Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883

Krakatoa starts with setting the background of the colonial presence of Europeans in Java and Sumatra, the importance of trade, which makes it important to have the best communications possible, which meant that when Krakatoa blew its stack, that the whole world knew about it very quickly. And that this was a 'global' first. Winchester goes over the lack of understanding until quite recently (the mid sixties) of plate tectonics, with the result that not until then was it understood why and how why volcanoes exploded. I'm just old enough to remember how excited our science teachers were and young enough to take the knowledge for granted. The chapters on the explosion itself take up the core of the book (very dynamically, as you might imagine) and then the story winds down with the research (and lack thereof) of life returning to the various islands, including Anak Krakatau (son of) which emerged in 1930 (after several attempts) and now grow five inches A WEEK, which is incredible, very active. He also looks into how the explosion coincided with the first attempts of the Javanese to evict the colonizers, that it was the turning point even if it was another sixty years. Winchester isn't the world's most exciting writer, but this is an intrinsically good story and he pulls in details from many quarters and it was a good read. Possibly helped, in my case, by the fact that I have been to Java and Indonesia and have visited a couple of volcanoes, (Gunung Agung in Bali) for one. There is an extensive bibiography at the end as well as some recommendations for what to see or skip vis a vis movies and programs. **** ( )

I like Winchester, and I like volcanoes and other geological formations, but this did not quite cohere in a compelling way. It's hard to say why, since I enjoyed the history, first-person accounts, digressions into topics such as transcontinental communication, and discussion of subduction zones. However, I was never gripped by the narrative. Maybe this edition's very small print contributed to the problem, but I felt like I was slogging along. This is puzzling since Winchester's ostensibly less gripping topics, such as The Map That Changed the World, held my attention just fine. I'll try again in a while with A Crack in the Edge of the World, which is about The San Francisco earthquake of 1906. ( )

I found this book mostly interesting, with a few boring bits, perhaps at least partly because I am fully familiar with plate tectonics and therefore the geological aspects of the book were not particularly interesting.

I was quite frustrated with the maps in the book, which are poorly labelled, and rarely have any directional indicators, which was particularly unfortunate as many of them are printed with north at the bottom of the page. Other illustrations were fairly decent and often showed me things I wanted to see. I only had to go to the internet to look things up a few times.

I came away from reading this book having learned a number things I didn't know, but feeling somewhat unsatisfied. I would say that the definitive account of Krakatoa remains to be written.

Worth reading. ( )

The book deals with the explosive eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia on August 27, 1883, an event that led to over 36,000 deaths, mostly due to the resulting tsunami, which was heard almost 3,000 miles away, caused spectacular sunsets and affected the climate globally for months--and which Winchester credits with triggering a militant Muslim resurgence that led to rebellion against Dutch colonial rule and eventual independence.

Winchester is a journalist who is a geologist by training, thus well suited to tell this story. He takes his time building the context--it's over 200 pages before we get to the eruption itself--so the reader can fully appreciate the scientific, technological and historical circumstances that made this such an important world event. Winchester explains the scientific concepts of evolutionary biogeography, plate tectonics, vulcanology and meteorology very lucidly. I thought I learned quite a bit of both earth science and Indonesia as a result of reading this book. Some facts stood out in particular--that "Indonesia... has... more volcanic activity than any other political entity on Earth" and that it's the world's "most populous Muslim country" and that there's a rather clear line bisecting the nation with the western part filled with Indian flora and fauna and the eastern part filled with Australian creatures such as kangaroos. It has a fascinating history as the "Spice Islands" of legend growing pepper, cloves and cinnamon and then as the Dutch East Indies became a major exporter of rubber and coffee.

So why isn't this rated higher? In short what's missing is awe. When I think of the best non-fiction books I've read about the power of nature, I think of The Perfect Storm about a fearsome Northeaster and Into Thin Air about a tragedy on Mount Everest. In terms of lives lost and global consequences, neither is anywhere near as important as the eruption of Krakatoa--but they're wonderful books that bear reading more than once and with unforgettable passages. I don't think this book rises to that level. It's a good, solid book about an interesting subject--but it's not fascinating and awe-inspiring and moving in the way of great books such as those two. ( )

An interesting book about the history of Krakatoa, including the original and current name of the islands. Although it was an informative book, it seemed to dip too deep into historical detail about the trades, spices and lands around Krakatoa. It was written more like a textbook than a historical fact book. I was hoping for something that was more average and easier to read than a college geography book. ( )