Island on fire The extraordinary story of a forgotten volcano that changed the world

Everyone has heard of the eruption of Krakatoa, and most people have heard of the earlier, and bigger, eruption of Tambora, but relatively few people are familiar with Laki, the Icelandic volcano whose 1783 eruption lasted eight months, poured more than 100 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, and blanketed more than 3,000 square miles with volcanic ash. Eventually the devastating effects of all that gas affected the entire Northern Hemisphere and contributed to the untimely deaths of possibly more than a million people worldwide. This book, written for a nontechnical audience, does a very good job of describing the Laki eruption and its aftermath, relying heavily on historic firsthand observations. The almost-daily written observations of Reverend Jón Steingrímsson, whose village and church were at the very edge of the path of destruction, are a primary source. Science writers Witze and Kanipe, authors of The Cosmic Connection (CH, Jul'09, 46-6174), tie in observations of the effects of this eruption on other parts of the world and make comparisons with many other significant volcanic eruptions. The endnotes will guide interested readers to the more technical literature on the subject. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Charles William Dimmick, emeritus, Central Connecticut State University

In March 2010, Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted, spewing lava "from a fissure on the mountain's side." By volcanic standards, say coauthors Witze and Kanipe (Chasing Hubble's Shadows), "it looked fairly unthreatening," though ash from the eruption soon drifted south and east across Europe, closing airspace, grounding flights across the continent, and "cost[ing] businesses as much as five billion euros." In their revealing new volume, the two science writers use this modern event to examine another Icelandic volcano, Laki, which erupted in June 1783. Witze and Kanipe look at the magnitude of that eruption and its tremendous consequences, examining journals kept by locals and piecing together substantial time lines to detail events as a thick cloud of ash "shut out the sun and drove everyone indoors" before a "thick haze rolled across the countryside, accompanied by a devilish stink." As the contemporary accounts relate, "Pastoral Iceland, once full of lush grassy meadows, became a grey and poisonous place." Chapters on geology and the short- and long-term effects of volcanic eruptions add depth to Witze and Kanipe's discussion, rounding out a work that serves as a valuable reminder of just how much we remain at Mother Nature's mercy. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.