Booklist: Out of the Crater, by Richard Fisher

Out of the Crater: Chronicles of a Volcanologist, by Richard V. Fisher
Princeton University Press, 1999
172 pages plus glossary and index
Library: 551.21 FIS


Description
Volcanologists venture to treacherous volcanoes the world over in the pursuit of their science. THey work around craters of boiling magma and amidst smoke, flames, scorched rocks and clouds of noxious gases - balancing personal risk against advancing knowledge about one of of nature's most dangerous and unpredictable forces.

Richard Fisher, a world-renowned volcanologist, has had more than forty years of experience in the field. In this book, he blends autobiogrpahy with clear, accessible science to introduce readers to the basics of volcanology and to the wonders of volcanoes that he has studied and learned to both fear and admire.

In the course of the book, we follow Fisher as he descends into the steaming hot crater of the Soufriere 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. We learn about his pioneering work on pyroclastic flows and surges-the hurricanes of gases, molten lava, and volcanic debris that cause most of the death and destruction when volcanoes explode.

HE tells of solving a historic scientific problem at Mount Pelee, Martinique, where 29,000 people were killed in a pyroclastic flow in 1902. Fisher also offers a volcanologist's view of the explosion of Mount Vesuvius that devastated Pompeii and Herculaneum. He writes about the cultural rewards and challenges of conducting research in isolated areas of such countries as Argentina, Mexico and China. And he discusses the early influences that steered him toward volcanology-including his army experiences as a witness to two atom-bomb explosions at Bikini atoll.

Out of the Crater is written in an inviting, nontechnical style. With its deft combination of personal stories and scientific information, it is an inspiring account of a remarkable life and a compelling examination of some of the most spectacular forces shaping the face of the earth.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Los Alamos, New Mexico
2. Bikini and the Atom Bomb
3. The Beginnings of a Career
4. Central Oregon: Tuff, Fossils and Lava
5. Puu Hou, Hawaii: Solitary Isolation
6. Volcanoes and Water
7. Mounrt Pelee, Martinique
8. Soufriere, St. Vincent
9. Volcanoes in Europe
10. Mount St. Helens
11. Mount Vesuvius
12. El Chichon, Southern Mexico
13. Calderas
14. Communist China
15. Italy and Ignimbrite
Epilogue
Glossary
Index