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Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded | 
 enlarge | Author: Simon Winchester
Publisher: Viking
Category: Book
List Price: $35.10
Buy Used: $4.49
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Rating:  214 reviews
Sales Rank: 1866411
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0670911267
Dewey Decimal Number: 551
EAN: 9780670911264
ASIN: 0670911267
Publication Date: May 6, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
It may seem a stretch to connect a volcanic eruption with civil and religious unrest in Indonesia today, but Simon Winchester makes a compelling case. Krakatoa tells the frightening tale of the biggest volcanic eruption in history using a blend of gentle geology and narrative history. Krakatoa erupted at a time when technologies like the telegraph were becoming commonplace and Asian trade routes were being expanded by northern European companies. This bustling colonial backdrop provides an effective canvas for the suspense leading up to August 27th, 1883, when the nearby island of Krakatoa would violently vaporize. Winchester describes the eruption through the eyes of its survivors, and readers will be as horrified and mesmerized as eyewitnesses were as the death toll reached nearly 40,000 (almost all of whom died from tsunamis generated by the unimaginably strong shock waves of the eruption). Ships were thrown miles inshore, endless rains of hot ash engulfed those towns not drowned by 100 foot waves, and vast rafts of pumice clogged the hot sea. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away, and the eruption's shock wave traveled around the world seven times. But the book's biggest surprise is not the riveting catalog of the volcano's effects; rather, it is Winchester's contention that the Dutch abandonment of their Indonesian colonies after the disaster left local survivors to seek comfort in radical Islam, setting the stage for a volatile future for the region. --Therese Littleton
Product Description
The most terrifying and destructive volcanic cataclysm in modern recorded history took place in August 1883, when a series of incredibly powerful detonations destroyed the landmark island of Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, five miles off the western tip of Java. The impact of the explosions was utterly destructive in the immediate region, destorying 200 Javan villages and 40,000 people. The explosions had a dramatic effect that was felt and heard for thousands of miles, over fully ten per cent of the earth's surface - in central Australia, in East Africa, in India and in China. Ships sailing as far away as the Red Sea were covered with thick volcanic ash and immense rafts of pumice, some big enough to support trees and animals, floated in the seas clear across to Africa. Even more amazingly, the explosions were experienced around the whole world - by way of a substantial ten year burst of global warming - by the brilliance of sunsets and by the presence of fine suspended ash in the air. Using contemporaneous reports, this text recounts the events that led up to the cataclysm, as well as those occurring immediately after. Above all, Simon Winchester writes about how the Americans, English, Chinese and Dutch - and also the Javanese and Sumatrans to whom this land belonged - dealt with the unforgettable events of the day that their world exploded.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 209 more reviews...
 Read About a "World Event" November 8, 2008
In "Krakatoa" author Simon Winchester examines the great explosion of August 27, 1883 from all angles, including historical, scientific, social, political and religious. He starts by explaining the social structure in the Dutch East Indies at the time. He then goes on to explain the scientific explanations for what happened and why. A fascinating portion is the story of the scientific studies which recorded the effects of the blast including water waves thousands of miles away and the air wave which circled the globe seven times during the first fifteen days. As the book progresses he impact the blast had on the natives and Europeans living in the area. He eventually suggests that the rise in Muslim devotion in the Dutch East Indies may have been the result of a fundamentalist turn to Allah after the catastrophe. The book ends by chronicling the volcanic activity and the island at the site of Krakatoa in the years since the explosion.
Krakatoa was the first major natural catastrophe to occur after the network of underground cables united the world. This made it a "World Event" which has fascinated readers ever since. I had long heard of Krakatoa and appreciate the opportunity to gain a better understanding it and its implications. It raised an interest in other scientific histories and the history of the Dutch East Indies. A book than can do that merits a recommendation.
 Winchester misfires August 3, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Gratuitous slaps at creation science didn't help to positively influence my opinion of this book, but ultimately this book just wasn't as well-written as expected from Winchester, renowned as he is for his popular scientific treatments such as
--The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary
--A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
The book takes too long to get going with too many side trails from the main subject that are only marginally interesting.
In the side trails that are of interest, we learn that
--amateur weather observers indulging in their newly-popular pastime helped record the shock waves that circled the globe seven times after the explosion.
--the explosion is believed to be the loudest ever in human history, and was heard nearly 3,000 miles away.
Fascinating, interesting, but wordy. July 22, 2008
This is a generally well-written account of the famous volcanic eruption which was one of the first such major events to take place after the development of worldwide communication technology. The author has been criticized for including details - many details - about not only geology, but also the history of the region and it's people, in addition to the narrative of the explosive eruption itself. If you are not a geologist or an Asia specialist, you will unreservedly enjoy this book! All the details provided by Mr.Winchester give the reader a feel for the place and the time. A perfect "read" for the intelligent non-specialist! My only complaint is that this book could be one-third shorter without losing any information, if the author would curb his use of literary devices like foreshadowing and the use of rhetorical questions. These are not bad writing "tricks", to be sure - but enough is enough! The fifth or sixth time that Winchester tells you of other volcanic eruptions, or of lesser events in the Krakatoa volcano which "would pale compared to what was about to take place" ( or some such comment ) you have a feeling which is beyond "deja vu". Despite this, I recommend the book wholeheartedly. The missing fifth star is due only to my quarrel with the writer's style.
Thorough and interesting July 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book because of a reference to it in an earth sciences lecture on iTunesU, expecting to learn all the details of the Krakatoa eruption. Simon Winchester fulfilled that expectation and gave me a detailed and interesting snapshot of the times as well. In that way it was reminiscent of William Manchester's excellent work, A World Lit Only By Fire. Winchester also covered the subsurface causes of the event in a substantial but readable way. I was pleased to find a very up to date account of the current geological state of the site. His ability to paint word pictures is obvious and enjoyable, and I'd recommend the book to anyone.
Exceptionally interesting, detailed account of the worst volcanic eruption in recorded history July 1, 2008
The first 90 pages of this book are boring, but after that point, the story picks up into a gripping, detailed account of the worst volcanic eruption in recorded history.
This book not only recounts the geology and history of the event, but aptly points out the complex interplay between natural events and people. Moreover, it shows how much the world had become a global village, even by 1883 and that politics and the environment are intertwined.
It is masterfully written (minus the first 90 pages) and is perhaps the best science related book I have read this year...and as a geologist I read quite a few.
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