Island on Fire: The extraordinary story of Laki, the volcano that turned eighteenth-century Europe dark - Hardcover

Witze, Alexandra; Kanipe, Jeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781250049 ISBN 13: 9781781250044

Publisher: Profile Books, 2014

Synopsis

The eruption of Laki is one of history's great untold natural disasters. The eruption, spewing out a poisionous fog, lasted for eight months, but its effects lingered across Europe for years, causing the death of people as far away as the Nile, and creating famine that may have triggered the French revolution. Island on Fire is the story not only of a volcano but also of the people whose lives it changed, such as the pastor Jon Steingrimsson, who witnessed and recorded the events in Iceland. It is the story, too, of modern volcanology, and looks at how events might work out should Laki erupt again in our time.

About this title

Product Description:

Island on Fire

Review:

A volcanic tour de force: terrific story-telling that reveals our vulnerability to nature's most destructive forces. (Nick Crane)

Island in Fire is a terrific, disturbing book centred on the eruption of Laki in Iceland in June 1783 and its disastrous repercussions across Europe and beyond. In their fast-paced, enjoyable text the authors use that story and recent science to show how vulnerable we remain to the most unpredictable of natural disasters - volcanic action. (Gillian Darley Vesuvius)

About this edition

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1781250049
• ISBN 13: 9781781250044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224