History brought to life
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This book is a fascinating examination of the eruption of Krakatoa. Simon Winchester gives a vivid account based on eyewitness testimony of the eruption itself and the destruction that the explosion of August 27, 1883 wrought upon the people living in Indonesia. The tales of ships trapped in pitch black ash, ships thrown miles into the jungle, waves 150 feet high sweeping people off cliffs that were thought to be safe, and skeletons found thousands of miles away on floating rafts of pumice all help to build a full sense of the horror and tragedy of that day. Almost 40,000 people died that day, most from the sea waves caused by the collapse of Krakatoa into the sea and Winchester's writing and use of first person sources brings the events of more than 100 years ago to life.
The book covers much more than just that one day. Winchester brings the time to life by discussing the Dutch colonizers and the Javanese who lived under Dutch rule. We get to meet the people who lived at the time of the catastrophe and experience their lives. We also get to understand how geologically dangerous the land these people lived on was (and is) by examining how volcanoes arise in the first place. There are many twists and turns in the story, some fascinating and some less so. The author looks at the post-Indonesian world, briefly discussing the massacre of some Dutch by Moslem militants but doesn't look more deeply. The last chapter looks at the new volcano that has arisen where Krakatoa once was and the return of plants and animals to the new Krakatoa and the surrounding islands.
Winchester is more than anything else a story teller and less so an educator. For example, his story of how the theory of plate tectonics was developed is very interesting but his explanation of the theory could have been clearer. Some of the book drags, for example Winchester spends 15 pages explaining how a telegram announcing the first eruption traveled from Batavia to end up in the Times of London. This was less than scintillating reading. The weakest part of the book is the diagrams, maps, and pictures. There are very few pictures of any of the main characters. The author describes the effect of the eruption on the island of Rakata in great detail but doesn't give us a photo. When describing the magnificent sunsets that occurred after the eruption, the author shows us a copy of a painting of one of these sunsets but he gives it to us in black and white. The map of the Dutch East Indies in the book does not identify any of the towns mentioned in the text and is difficult to interpret.
Overall, the book is a very engaging read and although it occasionally wanders off, it is well worth reading.
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THE UNQUIET EARTH
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Disasters make for good storytelling. Simon Winchester regales us with 400 pages of absorbing narrative that I found instructive and thoughtful as well as vivid and memorable. The catastrophic (or `Plinian') explosion of Krakatoa in 1883 was the largest such event within recorded history, but Winchester has found four others in prehistory that were even more destructive, and as often happens when an author advances my knowledge and understanding of a topic I found myself eager for more information still, some of which may be of urgent practical relevance to my descendents, although I hope not too soon. The diagram of a `subduction zone' in particular (chapter 3 section 4) includes the phenomenon of `shield volcanoes' with a wide caldera such as Yellowstone. I have seen these referred to as `super-volcanoes', and Yellowstone in particular was recently the subject of a gripping if gruesome television programme, as it is apparently ready to go up again before long (in terms of geological time). Winchester's narrative left me unsure whether such super-volcanoes are among the four super-Krakatoas that he lists. It doesn't read that way, so I am left in suspense and uncertainty. Another issue on which I wish he had been more explicit is `phreatomagmatic explosions', although I may or may not have tracked down my answer near the end of chapter 8. These polysyllabic events occur when water touches the hot magma, so if Krakatoa destroyed its total presence above water what re-sealed it below and prevented an ongoing phreatomagmatic frenzy?
It was water that did most of the damage through tsunamis and floods. This makes the event cataclysmic for sure, because a cataclysm means a flood, not a disaster, and although nobody nowadays would use it of a beneficial flood as Herodotus does of the annual flooding of the Nile I'm still not ready to abandon the rearguard action against the word's use for disasters generally. However the main issue for author and reader is what caused the explosion that caused the cataclysm. Winchester is able to give us the benefit of the latest geological insights, explaining the subduction process whereby the earth's tectonic plates shift and renew themselves beneath the oceans. The general picture is very clear and intelligible to a lay reader, the main scientific disputes apparently now centering on the issue of why the event was so violent. From a top-down scientific perspective Winchester finds an almost Panglossian rightness about the system, but I have the impression that the earth is looking after herself and that benefits to humanity are only spin-offs. Considering what humanity is doing to the earth, of course, it's hardly to be wondered that the earth may take steps that reduce human activity.
The book sets the events of 1883 in the context of prior and subsequent history, part scientific, part colonial, cultural and political. It was in the field of ornithology that an abrupt line of division was first noticed between areas of what is now Indonesia separated by only a few miles of sea. General zoology confirmed this division, and geology has furnished the overall explanation. The author then traces the colonial history of the region, starting with the early Portuguese explorers subsequently ousted by the Dutch. After 1883 he notes a rise in anti-colonial sentiment and in Islamic religious assertiveness. It may be that linking these developments with the eruption will not stand too much scrutiny, as similar tendencies were apparent elsewhere, as with the first Indian mutiny. I applaud for their thoughtfulness Winchester's attempts at a theory of jihad, but he ought to be careful with generalisations such as his assertion that Islam is `at its heart' an imperial religion. Arguments resting on any concept of `essential' or `basic' characteristics tend to be unsound and easily picked apart.
However humanity chooses to conduct itself, Anak Krakatoa, the offspring of the self-immolating monster of 1883, is rearing above the ocean again at a rate perceptible to the unaided eye after an interval of some years. It will erupt again, because subduction dictates so. One fascinating sidelight is the rapid re-emergence of plant and animal life on its slopes. This, unlike eruptions, has happened in ways not fully explained. Considering what our planet may do on its own timescale, I sometimes think it a blessing that human life is short by comparison, but even the earth's most violent outbursts seem not to inhibit its other life-forms for long. The stakes are higher for humanity because of the fragile nature of our civilisation. If, as seems probable, we are over-extending ourselves and playing with forces beyond our control, a closer study of how these forces operate might seem wise, and I commend this instructive book to every thinking denizen of the planet earth.
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Stimulating and Intellectual!!
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I purchased the book on the premise it would give me a detailed scientfic account of the volcanic eruption.
It however turned to be an erudite exposure to geology, tectonics, history and pervailing social views in 19th century europe. The book also charts the advent and growth of communication technology.
An excellent read, if you have a desire to enhance your knowledge of colonial history, geology and develop your own personal lexicon.
I however contest the anti-Islamic views expounded throughout the book, typical innate-academic prejudices!! Anti colonial behaviour is not indicative of Islam teachings!
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NOT for light reading!
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This is a good book but the title is misleading. The title suggests this book deals solely with the day Krakatoa's erruption, however this is not the case. Instead the authors charts some 300 years worth of history into his account. This IS interesting reading though perhaps a little too indepth for what I had in mind.
Personally I felt the book picked up pace as the author describes in Greenland trip in 1965. Here the information is still detailed but now feels more relevant and the more I read, the more I am learning!!!
With regard to the rating the 3 starts reflect it's incorrect title and how that can be misleading. A more specific title would certainly have warranted a 4 stars for this book, possibly even 5.
Therefore I would say to those who are seeking the thrill of reading about the terror of the explosion etc that this is NOT the book for them. However if you want a detailed history that has clearly been VERY THOROUGHLY researched then this is the book for you.
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What i think
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The book The Day the World Exploded August 27, 1883 Krakatoa written by Simon Winchester is a book full of information. The information it gives though can sometimes vary off the road of knowing about Krakatoa. It's not necessarily a bad thing though because I did learn quite a lot about other things, like trade and different scientist from around the world and from different times. I thought was not all that thrilled about learning something other than Krakatoa. I wanted to know about the eruption, what caused it, and what its effects were. This book does talk about those but only in about three to four chapters out of a total of ten. An other objection in have to this book it that it is kind of slow. I found myself skipping over parts and having to go back and read them when I realized I had skipped a section. This book is also not an easy read. There is a lot of information and a lot of it is fairly complicated and hard to understand if you do not understand the subject totally. Simon Winchester gets really into not just Krakatoa but Indonesia as well. When reading it you kind of have to decipher on his topics what is relevant and what is not. Simon also likes to jump around on his topics as well and it makes it harder to follow. It does give a lot of good information though about Krakatoa. The longest chapter in the book is all about it and its eruption. It took you into different views of people and different views of locations. And also what people where feeling and going through when the eruption accrued. He did a lot of research on this book and it really shows. It is packed full of good information that he clearly thought was important even though I personally did not see it as being relevant. If you want to know a lot about all sort of different things about volcanoes and our world along with Krakatoa than it may a good read for some people. If you are looking for a book that is all about Krakatoa this may not be the right book. That was what I was looking for and I was disappointed in what I got.
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