Volcanic eruptions are the most spectacular displays in the natural world. They also present humanity with devastating environmental disasters. This enthralling book describes fifteen of the most remarkable volcanic eruptions across the centuries and, using rare firsthand accounts, analyzes their impact on the people in their paths. In 79 a.d. Vesuvius produced the most violent eruption recorded in European history. The eruption of Etna in 1669 marked the first known attempt to divert a lava-flow. In 1783, the eruption of Laki indirectly killed a fifth of the Icelandic population and sent a blue haze over Europe. The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 drowned most of its victims and destroyed much of the island as well. In 1980 Mount St. Helens produced a new type of eruption and scythed down a majestic forest. Alwyn Scarth explores these and other eruptions, reconstructing the physical experience of the disaster, its origins, explosion, and aftermath, and interpreting (in many cases for the first time in English) eyewitness accounts that bring their own vividness to the unfolding drama. The accounts tell of fear, panic, miscalculation, and inefficiency as well as emergency organization, self-sacrifice, religious fervor, and heroism, revealing how each affected population handled-or mishandled-its crisis. Scarth's riveting survey shows that technology and volcanic surveillance have made enormous strides during the present century. But volcanoes remain indomitable: no one has yet learned how an eruption can be stopped.

Volcanoes are intimately tied to the history of humanity, they help forge the Earth's crust and atmosphere, and they are very much an active feature of today. The archaeology of most ancient civilizations of Europe preserves the imprint of spectacular and volcanic phenomena while, in modern times life is still affected by large eruptions from Europe's active volcanic systems. The eruption of Santorini, some 3600 years ago in the Aegean, probably inspired the Greek fables of Atlantis; the eruptions of Etna on Sicily are the origin of the forges of Cyclops and other myths; and the regular eruptions from Stromboli earned its Roman name, 'the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean'. Eruptions in Iceland over the past few centuries have shaped more recent European history and highlight the dramatic effects that distant large eruptions can have on our modern way of living. This thoroughly revised and updated edition reflects modern research and is now illustrated in colour throughout. It presents the volcanoes of Europe, as they are today and tells how they have shaped our past. The volcanic systems of the Mediterranean basin, the Atlantic, and of mainland Europe are introduced and described in clear prose with a minimum of technical jargon. Some of Europe's ancient volcanic systems is also described as these have been fundamental in shaping the science of volcanology. The origins, history and development of Europe's volcanoes is presented against a background of their environmental aspects and contemporary activity. Special attention is given to the impact of volcanoes on the people who live on or around them. The book is written for student, amateur and professional earth scientists alike. To help guide the reader, a glossary of volcanic terms is included together with a vocabulary of volcanic terms used in European languages.

Capricious, vibrant, and volatile, Vesuvius has been and remains one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes. In its rage, it has destroyed whole cities and buried thousands alive. In its calm, its ashes have fertilized the soil, providing for the people who have lived in its shadows. For over two millennia, the dynamic presence of this volcano has fascinated scientists, artists, writers, and thinkers, and inspired religious fervor, Roman architecture, and Western literature. In "Vesuvius," Alwyn Scarth draws from the latest research, classical and eyewitness accounts, and a diverse range of other sources to tell the riveting story of this spectacular natural phenomenon.

Scarth follows Vesuvius across time, examining the volcano's destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D., its eruptions during the Counter-Reformation that were viewed as God's punishment of sinners, and the building of the world's first volcano observatory on Vesuvius in the 1840s. Scarth explores the volcano's current position overlooking a population of more than three million people and the complex attitudes maintained by the residents, at once reverent, protective, and fearful. He also considers the next major eruption of Vesuvius, which experts have indicated could be the most powerful since 1631. The longer Vesuvius remains dormant, the more violent its reawakening will be, and despite scientific advances for predicting when this might occur, more people are vulnerable than ever before.

Exploring this celebrated wonder from scientific, historical, and cultural perspectives, "Vesuvius" provides a colorful portrait of a formidable force of nature.