Krakatoa: The Explosive True Story of the Catastrophic 1883 Eruption by Simon Winchester

Jungle Jim: Winchester is a master in capturing, organizing and building the narrative for the subject of his book(s). I regret that I am soon to enter my 80th year and only discovered his work a few months ago when my son gave me a copy of "The Perfectionists", which I could hardly put down at night for a little rest until I had completed. I quickly went online and found the many additional titles that he has written over a couple of decades (regretting that I had missed him and so many of his works for years). I selected "Krakatoa" because the event was so spectacularly tragic and with so many lives lost. Nevertheless, the event helped lead subsequent researchers to a fuller understanding of hitherto unknown forces of nature that have in the past and still continue to drive the the formation of the world's land masses we know today. My review is an impoverished summary of a great and tragic event which is, unfortunately, on a path to reoccur at some future date. Fortunately, there was much learning since the 1893 event and perhaps the next time the tragic consequences and loss of life (>36k deaths) can be avoided. Read for the event, but also learn about the great power struggles to...

United States on Aug 22, 2023

Joe Rat: In my opinion Simon Winchester's best book. A masterpiece of historical research. It recounts the 1883 Krakatoa volcanic eruption; its consequences were felt the world over. The book gives an excellent scientific background as well. Riveting reading written by a renowned geologist.

Italy on May 21, 2022

steve: Excellent book

Germany on May 08, 2021

patrick lataillade: Je m'interesse à la geophysique et aux lieux dits de pouvoir:le pouvoir de nous raconter qq chose de nous-mm ,de notre conscience,que nous ignorons systématiquement

France on Apr 29, 2021

Kennio: Well done! Simon Winchester writes so compellingly. It’s a great pleasure to read his books. One learns so much -while being immersed in science and intrigue. Kennio

Canada on Jun 14, 2018

Ritu Khanna: This book accompanied me on a trip to Indonesia and so was very topical. Lovely clear style and Winchester is obviously passionate about his subject matter.

India on May 25, 2018

Dartagnon Puissant: This book started out VERY slowly but by the time the bubbles started appearing in the water around the freight vessels passing through the Sundra Strait it was off to a ROARING start.

What clung to my mind the most was that Krakatoa is NOT gone since this is a Subduction Factory, constantly drawing in source materials for the "Next" Krakatoa, which appeared and was nicknamed Son of Krakatoa, as mentioned in "National Geographic" in their article about the Angry Gods of Indonesia. This reminds me of oatmeal in the morning as it heats up and begins to bubble and then burst from time to time.

What I liked the most was the historical mentions of the East India Corporation and how they were able to snatch world dominance in the seas and oceans with their spices. Also, the tectonic plate coverage was illuminating. I hope people understand TODAY that this is VERY important as we are ALL sitting on one plate or another and they are ALL beginning to move due to the warming of the Ring of Fire. This is all vital info to the world since the next eruption of Krakatoa Jr. can help trigger the lighting of the ENTIRE Ring which will devastate mankind and most living beings. Once...

United States on Sep 19, 2011

Thomas J. Burns: On August 27, 1883 James Wallis, the British chief of police on the island of Rodriguez in the Indian Ocean, made a curious entry in his official log. He noted the roar of heavy guns coming from his east, over a nearly four hour time frame. He could see no ships, no smoke, and no indications of hostile military action. One can only imagine his later shock at discovering the source of these mysterious sounds: the volcanic destruction of the Island of Krakatoa, fully 2968 miles to the east, roughly the same distance between Philadelphia and San Francisco. [p. 260]

By author Simon Winchester's reckoning, there have been only five geologic explosions of the magnitude of Krakatoa in the history of the planet, and he can barely contain his pleasure that one [thankfully, only one] of these events took place in our lifetime, relatively speaking. For indeed this is one of the compelling facets of the work, the availability of modern communications and scientific instrumentation and their role in both reporting and deciphering the event. Transoceanic telegraph lines, seismographs, motorized shipping, and barometers all play invaluable roles in this work.

Before rushing into...

United States on Oct 11, 2004