A detailed account of the eruption of the Javanese island Krakatoa in 1883. Simon Winchester describes the history, geography and geology of what is now known as Indonesia, and explains in detail the development of our knowledge of volcanos and the mechanisms driving them.

He starts with a history of the Dutch colonial occupation of Java, the Dutch East India Company, and gives a history of earlier eruptions of Krakatoa. He then digresses into the history of how the theory of plate tectonics was arrived at, starting with the natural history observations of Alfred Russel Wallace, then looking at the study of vulcanology; then Alfred Lothar Wegener's theory of continental drift, and finally bringing the story up to date with the current state of knowledge. I was interested to see that Wegener's theories were roundly dismissed in his lifetime, and indeed our current knowledge is so very recent. It has only been since 1965 that plate tectonics has become widely accepted and the mechanisms underlying continental drift confirmed.

Winchester then looks at the events of the eruption and their aftermath. He also considers some of the more socio-historical consequences, such as the way in which the new international telegraph networks allowed news of the eruption to spread worldwide in a matter of days, the impact of the disaster on local populations, and indeed its role in bringing about the first manifestations of radical Islam.

The author writes with a degree of scientific authority, although he is also a widely-published journalist and the writing often displays some irritating journalistic tics. In particular, in the earlier parts of his narrative he foreshadows the eruption a few too many tines for my liking. Some may also find his attitude towards the colonial Dutch to be insufficiently critical.

The edition of the book I read is a mass-market 'B' format paperback, with illustrations interpolated into the text rather than being presented in a separate section bound into the book on art paper. This means that some photographs and many of the maps appear in less than ideal conditions. Contemporary maps, in particular, suffer as their high level of detail disappears when printed on the paperback stock paper. Even though the large-format maps commissioned for the book do not suffer so badly in this way, they do have the common fault found in so many books that places mentioned in the text do not appear on the maps. In particular, the port of Anjer, directly across the straits from Krakatoa, is referred to extensively in the text but it appears on none of the maps. The primary map of the area also shows undersea depth contours, making it confusing to those unfamiliar with the practice.

And there is a map supposedly showing the telegraph network between Java and Europe which manages to omit the Indonesian archipelago altogether and shows the whole of Africa, which has no relevance to the story!

Towards the end of the book, Winchester describes the plate tectonics of the entire Pacific region to help the reader get an overview of the subject and set Krakatoa in its geological context. Whilst this is valuable, some broader illustration of the various continental plates might have been helpful earlier in the text when Winchester first describes the network of plates. He also references a number of other volcanos which have erupted - in five cases, more devastatingly that Krakatoa - but these are not named on the map showing the entire Pacific region's plates.

On the other hand, there are interior illustrations prepared by Soun Vannithone, including chapter headings depicting the state of Krakatoa island at the various stages described in the chapter. These add valuable context to the story. And I was amused by the chapter on further reading and viewing, which includes a recommendation of one film to avoid - namely, Bernard Kowalski's 1969 film Krakatoa, East of Java (for one thing, Krakatoa is west of Java...).

All in all, this is a worthwhile book despite its shortcomings. Any new edition could advantageously be repackaged; better maps and illustrations would help the story immensely. ( )

I enjoyed this book, though I agree with other reviewers that it was a bit heavy on the geology. On the other hand, if I read a book about a volcano by someone with a degree in geology, I have no one to blame but myself.
I enjoyed the forays into the spice trade, evolutionary history and Dutch colonialism and do not feel at all that they were irrelevant, or simply covered due to the author's interest. They all contributed in some way towards the explosion and its aftermath
Winchester is a bit dry, and, one suspects, a bit more likely to lend credence to european accounts then to native ones, but , all in all, this is an enjoyable read ( )

This excellent book is jam packed with history, prehistory, and science. Geology, geography, biology, politics, religion, technology, just... everything, all of it intricately researched and interconnections detailed. Very readable and well presented. Fantastic. ( )

I read this book a long time ago and I remember enjoying it. My memory could be faulty but I thought there was a mention about the colorful sunsets in NY after the explosion and that those wildly colorful skies appeared in many of the Hudson River School paintings. ( )

This is a very comprehensive look at Krakatoa and the region in general, with an overview of the history of Indonesia, economics, politics, the Dutch rule, religion, and many other things. You get a very broad briefing about the region both before, during and after the main eruption of Krakatoa, and also receive interesting insights into science and technology, both past and present, relating to volcanoes and geology.

Even though the book is full of information, it never gets boring. The author is very good at presenting the facts in a compelling and captivating way which entertains you as well as informs you. ( )