Under the Volcano


Book Description

Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. His debilitating malaise is drinking, an activity that has overshadowed his life. On the most fateful day of the consul's life--the Day of the Dead, 1938--his wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac, inspired by a vision of life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse. She is determined to rescue Firmin and their failing marriage, but her mission is further complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul's half brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend. The events of this one significant day unfold against an unforgettable backdrop of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical. Under the Volcano remains one of literature's most powerful and lyrical statements on the human condition, and a brilliant portrayal of one man's constant struggle against the elemental forces that threaten to destroy him.




Beneath the Volcano


Book Description

Beneath the Volcano is the first major account of the Nage, who inhabit the central part of Flores in eastern Indonesia. The book focuses on Nage ideas concerning a variety of spiritual beings and how these influence both ritual practices and ideas about human beings. In exploring these subjects, the author sets out to uncover a classification of spirits. While quite different from taxonomies of natural beings, Nage ways of linking named categories of spirits nevertheless reveal a regular conceptual order. In describing this order, use is made of a version of Dumont's notion of 'encompassment'. Common ideas informing relations between Nage humans and several categories of spirits are further interpreted as instances of a pervasive principle of 'symmetric inversion', according to which human beings are spirits for the spirits.




From Beneath the Volcano


Book Description

In 1980 El Salvador was plunged into a bloody civil war, and Luis Campos, a peasant farmer, found himself drawn into a deadly political maelstrom of guerrilla fighting for twelve years. In this collection of fascinating and revealing oral histories, Gorkin and Pineda portray the personal and social lives of Luis and his family, who for the past eighteen years have been working to rebuild their lives in their new community beneath the Guazapa volcano. Luis, his mother, his wife, his in-laws, his children, and some neighbors recall in a simple and often eloquent manner their experiences of everyday life before, during, and after the civil war. Nina Bonafacia, Luis’s mother, tells of the days before the war when two of her daughters were murdered and she fled with her family to a refugee camp. Julia, Luis’s wife, recounts her life as a guerrillera during which, incidentally, she gave birth to the first two of her eight children. Joaquin, a neighbor and comrade-in-arms, discusses how he and others took control of the land of Comunidad Guazapa and began rebuilding in those turbulent days and months right after the war. Margarita and Francisco, the two oldest children, with candor and insight discuss the trajectory of their lives and that of the postwar generation. And at the center of all these stories stands Luis, the guerrillero, farmer, neighbor, husband, father—and raconteur par excellence. In sum, the multiple voices in From Beneath the Volcano combine to form a rich tapestry displaying a story of war, family, and community and provide a never-before-seen view of both the past and present El Salvador.




Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond


Book Description

An exhilarating, time-traveling journey to the solar system’s strangest and most awe-inspiring volcanoes. Volcanoes are capable of acts of pyrotechnical prowess verging on magic: they spout black magma more fluid than water, create shimmering cities of glass at the bottom of the ocean and frozen lakes of lava on the moon, and can even tip entire planets over. Between lava that melts and re-forms the landscape, and noxious volcanic gases that poison the atmosphere, volcanoes have threatened life on Earth countless times in our planet’s history. Yet despite their reputation for destruction, volcanoes are inseparable from the creation of our planet. A lively and utterly fascinating guide to these geologic wonders, Super Volcanoes revels in the incomparable power of volcanic eruptions past and present, Earthbound and otherwise—and recounts the daring and sometimes death-defying careers of the scientists who study them. Science journalist and volcanologist Robin George Andrews explores how these eruptions reveal secrets about the worlds to which they belong, describing the stunning ways in which volcanoes can sculpt the sea, land, and sky, and even influence the machinery that makes or breaks the existence of life. Walking us through the mechanics of some of the most infamous eruptions on Earth, Andrews outlines what we know about how volcanoes form, erupt, and evolve, as well as what scientists are still trying to puzzle out. How can we better predict when a deadly eruption will occur—and protect communities in the danger zone? Is Earth’s system of plate tectonics, unique in the solar system, the best way to forge a planet that supports life? And if life can survive and even thrive in Earth’s extreme volcanic environments—superhot, superacidic, and supersaline surroundings previously thought to be completely inhospitable—where else in the universe might we find it? Traveling from Hawai‘i, Yellowstone, Tanzania, and the ocean floor to the moon, Venus, and Mars, Andrews illuminates the cutting-edge discoveries and lingering scientific mysteries surrounding these phenomenal forces of nature.




Super Volcano


Book Description

A fascinating look at the super volcano seething under Yellowstone, 30,000 years overdue to erupt, and what will happen when it does.




A Volcano Beneath the Snow


Book Description

Examines the life of abolitionist John Brown and the raid he led on the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in 1859, exploring his religious fanaticism and belief in "righteous violence,"--and commitment to domestic terrorism.




Into the Volcano


Book Description

The volcano is erupting, and brothers Sumo and Duffy are trapped inside a deep lava tube--almost certain death. How did they get here? A vacation "hike" turned out to be a cutthroat search for their missing family fortune. In a wildly dangerous twist of events, the boys try to escape--but rivers of lava are blocking their exit! The remote island of Kocalaha is threatening to explode at any minute. Will the boys survive? Don Wood's rip-roaring adventure keeps readers hooked and turning the pages in this cinematic graphic novel that garnered outstanding critical acclaim. As one reviewer wrote about this book, "the American Library Association will either have to start handing Caldecott Medals over to comic books or create an entirely new award for them." Into the Volcano is a roller coaster read for all ages, by an internationally acclaimed artist who has created scores of bestselling picture books, published in more than twenty languages around the globe.




The Volcano Adventure Guide


Book Description

The Volcano Adventure Guide is the first book of its type. It contains vital information for anyone wishing to visit, explore, and photograph active volcanoes safely and enjoyably. Following an introduction that discusses eruption styles of different types of volcanoes, how to prepare for a volcano trip, and how to avoid volcanic dangers, the book presents guides to visiting 42 different volcanoes around the world. This section is packed full of practical information including tour itineraries, maps, transportation details, and warnings of possible non-volcanic dangers. Three appendices at the end of the book direct the reader to a wealth of further volcano resources. Aimed at non-specialist readers who wish to explore volcanoes without being foolhardy, it will fascinate amateur enthusiasts and professional volcanologists alike. The stunning colour photographs throughout the book will delight armchair travellers as well as inspire the adventurous to get out and explore volcanoes for themselves.




The Finches' Fabulous Furnace


Book Description

When the Finch family moves into the only available house in Ashfield, they find it has a very strange heating system.




Fire in the Sea


Book Description

When the Greek island of Santorini, or Thera, erupted dramatically in the seventeenth or sixteenth century BC, it produced one of the largest explosions ever witnessed by humankind. The event covered Bronze Age settlements on the island with volcanic ash, and altered the course of civilisation in the region, possibly giving rise to the legend of Atlantis. Fire in the Sea blends the thrill of scientific discovery with a popular presentation of the geology, archaeology, history, peoples and environmental setting of Santorini. It is a case study of a natural disaster that will fire the imagination. Excellent colour photographs and illustrations along with easily understandable scientific and historic details make this book highly appealing to a wide audience. It will also be useful as a supplementary text for introductory courses in earth and atmospheric science, geology, volcanology, palaeoclimatology, as well as ancient history and archaeology.