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Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
by Simon Winchester

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 Cover

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Powells.com Staff Pick

Krakatoa is the eloquent narrative of the cataclysmic destruction in 1883 of the volcanic island of the same name. Killing nearly 40,000 people (mostly from the resultant tsunamis), this violent eruption was "the most violent explosion ever recorded and experienced by modern man." With his flair for conveying considerable detail in dramatic storyteller fashion, Winchester once again exhibits his great talent for recounting an episode in history that keeps readers fixed to the page. Michal, Powells.com

Review-a-Day   (What is Review-a-Day?)

"As with Winchester's other books, Krakatoa overflows with rich characters and vivid landscapes. His well-established love of words and etymologies enlivens descriptions and makes the familiar seem new....Winchester has created a lush, rich book which — forgive the cliché — vividly captures a bygone era." Doug Brown, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madmanand The Map That Changed the Worldexamines the enduring and world-changing effects of the catastrophic eruption off the coast of Java of the earth's most dangerous volcano — Krakatoa.

The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa — the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster — was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotand#225; and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all — in view of today's new political climate — the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims: one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere.

Simon Winchester's long experience in the world wandering as well as his knowledge of history and geology give us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event as he brings it telling back to life.

Book News Annotation:

In this first US edition, the author of the The Map That Changed the World portrays the 19th-century eruption of a Javanese volcano that still has global repercussions in both historical and scientific contexts. The book includes maps and other illustrations. Published in Great Britain by Viking, 2003.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Review:

"It is thrilling, comprehensive, literate, meticulously researched and scientifically accurate; it is one of the best books ever written about the history and significance of a natural disaster." The New York Times

Review:

"Part history, scientific detective story and travelogue, with all the storytelling zeal of his bestselling The Map that Changed the World?With an eye for the smallest detail and a solid understanding of geology?[T]his is a good read for anyone interested in Indonesia, geology or earthshaking catastrophes." Valerie Jablow, The Washington Post

Review:

"A lesser writer would have trouble juggling such diverse topics as the seventeenth-century pepper trade, nineteenth-century Islamic nationalism and the geological processes that cause continents to drift and collide, but Winchester uses the disaster, which became a worldwide media event, to incorporate these stories (and many others into one mightily fascinating book." Eric Wargo, Book Magazine

Review:

"Like the volcano, his story takes its time in building force, but it steadily gathers strength while giving the reader a crash course in tectonic theory, continental drift, volcanism, and other elemental matters....Moreover, he adds, the explosion caused a wave of anti-Western violence in predominantly Muslim Indonesia, perhaps contributing to the eventual expulsion of the Dutch colonialists from the islands....Supremely well told." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Because of the spread of the telegraph...the news of Krakatoa spread nearly instantly around the globe. For the first time the whole human race could experience a historic event simultaneously through newspapers and word of mouth. This changed the way people conceived of their world?Krakatoa, in a very real sense, marks the beginning of the global village....a pleasure from beginning to end." John Steele Gordon, Boston Globe

Synopsis:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [385]-396) and index.

Synopsis:

“ Winchester scores.” (byline Baltimore Sun, printed in Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
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About the Author

Trained at Oxford as a geologist, Simon Winchester is the New York Timesbestselling author of Krakatoaand The Professor and the Madman. He lives in New York City and in the Berkshires in Massachusetts.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780066212852
Subtitle:
The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
Author:
Winchester, Simon
Author:
Winchester, Simon
Publisher:
HarperCollins Publishers
Location:
New York
Subject:
General
Subject:
History
Subject:
Volcanoes
Subject:
Natural Disasters
Subject:
Krakatoa
Subject:
Earth Sciences - General
Subject:
Earth Sciences - Geology
Subject:
Earthquakes & Volcanoes
Subject:
Asia - Southeast Asia
Subject:
General History
Copyright:
2003
Edition Number:
1st U.S. ed.
Edition Description:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Series Volume:
no. 272
Publication Date:
April 2003
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
432
Dimensions:
928x631x113 135
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