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Winchester veers between eyewitness accounts by survivors and the limited scientific measurements of the time in an attempt to describe the indescribable. The event "is still said to be the most violent explosion ever recorded and experienced by modern man", he writes. "Six cubic miles of rock had been blasted out of existence, had been turned into pumice and ash and uncountable billions of particles of dust." Yet words and numbers can barely hint at the scale of the calamity, which resulted in tsunamis that washed whole villages into the ocean and forever changed the very topography of the area.
The author also explores the social and cultural topography, noting that "Orthodox Islam, its revival in part triggered by tragic events such as the great cataclysm, was totally transformed in Java during the nineteenth century, with fundamentalism, militancy and profound hostility to non-Muslims its watchwords". At times Winchester seems to overstate his case, and the link he finds between Krakatoa and the rise of anti-Western sentiment in the Islamic world isn't especially convincing. But by weaving together the disaster with science, communications, politics, religion and economics, he has come up with a comprehensive and often fascinating glimpse into the way the world, and our perception of it, can change in an instant. --Shawn Conner, Amazon.ca
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Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 1.05. Seller Inventory # bk006093736Xxvz189zvxnew
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 1.05. Seller Inventory # 353-006093736X-new
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. STORED NEW PRISTINE CONDITION SANITIZED THEN WRAPPED. Book. Seller Inventory # ABE-1668630722833
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. New! 1st Harper-Perrenial edition, in great condition. The Chicago Tribune review quote on the book cover says it best: "Winchester provides a thoroughly detailed - and terrifying - account." Nearly 40,000 folks were killed with bodies washing up in Zanzibar! This event also started the Muslim resentment and havoc that plagues us now.This was a world-wide event and Winchester will mature your perspective on this awful catastrophe. Seller Inventory # 002557
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.05. Seller Inventory # Q-006093736X
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.05. Seller Inventory # Q-006093736x