Average Rating
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa -- the name has since become a by-word for a cataclysmic disaster -- was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly 40,000 people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event which has only very recently become properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round the world for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of lght. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogota and Washington went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significantly of all -- in view of today's new political climate -- the eruption helped to trigger a wave of murderous anti-western militancy by fundamentalist Muslims in Java: one of the first eruptions of Islamic killings anywhere.
Simon Winchester's long experience in world wandering, as well as his knowledge of history and geology, gives us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event as he brings it tellingly back to life.
History
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Most recent 5 reviews out of 19
Submitted by Jonathan Jones
not a good book to listen to in the car. it takes the author forever to get to the story at hand. too much history which has nothing to do with the eruption of krakatoa.
Submitted by Anonymous
Always a pleasure to read/listen to Simon Winchester. Great detail and obvious love of geology adds to a great story.
Submitted by Tim Aho
This book is packed with info. I found myself doing a lot of rewinding to try to begin to absurb it all. So, if your looking for easy listening then this may not be for you. However, there were several times within the book I found myself transported back to that very scary time. If you like science, history, and trivia this is a must. Great work Mr Winchester
Submitted by Kathy Linn
This is one of those books best enjoyed in small doses, so plan it for commuting rather than a long trip. Doing it this way I really enjoyed going down all the side roads the author takes and learned a lot about the history of Indonesia, the behavior of volcanoes, and a lot of other subjects...it's a fascinating story, too, in its own right.
Submitted by KD
I'm a big fan of Simon Winchester's books, and I am fascinated by major events like earthquakes and vocanic eruptions and the like, so you'd think I'd love love love this book. But I don't. I just like it.
It's longer than it needs to be. Sometimes it seems like he repeats himself. And even though I do love detail, there is almost too much detail. Plus, and probably most frustrating for me, it seemed like the story wandered....he talked about Krakatoa, then something else, then Krakatoa, then something else, then an earlier event with Krakatoa...I found it distracting.
That said, it is a very rich, detailed, and illuminating book about a well-known yet little-known event. The book does a wonderful job of telling you everything about an event you only think you know about.
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Biographies
