Island on Fire

"A volcanic tour de force: terrific story-telling that reveals our vulnerability to nature's most destructive forces." -- Nick Crane, the BBC "This book, written for a nontechnical audience, does a very good job of describing the Laki eruption and its aftermath, relying heavily on historic firsthand observations. The endnotes will guide interested readers to the more technical literature on the subject." -- Choice "Were it just a story of one volcano, that would be engrossing enough: by including assessments and natural histories of others, this wide-ranging book holds the potential to appeal to a wide audience." -- Midwest Book Review "A revealing new volume. Chapters on geology and the short- and long-term effects of volcanic eruptions add depth to Witze and Kanipe's discussion, rounding out a work that serves as a valuable reminder of just how much we remain at Mother Nature's mercy." -- Publishers Weekly "Deftly interweaving information compiled by naturalists and astronomers of the day (and even Benjamin Franklin, who was in Paris during the eruption) with interviews with modern-day, scientists and historians, the authors provide a captivating overview of the eruption." -- Science News "Witze and Kanipe have written a compelling and engrossing story of Laki and its worldwide impact. As the best book authors do, they have also ferreted out facts and examples that make their specific story one with implications for modern readers. It is a book that will surely make you want to go to Iceland, or at least pay careful heed to the next time one if its many volcanoes erupt." -- The Seattle Times "A terrific, disturbing book. In their fast-paced, enjoyable text the authors show how vulnerable we remain to the most unpredictable of natural disasters." -- Gillian Darley, author of VESUVIUS "A story for the ages. But beneath the barrage of devastation lies an even more profound story: why do we forget these dangers?" -- Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Carnegie Institution for Science "Brilliant." -- Pacific Standard "For those with an interest in history and/or geology." -- The Birdbooker Report/Nature.com "In 1783 the Icelandic volcano Laki erupted, with catastrophic consequences. The ash it pumped into the atmosphere blanketed of the Northern Hemisphere in a sun-blocking fog, causing one of the most severe winters for hundreds of years. Many across Europe froze to death, and crops withered, leading to mass famine. In Africa, the monsoons failed to come, and the Nile dud not flood as usual, causing one sixth of Egypt's population to starve or leave the country. The official death tally in Iceland from Laki was around 9,000, but some experts suggest the global toll was much higher. Journalists Witze and Kanipe tell the scientific and human story of Laki and predict that because a Laki-scale eruption happens on average every 200 to 500 years in Iceland, a similar event is not unlikely." -- Scientific American