Editorial Review:
Probing the science and mystery of volcanoes, this book chronicles not only their geologic behaviour, but also their profound effect on human life. From Mount Vesuvius to Mount St Helens, the book covers the surprisingly large variety of volcanoes, the subtle to conspicuous signs preceding eruptions and the far-reaching atmospheric consequences. Here scientific facts take on a very human dimension, as the authors draw upon actual encounters with volcanoes, often through firsthand accounts of those how have witnessed eruptions and miraculously survived the aftermath. The book beins with a description of the lethal May 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens, complete with an explanation of how safety officials and scientists tried to predict events and how unsuspecting campers and loggers miles away struggled against terrifying blasts of ash, stone and heat. The story moves quickly to the ways in which volcanoes have enhanced our lives, creating mineral-rich land, clean thermal energy and haunting landscapes that in turn benefit agriculture, recreation, mining and commerce. Religion and psychology embroider the account as the authors explore the impact of volcanoes on the human psyche through tales of volcano gods and attempts to appease them. The book concludes by assisting readers in experiencing these geological phenomena for themselves. A "tourist guide" to volcanoes outlines over 40 sites throughout the world.
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Customer Reviews
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Fascinating, clear, concise, and well-illustrated look at things volcanic  2006-08-21
_Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change_ by Richard V. Fisher, Grant Heiken, and Jeffrey B. Hulen is a fascinating and very well-written look at volcanoes, including their formation, structure, dangers, benefits, and how they have affected human history. The book is richly illustrated with photographs, maps, and fascinating diagrams explaining volcanic processes.
Part one consisted of four chapters that looked at the geology of volcanoes. Important to understanding volcanoes is knowing where they form; they can appear over subduction zones (where one tectonic plate is pushed under another; the subduction of the Pacific plate under the American plate produces the volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains), extensional boundaries (where plates move apart, mainly between plates on the seafloor), and over hot spots (thermal plumes rising through the mantle than can be well away from either subduction zones or extensional boundaries).
Also important to understanding volcanoes is knowledge of the composition of the magma that forms them. Magma containing less than 55% silica is called basaltic and is very fluid and has low-viscosity. It can easily form large lava flows and gas can rapidly escape from it, forming huge fountains (the authors compared it to the ease with which steam escapes from rapidly boiling water). Rhyolite lava on the other hand is comprised of over 70% silica, is very viscous, and gas does not readily escape from it unless the pressure is big enough (think of how hot oatmeal spatters explosively). Basalt lava generally forms beneath or within oceanic plates, rhyolite lava beneath or within a continental plate, and a third type, andesite lava (between 55% and 70% silica), where the two types of plate overlap.
Volcanoes may take a variety of forms. Composite volcanoes or stratovolcanoes, such as Mount St. Helens and Mount Fuji, are graceful, solitary, often quite high and covered in snow or ice and are comprised of innumerable layers of rubble and debris from previous eruptions. Lava domes are protrusions of lava on the outside slope of many composite volcanoes or within their craters, built by the slow extrusion of viscous silica-rich magma. Calderas (from Spanish for "cauldron") are very large craters formed when the ground surface collapsed as the result of the extrusion of very large amounts of ash, pumice, and rock and can be quite large. Cinder cones or scoria cones are relatively small volcanoes, high mounds with small craters at the top, comprised of basaltic fragments called cinders or scoria, rocks that contain an abundance of bubble-like chambers. They often occur in clusters and on the slopes of other types of volcanoes. Maars are small volcanoes with wide craters that formed from the sudden explosion that occurred when rising magma came into contact with groundwater or surface water. Shield volcanoes are broad and have low slopes and are constructed of solidified basaltic lava that was originally in a highly fluid state. Littoral cones are formed when lava flows into water, explodes, and forms a pile of debris into a volcano-like shape; not actually volcanoes, they have no underground source.
Eruption types can vary as well. Gas eruptions can be quite silent but lethal, such as the Lake Nyos eruption of deadly carbon dioxide on August 21, 1986 in Cameroon, which killed 1,700 people. Hawaiian eruptions include gusher-like lava flows and lava rivers and produce congealed globs of lava that fly through the air (called lapilli if 2 to 64 millimeters, bombs if larger). Strombolian eruptions produce high-arching, incandescent "rooster-tails" and ejecta that can form cinder cones. Plinian eruptions produce ash columns as high as 50 kilometers into the sky, which thanks to high winds can spread ash hundreds or thousands of square kilometers (the name derives from Pliny the Elder, the Roman nobleman who died in the A.D. 79 eruption of Vesuvius).
Volcanoes as noted form underwater and in fact most may be located deep in the sea; one estimate put the number at one million volcanoes with 75,000 rising to over 1 kilometer from the seafloor. Explosive eruptions rarely occur, as 1 kilometer or more below the surface of the sea water pressure is generally greater than any explosive pressure. Some volcanic systems produce black smokers, hydrothermal systems that release black, turbulent clouds of suspended metal-sulfide materials, often creating oases of life in the deep sea.
Part two looked at the many hazards of volcanoes. Pyroclastic flows (or volcanic hurricanes) are searing, kiln-hot winds that move faster than ordinary hurricanes and can kill people and animals due to high heat, ash particles that can clog throats and lungs, and by hurtling tons of cobble and boulder sized particles. A pyroclastic surge is a diffuse, gas-rich pyroclastic flow that can move farther and over ridges and water. Debris avalanches can also be a danger, especially if they enter water and produce tsunamis. Volcanic flows or lahars (from an Indonesian word) are masses of mud, sand, gravel, and boulders mixed with water and having the consistency of freshly made cement. Lahars often dam rives and can produce derivative floods for years to come. Also posing a danger are lava flows and ash clouds (the latter can bring down jet aircraft).
Part three looked at the many benefits of volcanoes. In addition to producing every atmospheric gas aside from oxygen, volcanoes have given us therapeutic hot springs, clean and safe geothermal energy, igneous rock that can be cut into blocks and used as building stones, fine-grained ash that can be used as a polishing compound (like in toothpaste), concrete (the Romans mined ash they called pozzuolana and made concrete from it to produce their roads, viaducts, and monumental buildings), pumice (long used as an exfoliant scrub and as an abrasive cleaner), obsidian (once highly valued for arrowheads and knives), bentonite (a clay made from volcanic ash, used in everything from the drilling industry to ceramics to adhesives to kitty litter), gemstones (diamonds were brought from deep within the Earth's surface by volcanoes), rich agricultural soil, and the preservation of fascinating fossils and artifacts (such as at Pompeii).
A most excellent book on volcanoes 2003-10-30
I recommend this book most highly. It is well-organized, easily read by anyone with a high school education and a limited scientific background, and all-encompassing on the subject of volcanoes. The latest developments in volcanic petrology, pyroclastic flow study, caldera formation, supervolcanic eruptions and their horrific consequences, and the like are superbly covered. Additionally, the book contains excellent narratives of nearly all significant late 20th Century eruptions, such as Pinatubo, El Chichon, St. Helens, and Paricutin. The research is copious, and the results highly accurate.The book has been well-proofed, with the pleasurable consequence that distortive prose, inaccurate figures, and like blips are virtually non-existent. A fellow reviewer has stated that plate tectonics is not well-covered, but this writer's view is that the scope of the book lies beyond such basics. Anyone unfamiliar with basic volcanological concepts should first read "Teach Yourself Volcanoes", and then move into this book. Again, I enjoyed this book to the hilt, and would prize it above most other books on the subject. I strongly believe it is the best non-technical book on the subject.
one thumb up, one thumb down  2001-06-08
I found that this book has some positives and negatives: Positives: 1. the authors have compiled a wealth of information about volcanoes all over the world: Mt. St. Helens catastrophe, planes flying over eruption clouds, eruption accounts from Krakatua, etc, etc. 2. For a geologist like me, when we study about volcanoes, we tend to forget the human factor, not only hazards, but also how it affects agriculture, tourism, etc. Which I think this book pinpoints very well. Negatives: 1. The book doesn't flow: lots of information, but in my opinion disorganized. Except for the chapter about Mt. St. Helens, I didn't understand the point that the authors were trying to make (or probably there was no point, and it was just a plain description). 2. Any time you touch a scientific subject, you are immersed in having to use scientific terms. Since this book is trying to reach a general audience (I think), it will benefit a lot by having a glossary. 3. Some chapters are really weak, like the one that talks about plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is the driving force of volcanoes (mostly) and should have more emphasis on the book, and be explained in more simple terms. 4. The decimal metric system is used throughout the book. This is good when you are writing a paper to publish on a specialized journal, but not for a book aimed at general audiences. The equivalence in the English system should probably go in parentheses.
one thumb up, one thumb down 2001-06-08
I found that this book has some positives and negatives: Positives: 1. the authors have compiled a wealth of information about volcanoes all over the world: Mt. St. Helens catastrophe, planes flying over eruption clouds, eruption accounts from Krakatua, etc, etc. 2. For a geologist like me, when we study about volcanoes, we tend to forget the human factor, not only hazards, but also how it affects agriculture, tourism, etc. Which I think this book pinpoints very well. Negatives: 1. The book doesn't flow: lots of information, but in my opinion disorganized. Except for the chapter about Mt. St. Helens, I didn't understand the point that the authors were trying to make (or probably there was no point, and it was just a plain description). 2. Any time you touch a scientific subject, you are immersed in having to use scientific terms. Since this book is trying to reach a general audience (I think), it will benefit a lot by having a glossary. 3. Some chapters are really weak, like the one that talks about plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is the driving force of volcanoes (mostly) and should have more emphasis on the book, and be explained in more simple terms. 4. The decimal metric system is used throughout the book. This is good when you are writing a paper to publish on a specialized journal, but not for a book aimed at general audiences. The equivalence in the English system should probably go in parentheses.
Neither too little or too much 1998-04-28
Neither too little or too much, Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change is the best volume I have ever read on Volcanology. Written for the intelligent layperson, the book never talks down to its reader or loses them in mult-semicolon sentances of unintelligble jargon as so many other books by scientists do. If you want the latest theories on volcanoes, this is th book for you. I was especially surprised by how many dormant/active volcanoes there are in the lower 48. And as one who has flown from the U.S. to Japan, the chapter on planes and volcanoes was both fascinating and scary.
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