“[A] tour de force: terrific storytelling that reveals our vulnerability to nature’s most destructive forces.” BBC (London)
Island on Fire : The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World
06-04-19
6hrs 9min
Description
Can a single explosion change the course of history? An eruption at the end of the eighteenth century led to years of climate change while igniting famine, disease, and even perhaps revolution.
Laki is Iceland’s largest volcano—and its most fearsome. Its eruption in 1783 is one of history’s great, untold natural disasters. Spewing out sun-blocking ash and then a poisonous fog for eight long months, the effects of the eruption lingered across the world for years. It caused the deaths of people as far away as the Nile and created catastrophic conditions throughout Europe.
Island on Fire is the story not only of a single eruption but the people whose lives it changed, the dawn of modern volcanology, as well as the history―and potential―of other super-volcanoes like Laki around the world. And perhaps most pertinently, in the wake of the eruption of another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, which closed European air space in 2010, acclaimed science writers Witze and Kanipe look at what might transpire should Laki erupt again in our lifetime.
Praise
“[A] tour de force: terrific storytelling that reveals our vulnerability to nature’s most destructive forces.” BBC (London)
“Interweaving information compiled by naturalists and astronomers of the day (and even Benjamin Franklin, who was in Paris during the eruption) with interviews with modern-day scientists and historians, the authors provide a captivating overview of the eruption.” Science News
“A compelling and engrossing story of Laki and its worldwide impact…[with] facts and examples that make their specific story one with implications for modern readers.” Seattle Times
“The official death tally in Iceland from Laki was around 9,000, but some experts suggest the global toll was much higher…Because a Laki-scale eruption happens on average every 200 to 500 years in Iceland, a similar event is not unlikely.” Scientific American
“A brilliant book. While Iceland’s volcanology became front-page news in 2010 when Eyjafjallajökull grounded flights across Europe for almost a week, Kanipe and Witze situate that recent eruption in the country’s tragic volcanic history and volatile geology.” Pacific Standard
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Jun 3, 2019 |
| Release Date | June 4, 2019 |
| Release Date Machine | 1559606400 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | History, Sports & Outdoors, Outdoors & Nature, Science & Engineering, Science, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All |
Author Bio
Alexandra Witze is an award-winning science journalist and correspondent for the journal Nature. Her reporting has taken her from the North Pole to report on climate change to the jungles of Guatemala to cover Maya archaeology and to China’s quake-ravaged Sichuan province. Island on Fire is her first book.
Jeff Kanipe is an experienced science writer and the author of a number of books on astronomy including Chasing Hubble’s Shadows and The Cosmic Connection. He has an asteroid, 84447 Jeffkanipe, named after him.
Narrator Bio
John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.
Overview
Can a single explosion change the course of history? An eruption at the end of the eighteenth century led to years of climate change while igniting famine, disease, and even perhaps revolution.
Laki is Iceland’s largest volcano—and its most fearsome. Its eruption in 1783 is one of history’s great, untold natural disasters. Spewing out sun-blocking ash and then a poisonous fog for eight long months, the effects of the eruption lingered across the world for years. It caused the deaths of people as far away as the Nile and created catastrophic conditions throughout Europe.
Island on Fire is the story not only of a single eruption but the people whose lives it changed, the dawn of modern volcanology, as well as the history―and potential―of other super-volcanoes like Laki around the world. And perhaps most pertinently, in the wake of the eruption of another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, which closed European air space in 2010, acclaimed science writers Witze and Kanipe look at what might transpire should Laki erupt again in our lifetime.
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