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Search - Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883
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Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883 Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Audio CD (Unabridged), Paperback, Hardcover
Book 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 Bogotá 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.
Members who requested this book also requested:
Genres:
- History >> Asia >> Indonesia
- Science >> Earth Sciences >> Earthquakes & Volcanoes
- Science >> Earth Sciences >> General
- Science >> Earth Sciences >> Geology
- Science >> Earth Sciences >> Natural Disasters
- Professional & Technical >> Professional Science >> Earth Sciences >> General
- Professional & Technical >> Professional Science >> Earth Sciences >> Geology
Top Member Book Reviews
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
As usual, Simon Winchester has written a solid, interesting, educational book about a fascinating historical/scientific event. I enjoyed it overall, and certain parts - particularly the chapters that described the actual volcano and the aftermath - were quite exciting. Still, I think Winchester's books are getting a little formulaic, and they could use more editing. This is good book to pass the time on an airplane ride or a day off.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Full of fascinating information, some of it even related to Krakatoa! The author meanders a lot when he writes, and I suspect plagiarizes his own work.
Book written in 2003, he states early on that "Probably... it will be many years... before anything will befall the world...that will be as terrible as what took place..[at Krakatoa]..", yet the next year in the same part of the world almost 10 times as many people died in the tsunami as died in the 1883 explosion.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fascinating, but not his best. Do check review in Science Magazine questioning some of his conclusions.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Simon Winchester presents the facts and the history behind this natural disaster. What I found most interesting was how far-reaching the effects of Krakatoa's eruption were, and the interesting ways they were able to prove it. Winchester presents this all in a reader-friendly style which is easy to understand even if you are not a geologist. Very enjoyable reading! Put it on your wishlist today!
Tamara C. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fascinating! Makes me want to jump a steam ship for the Dutch East Indies and explore the remnants of this angry island.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Simon Winchester is able to make the social history & physical (geological) history of this event sing together in marvelous ways.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A fascinating, in-depth study of the political and geological history of Java and the awe-inspiring volcano called "Krakatoa".
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
An incredible historical account of what happend on that fateful day when the world literaly "exploded". This is a very well-documented book, a bit long maybe, but definitely worth it.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
Fascinating and detailed account of this historic event. Well written.
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