Description
Book SynopsisIntroduces readers to the basics of volcanology. This book follows the author as he descends into the steaming crater of the Soufri re Volcano on the island of St Vincent, as he conducts research on lava flows on the desolate south shore of the Island of Hawaii, and as he struggles to understand the explosion at Mount St Helens.
Trade Review"Interesting and entertaining reading... Fisher is a good writer and mixes tales of his travels, science, and personal anecdotes as well. The book is entertaining and an easy read... Perhaps the only regret is that the book is not a bit longer."--Steve Sparks, Nature "Good first-person descriptions of science are always welcome, and doubly so from scientists in fascinating fields... [Out of the Crater] reveals much about research in a tough environmental science where extensive fieldwork is the only road to enlightenment."--Martin Ince, New Scientist "R. V. Fisher is, without a doubt, one of the premier volcanologists of the latter half of the twentieth century. Fisher writes in a light and lucid prose... The result is an engaging, human and modest account."--David Pyle, Geological Magazine
Table of ContentsContents ix Acknowledgments 3 Prologue 8 Chapter 1. Los Alamos, New Mexico Chapter 2. Bikini and the Atom Bomb 13 Chapter 3. The Beginnings of a Career 22 Chapter 4. Central Oregon: Tuff, Fossils, and Lava 28 Chapter 5. Puu Hou, Hawaii: Solitary Isolation 35 Chapter 6. Volcanoes and Water 46 Chapter 7. Mount Pele, Martinique 62 Chapter 8. Soufriere, St. Vincent 69 Chapter 9. Volcanoes in Europe 80 Chapter 10. Mount St. Helens 89 Chapter 11. Mount Vesuvius 104 Chapter 12. El Chichon, Southern Mexico 115 Chapter 13. Calderas 126 Chapter 14. Communist China 137 Chapter 15. Italy and Ignimbrite 156 Epilogue 170 Glossary 173 Index 177
