Krakatoa

The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883

The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World examines 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 Bogotá 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.

The shot heard 'round the world.

I agree with one reviewer who said that your opinion of this book may depend on what you’re looking for. If you want a rip-snorting disaster epic, this won’t work. If you delight in grand historic events placed in context with history, politics, geography and science, told with a generous dollop of wry humor, you’re in the right place. The research is impressive, made accessible by the comfortably expert delivery. Who would have thought that plate tectonics could be not merely interesting, but entertaining? Winchester’s talent with words, his obvious affection for his subject, and his spot-on reading made this truth better than fiction. My only caveat, and the reason for only 4 stars overall, is that those who listen while driving don’t have the option of looking at maps while listening in order to keep the specific geographic points straight as they are described. But the story deserves full marks for successfully making history and science a riveting “read”. I learned much more than I expected, not just about the eruption, but about the global context of the event and its aftermath, including the cliffhanger that it is likely to happen again.

Fascinating and comprehensive

Half the joy of this book are the digressions...in telling the tale of the Krakatoa eruption, Winchester also gives the history of everything touching on Krakatoa, inlcuding (but not limited to) the spice trade's origins in antiquity, the history of map-making, Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, the origins of the Reuters news service, the birth of the first global communications network in the 19th century (via undersea telegraph lines), the mechanics of vulcanism and plate tectonics, the history of geologic thought and theory, the origins of radical Islam in Indonesia...

I found this book very interesting and enjoyable, and Simon Winchester does an excellent job of narrating his own book. Definitely worth the credit, and I'm now going to see what else Audible has available that's authored by him.

Informative if arguably somewhat dry

From an educational standpoint, the amount of information in this book is phenomenal. No aspect of the eruption is missed, from the volcano's history to its science to its political ramifications. The author's personal experience with geology, volcanoes in general, and this specific volcano clearly shows. The downside of this mass of information is that the book often feels like it is off on a tangent. The writing is eloquent yet often dry, as can be the author's narration. Listening to it in the car, I found myself often losing interest and turning on something else. I love the subject matter, but I just didn't find this book captivating.

Lets start at the beginning of time

Well! over all its an interesting book but i never thought i would get such a detailed history lesson of the region. I am better for knowing about the pepper trade'the dutch and the day to day life of the inhabitants then i was before i started.
I wish i was still taking geology i got a better explination of plate techtonics here then i did from my college instructor.
all in all very good but it might have been a thought to get a dramatic reader to voice the book <james eral jones does krakatoa> just a thought.
in closeing i did learn much more then i expected a good listen.
thank you.

A grand tour, superbly rendered

The iconic megacatastrophe, in rich and comprehensive context. Winchester's reading of his own elegant and and supple writing was an unmitigated pleasure.