In 1815 Mount Tambora, located in what was then known as The Dutch East Indies, exploded with such ferocity that it's phreatic eruptions continued for the next three years. Estimates of the people that were killed directly by the explosion are still debated. However, there is no doubt that the global effect, in the years to come, took 10's of thousands of lives. Tambora, located on a peninsula, dumped her lava into the sea and was reduced in height by nearly two-thirds.

The meat of this book is not the volcano, but the climate change that occurred over the three years following the explosion. I found Gillen D'Arcy Wood's research and writing easy for the layman to follow-but there was still a little too much science for my taste. What I enjoyed most was Wood's references to the great writers (Mary and Percy Shelly, Lord Byron) and painters of the time period, who he uses as "tour guides" through events that occurred globally over the next 3 years.

Recommend for anyone who has an interest in volcanology or climate change-or anyone interested in the poetry and writing of the period and how Tambora effected it. ( )

I often hear that it's difficult to tie specific weather events to climate change. But here, Wood makes a very persuasive case that uses both hard data and romantic poetry to posit the eruption of Tambora as one of the definitive events of the 19th Century. Even though no one at the time understood how the volcano was affecting their lives, no one who lived then remained untouched by the short-term climate change it imposed across the globe. A comprehensive, easy-to-understand look at one of the most overlooked important events in history. ( )

A thoughtful look at the volcano eruption that lead to the "year without a summer". the author takes the reader around the world to chart the impact of Tamora's eruption on weather and food production. ( )

This is the one you never heard of, and should have. Set close to our club's reading "The Invention of Nature: .. Humboldt ..", Wulf, this book brings us back to the early 19th Century. These two show, in practical terms, the activity which brought us "The Age of Wonder". How science moved out of "natural philosophy", and allows us to employ scientists as professionals, no longer amateurs. I give it half a point more than the Humboldt on the "one you never heard of scale". And for connecting "the year with no summer" to it's place in history and geography. ( )

A brilliant idea for a book. D'Arcy Wood examines the world-wide impact of the eruption of the Tambora volcano in 1815. In doing so, it provides lessons on how we are currently looking at global climate changes and how catastrophic such changes could be. This book is strongly recommended. ( )