Krakatoa: the Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 PDF Book
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KRAKATOA: THE DAY THE WORLD EXPLODED: AUGUST 27, 1883 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Author and Historian Simon Winchester | 416 pages | 15 Jul 2005 | HarperCollins Publishers Inc | 9780060838591 | English | New York, NY, United States Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 PDF Book It's not to say I didn't like it, but the amount of information is sometimes hard to absorb. View all 9 comments. It was a very interesting read, with a somewhat broader scope than I'd anticipated. The Promethean material searches ceaselessly for some weakened spot in the crust above it. See 1 question about Krakatoa…. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded is a fairly decent book and I really only recommend this book to those who likes history and non-fiction. Jul 04, Peter Tillman rated it liked it. While reading the book, I had expressed two feelings for the majority of the book, and those feelings were fascination and boredom. 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. The Government steamer Berouw, which lay anchored near the pier-head, hailed the mate as he was returning on board, and the people on board her then stated to him that it was impossible to land anywhere, and that a boat which had put off from the shore had already been wrecked. Apr 26, Kate rated it really liked it. Lists with This Book. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. It may have been the first news story of world-wide interest to take advantage of that new technology. What bored me was some of the history which felt pretty dragged out and some of it I felt to be unrelated to the main idea. Couldn't get into this book it all. Winchester begins with telling us how a volcano is made and what it is made with. Our February book club pick. Another, more significant problem with the tone of this book came up when the author addressed the Dutch occupation of Java. To many in the ranks of the conservative and the devout, the new theories of geology and biology were delivering a series of hammer blows to mankind's self-regard. He is interested in the lives of the scientists and researchers who pieced together our understanding of volcanoes. The legendary annihilation in 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. He shows place by place what people experienced hour by hour, going into the fact that despite the fact the eruption was heard thousands of miles away, that the people local to it heard nothing. Nov 22, David rated it really liked it. He has such a va Another masterful book by Simon Winchester. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Simon Winchester's Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded tells a story of the devastation caused by the eruption of a volcano known as Krakatoa, which erupted in Readers also enjoyed. He manages to weave a number of threads into the basic story of this massive volcanic eruption. This may have some truth in it, but he completely ignores the fact that anti-colonial movements in many part of the world increased during this time period. Chapter 6 takes that some time period from the point of view of what the rest of the world knew. Sort order. This book was pretty good. Finally, Winchester explained the days leading up to the explosion and the immediate and lasting impact it had on the world. Not only does the narrative saw back and forth across the timeline without warning or framing, but the author seems to be cropping data in ways that make no sense. 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. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. We kept the ordinary sea-watch, and afterwards heard nothing more of the bell. Readers also enjoyed. Simon Winchester. American Revolution. The night was terrible, sand and rocks fell on us and made us blind. This book is about on of the better recorded volcano eruptions of modern times that really did make an impact on the whole world. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 Writer He may not have been, as he had eternally supposed, specially created. While reading the book, I had expressed two feelings for the majority of the book, and those feelings were fascination and boredom. It all adds up to a tale of changes in the world after the eruption, which cause fear in many people all over the world. Barometers in Washington, DC and Bogata went crazy in reaction to the horrendous atmospheric shockwaves generated by the event. So, nothing more natural to me than reading a book about Krakatoa, a fam So, I've read "Krakatoa, the day the world exploded" by Simon Winchester Quite gripping. He offered theories that were tested and in some cases warranted over the past 1, years. The section after the eruption was an unexpected joy: The detailed description of the geological changes and the successional biology of the islands re- establishing themselves was fascinating, as was the peak into the future of what might yet happen with Anak Krakatoa. Winchester seems to be so excited about providing a wealth of hors-d'oeuvres and desserts that he neglects the main course. Pages Home About me and this blog. It is a terrific book and moves at a fast clip, The kind of book you can't put down. I just thought of the scene to be hilarious because in comparison between today and back then; getting pepper today is so much easier than back then. That made it harder to believe the author when he described the native Javanese as 'content' with colonial rule. The title and first chapter set the stage for the rest of the experience: a tease, followed a lot of tangential storytelling and rampant footnoting and by the time you reach the next chapter you forget what it was supposed to have been about anyway. Winchester looks at what came after, both the re-emergence of geological elements of Krakatoa, and the population of that land by life. This point was driven home by a year of vivid colorful sunsets from all the dust in the atmosphere. The Irish merchant Charles Bal , under the commando of captain W. Jan 29, Bibliovoracious rated it really liked it. I appreciate that the author was quite taken with the subject and th Well, I'm glad I've read it, and I learned a lot, but I've never read a more circuitously-told historical account in my life. Within it lie Once the volcano started to blow, things became even more interesting. More filters. However, this is a topic I'd read about before. Seriously, it took me too long to read this. Simon Winchester did a wonderful job of explaining a geographical disaster from the ground up. Home 1 Books 2. We also get accounts of the disaster pretty exclusively from European observers. He discusses nutmeg and pepper, the Roman trade, and then the moving in of the Portuguese and the Dutch. See details. I slogged my way through the long chapter about plate tectonics and how volcanoes work, but came out on the other side to the big eruption finally. Interesting read. I also enjoyed hearing about the author's own experience visiting Java. It may have been the first news story of world-wide interest to take advantage of that new technology. The reading is interesting because Mr. Art, Literature, and Film History. Notably, the only experiences Winchester uses here are the experiences of the Europeans. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. When day broke, it appeared to us to be still a matter of danger to send a boat ashore; and we also discovered that a revenue cutter was foul of a sailing-vessel which lay in the roadstead, and that the Berouw was stranded. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 Reviews Get A Copy. Simon Winchester - image from his Twitter page One can expect certain things in Simon Winchester books, a wide array of information, from a look at Reading Simon Winchester books is a bit like reading a web page. View all 23 comments. Anyone with an interest in Krakatoa will enjoy at least parts of this book. Art, Literature, and Film History. The legendary annihilation in 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. The last Yellowstone eruption occurred 2. It is always in the back of your mind. He even demonstrates how we learned much about meteorology from the event, detailing its effect on barometers, tidal gauges, and even art worldwide. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. You start in one place, but soon succumb to sundry alluring links. Winchester tells this story with masterly vividness. If Krakatoa had anything to do with it, it certainly played a rather small part.