Editorial Review:
Through a harrowing first-person account of an eruption and its aftermath, SURVIVING GALERAS reveals the fascinating, high-risk realm of volcanology and explores the profound impact volcanoes have had on the earth's landscapes and civilizations.
In 1993, Stanley Williams, an eminent volcanologist, was standing on top of a Colombian volcano called Galeras when it erupted, killing six of his colleagues instantly. As Williams tried to escape the blast, he was pelted with white-hot projectiles traveling faster than bullets. Within seconds he was cut down, his skull fractured, his right leg almost severed, his backpack aflame. Williams lay helpless and near death on Galeras's flank until two brave women -- friends and fellow volcanologists -- mounted an astonishing rescue effort to carry him safely off the mountain.
The tale of how Williams survived Galeras is the framework for a groundbreaking book about volcanoes, their physical and cultural impact, and the tiny cadre of scientists who risk their own lives to gain knowledge that might one day save many others' lives.
Volcanoes unleash supremely powerful, unpredictable forces, and we have paid dearly for our understanding of their behavior. Even with ever more sensitive measuring tools and protective equipment, at least one volcanologist, on average, dies each year. Yet Williams and his fellow scientist-adventurers continue to unveil the enigmatic and miraculous workings of volcanoes and to piece together methods for predicting their actions. Volcanologists often put themselves in peril, not only because the discipline attracts risk-takers but because they know that volcanoes threaten as many as 500 million people worldwide. For Seattle, Tokyo, Mexico City, Naples -- and for volcanologists -- the clock is ticking.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
A gripping read  2005-06-18
A friend loaned me this book, as he had shared a long hospital experience in Phoenix with Stanley Williams; both of them had grievous head wounds.
I write as a geologist, though not a volcanologist. The relevant geologic facts about our planet are beautifully interpreted for the layperson, who is introduced to the small cadre of scientists who work with active volcanoes. I've known two volcanologists with the USGS, both of whom have suffered severe burns in the course of their work; it's a tremendously dangerous field working alongside a superheated, unknowably complex, hidden, overpressured, shuddering, wildly branching plumbing system.
Dr. Williams ego AND his suffering over the loss of so many are both fully on display. Anyone who has experienced severe trauma, especially to the head, knows that their memory is horribly impaired, along with judgment. In my experience people who deliberately place themselves in terribly dangerous places MUST have a strong ego [I've known a lot of carrier pilots; they're often a cocky lot!] with self-confidence in spades. They are adrenaline junkies.
I don't second-guess the author; there are probably less than half-a-dozen people in the world who have the educational background and experience to look BACK at the data pre-eruption and evaluate if the author should have stayed home that day.
I do think this is an enormously interesting book, impossible to put down, and a terrific introduction to those few who try, at great risk, to save our lives if we live close to one of these fire-breathing monsters. I close with a quote from the philosopher, Will Durant: "Civilization exists by geologic consent, subject to revocation at any moment."
Great adventure read 2003-04-16
I couldn't put this down. It is a great adventure story and and excellent look at a breed of the most adventure-seeking people in the world -- field vulcanologists.
Nothing but a damn lie  2002-09-28
Unfortunately, most of this book is built on nothing but Stanley Williams' ego. After parading around the media for years bragging about how he had been the only survivor of a scientific expedition on Galeras, Williams continues the lie by writing a book about the explosion but conveniently forgets about the other 5 scientists who got out alive. A more compelling and truthful account about Galeras is the book by Victoria Bruce called "No Apparent Danger". Bruce took the time to interview the dozens of people involved with the Galeras tragedy and so her book is much more broad-based than the single-handed novel written by Williams.
Daring the goddess  2002-08-27
In his quest for knowledge that could save thousands of lives, Williams entered where most would fear to tread, the crater of an active volcano. Like others before him, he was caught by whimsical nature of this most awesome phenomenon. It erupted, taking the lives of six of his colleagues; Williams was perched just over the rim of the crater. Williams, to his own amazement, survived, but remains of some of his friends and co-workers were never found. This book is a testament to the few courageous scientists around the world who climb and investigate these capricious mountains. Williams captivates the reader with the subject of volcanology and descriptions of those who brave the risks to study the goddess Pele's offspring.In telling his own story of risk, injury and survival, Williams recounts his life and his colleagues' around the world. They come from many lands - Russia, Italy, Columbia and other regions beset by earth's upheavals. Williams, almost an anomaly as a native of Illinois - far from any volcanic activity [except, perhaps, politically], is intensely dedicated to the science. He describes the various volcanic processes and the impact volcanoes have had down the ages. The aim of the studies is to learn how to forecast eruptions. A major success in that endeavour was the saving of thousands of lives when the Philippine mountain Pinatubo erupted in 1991. Galeras, the Columbian volcano that nearly took Williams life, is neighbour to a town of three hundred thousand, Pasto. Attempts to instill evacuation programmes there was met with derision and resentment - it would hurt business. Williams' accounts of volcano disasters make enthralling reading. From Pliny the Younger's attempt to rescue his uncle during Pompeii's famous outburst to modern eruptions, the failure of human populations to accommodate the threat are vivid examples of short-sighted views. Williams stresses the obvious threats, lava flows, "pyroclastic" flows of mud, ash and rocks mixed with toxic gases. He also recounts poorly recognized after effects the debris can evoke - chemical poisonings and crop and herd losses. Famine is a regular result of volcanic activity. Volcanoes are capable of global climate impact, the most famous being the 1815 Tambora explosion resulting in New England's "Year Without A Summer" which devastated crops and herds over wide areas. Williams attributes the wave of Western expansion to the impact of an eruption "a world away." As a combined personal account and scientific study, there are few faults in this book. One can only hope someone derives a synonym for "pyroclastic flows" someday. Williams feelings about the event and the subsequent lives of the survivors are told with intense feeling. One can only sympathise with his distress at losing friends and co-workers and how the families bore up under the stress. His historical accounts cover both fact and mythology. Strangely, although Williams describes many of the gods associated with vulcanism, he omits the only American deity - Pele. As capricious as the Hawaiian goddess is, Williams reminds us that the island volcanoes don't threaten explosive eruptions. While that might offer some mild comfort to that State, Mammoth Mountain in California remains an unheralded threat to thousands in the Golden State.
the perils of vulcanology 2001-12-02
Galeras is a Colombian volcano within hiking distance of the Colombian town of Pasto. When it showed increased activity, several scientists were killed in a minor eruption that made headlines, and provoked controversy: mainly about whether or not the scientists' deaths could have been prevented.
Williams book is a well written personal account of the disaster and of William's life afterward, including his struggle with his injuries and his guilt over whether he could have better predicted and prevented the deaths.
For those interested in vulcanology, it would be a good introduction on what scientists do to monitor dangerous volcanos, and the very real risk that many of them take with little publicity to protect hundreds of thousands of lives of those people living within the shadow of these dangers.
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