but only last for a short time. But, as the vibration flows down the string (time), the amplitudes will decrease and the wavelengths increase, whithat the aftereffects will become less intense and they will last longer. The eruption will last days, volcanic aftereffects will last months, Climate change, Famine, epidemics, diaspora will last years; Economic and ecologic revival will last decades, and cultural effects will last centuries.The books narrative is easy to read and is very understandable making this subject easy to understand. Most of us see a volcano erupt on the news and that is all we know until the news shows us another eruption. What we are not given is the far-reaching effects of what is really happening within the earth. Volcanism is the earth's way of renewing itself and releaving the tremendous pressures from deep within.Reading this book will give the reader a greater appreciation about what really goes on, on the earth we walk upon. As the population of the earth increases, the effects of volcanism will be magnified, it is crucial that we understand the origin of volcanism as well as the devastation it can cause, and the aftereffects, for good or ill, that can linger for years, even decades, to come. This is an incrediblly well-told story that is informative but nontechinical.

Living Under The Volcano

We are used to having to deal with changes in the weather, but twenty years ago, meteorologists were having to deal with a new atmospheric manifestation. Mount Saint Helens had blown up in the state of Washington, and had affected air quality, air travel, and emotions in the region, and had world-wide weather consequences. It certainly was not the first time a volcano shaped the weather, for volcanoes have had major effects on weather and even history. _Volcanoes in Human History: The Far-Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions_ (Princeton University Press) by Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders takes nine famous or obscure volcanoes and demonstrates that volcanoes are an active part of our lives.Surprisingly, volcanic effects are not all bad. Volcanic soils are very fertile, and we use plenty of minerals of volcanic origin. The gases from volcanoes made the Earth's atmosphere before photosynthesis took over. Many geologists think that all the water on earth was originally released by volcanoes. The book shows a very interesting aspect of Hawaii, in that it is in the middle of the Pacific plate, not near the edges where the plates are barging into each other and which are the usual sites of volcanic activity. The plate carrying the islands is floating slowly over a particular hotspot, which pokes up as the plate floats over it, and gives rise to the familiar Hawaiian Island chain. Iceland is on such a hotspot, too, and besides that, it straddles the Mid-Atlantic ridge, where the ocean floor is being split apart as the plates separate at about two centimeters a year. The Bronze Age eruption of Thera in the Mediterranean directly weakened Crete, which permitted the Greeks to expand into the area; Mycenaean Greece was given the boost that made it the ancestor of classical Greece, with incalculable effects on the entire Western civilization ever since. Mount Pelée's explosion in Martinique in 1902 stopped an election that would have furthered the political advancement of black and mixed-race people on the island, and throughout the French colonies. The list of contingencies is fascinating.All of the volcanoes described here are still active; we have not heard the last of them, and perhaps there is someday going to be a blast like that in Toba in the Pacific 74,000 years ago, which was thousands of times bigger than Mount St. Helens, and may have affected human evolution. This surprising, informative book is a useful look at how volcanoes effect land, sea, humans, and society. Even those of us not under the shadow of a volcano are living in the volcano zone.

Volcanoes in Human History

The new book, Volcanoes in Human History by Dr. Jelle DeBoer and Theodore Sanders is a must-have for anyone interested in, or teaching, volcanism. Dr. DeBoer is the Stearns Professor of Earth Science at Wesleyan University (CT), and Mr. Sanders has been a petroleum geologist and science editor. Having taught Honors Earth Science in high school for the last 26 years, I can attest to the relevance of the book. The authors show how nine of the most famous eruptions have affected human history. Each chapter discusses one eruption, in both scientific and historical detail. The science is immediately useful in teaching a high school or introductory college level class. I found new information about all nine eruptions that I will use in my classes, combining it with an AP text. The long lasting effects that these eruptions have had on human history will make the study of volcanoes even more interesting. Relating the earlier eruptions with folklore and mythology shows the effects, other than devastation, that these events had on humanity. The first chapter is a perfect overview of volcanism, its origins and consequences. The following chapters tell us both the geologic causes of these eruptions and their ramifications on current and subsequent generations, be it social, economic, environmental, or artistic. Beginning with the Hawaiian folklore of Pele, the fire goddess, and her battles with her sister Namaka o Kahai, the goddess of the sea, one can see the epic battles as shaping the thinking and lifestyles of the people of Hawaii. When the chapter turned to geology, I learned that there are two parallel sets of active vents. The explanation of a "bow wave" effect, causing lithospheric uplift and faulting is a concept that is sure to be incorporated into my classes. The following chapters discuss Thera, Vesuvius, Iceland, Tambora, Krakatau, Mt. Pele, Tristan de Cunha, and finally Mt. St. Helens. Each chapter is a treasure trove of information useful in all levels of Earth Science. Some may be omitted for younger students, while the older students may use the information to jump start further study. I plan to show members of the Social Science and English departments the book so they may glean information, from it that they can use for their own teaching purposes. The book uniquely balances scientific concepts with easy readability. It will be equally enjoyable to geologists, teachers, and anyone with interest in science or history.

An exciting and fascinating read

I do quite a bit of research in nonfiction, and find so many science texts that may be full of wonderful information, but are like trying to wade through oatmeal. This book is wonderful! Informative, fascinating--but also a wonderful book to read, even for a lay person. It covered so many dimensions to these disasters--political, social, even literary--that it made me rethink about how we've historically formed our religious and social views. The science/geology is equally well done, but it's 'bigger'than just a science book, and I would think, interesting to everyone.