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Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions

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From Library Journal

What is a volcano? Why do some have slow-flowing lava and some explode with fire and rocks? How are volcanoes and earthquakes related? Sigurdsson (oceanography, Univ. of Rhode Island) looks at these questions and more from various points of view: prehistoric legend, religion, superstition, and science from the 17th century to date. He has done his research well. Some of the theories he relates appear foolish in hindsight, but most of them were taken quite seriously in their time. His subtitle is apt, as each chapter adds to the evolution of scientific thought in this area of geology. He shows the importance of other disciplines, including chemistry, physics, and thermodynamics, in understanding how the study of volcanoes has changed over time. He also notes how points of view shift with field research and experimentation. In the end, we are left with more questions, which is one of the excitements of science. For larger public libraries and academic collections supporting the earth sciences.AJean E. Crampon, Science & Engineering Lib., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Review

"Dr. Harold Sigurdsson's new book Melting The Earth is a wonderful journey through time as he traces the history of man's fear and love of volcanic eruptions. I can't think of a better guide on this epic journey." --Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D., President, Institute for Exploration"An attractive and readable account of the history of ideas about volcanoes."--Nature"Evolving philosophical and theological debate, tempered by a growing body of scientific knowledge, flavors the beautifully written text.... The author, born and raised in volcanic Iceland and an international volcanologist, wrote this rich history of his science for deeper appreciation andperception into the role of human interaction with a mighty natural force. Historians and scientists will thoroughly enjoy this book."--Choice"In Melting the Earth, Haraldur Sigurdsson draws on his Icelandic heritage to show how man has long been fascinated by volcanoes, particularly in parts of the world where they are a dynamic presence and potential cause of disaster. Many ancient cultures have extensive volcano myths whoseorigins may be even older. After the Dark Ages and with exploration of the globe and skies, a vast amount of new information became available, and efforts to explain how the world works developed at an ever-increasing pace. A major conceptual advance was considering that the earth could have a vastamount of primordial heat. The discovery of radioactivity in the current century provided an adequate heat source, and detailed geophysical observations led to plate tectonics. Sigurdsson emphasizes ideas that prevailed at each stage of history, and thus spends as much time on ideas eventuallydiscarded as those still incorporated in the modern view." - William Green, The Leading Edge, April 2000"Haraldur Sigurdsson is a professor in the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. As a practicing volcanologist and native of Iceland, where volcanoes are frequently active, Sigurdsson chronicles humankind's attempt to understand volcanic eruptions and provides afascinating look at how our conception of volcanoes has changed as knowledge of the earth's internal processes has deepened over the centuries. Drawing liberally from classical sources and firsthand accounts, this chronicle is not only a colorful history of volcanology, but also an engrossingchapter in the development of scientific thought." - California Geology , May 2000

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Product details

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (June 24, 1999)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0195106652

ISBN-13: 978-0195106657

Product Dimensions:

7 x 1.2 x 10 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.6 out of 5 stars

8 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#1,502,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Great read!

An interesting study of how we got to where we are today in the study of volcanos.

Good state of conservation and excellent book, the time of arrival was ok, I'm very satisfied of this adquisition. It is a great book and crowded of references and citations of older books very difficult to localize otherwise

Two of my favorite subjects are history and geology, so this was a double treat for me, since it's sort of a history of geology! Sigurdsson has created a marvelous compendium of sources on the subject of volcanism from mythologies among people native to areas of techtonic activity through Roman authors on the natural sciences to European and American scientists and philosophers into the early 20th Century. Probably one of the most significant things I discovered in reading the book was the underlying cause for the distain of the average person for the "rational" approach of the scientist. In laying before me the various theories for the cause of volcanism and earthquakes, Sigurdsson indirectly makes it clear that the "logical" assumptions of men of science can prove to be wrong, and the best research--for the technology of the time--can still lead to erroneous evaluations shaped by preconceived notions of the world, whether those concepts are biblico/religious ideology or a strongly held school of scientific thinking. Only by reading the entire book does one realize, also indirectly, that the scientific method of enquirey is the only way of gaining ground on the principles underlying natural processes. While the various authors of different theories may be in part or even entirely wrong, it is only through the testing and retesting of theories against the sterling measure of reality, that a clearer, working model of how nature works will arise. What is truely amazing is that so many early thinkers came to have at least a partial understanding of volcanism and of planetary and solar formation in modern terms. Also impressive were the novel approaches to experimental geology that were acheived. Many of the early investigators were truely creative people. Sigurdsson appears to be very well read, and his appreciation of the value of the visual documentary record, in forms such as pre-literate paintings and woodcut and engraved illustrations from rare books, is impressive and worthy of an individual trained in historical research rather than in the sciences. For anyone with an interest in geology, an interest in history, or simply someone who appreciates a good job of research, this is an excellant volume. It would also be a useful starting point for research on most other topics in the history of science, as many of the better resources are mentioned in the text and in the bibliographic entries for each chapter at the end of it. Some of the latter are in German, French or Italian, although many are in English translation in Sigurdsson's citing or can be found in English translations elsewhere.

This is a terrific book, but I'm going to have to find another copy before I can read Chapter 15 (Radioactive Heat and Convection). My copy suffers from a serious bookbinding error, in which pages 197-228 are missing and pages 165-196 are repeated. (The second page 165 follows the first page 196, and page 229 follows the second page 196.)I also have a couple of nits to pick that I would have expected the editors at Oxford University Press to catch before the book reached print.(1) Early in the book, Homer and Ulysses are referred to in a sequence of two sentences which suggests that Ulysses was a character in Homer's work, which he wasn't. Ulysses stars in Virgil's Latin epic "The Aeneid", which borrows heavily from Homer's Greek epic "The Odyssey", starring Odysseus. So the discerning reader is left not knowing whether the subsequent quotation is from Homer's Odyssey or from Virgil's Aeneid.(2) Early in the book, the assassination of Julius Caesar is referred to as the death of the Romans' emperor. But Julius Caesar was never emperor. He was assassinated to prevent him from becoming king. His adopted son Octavian invented the title of emperor ("imperator" = commander) years later--specifically to avoid offending the Romans' aversion to kings--when he had defeated his own rivals and had assumed absolute power in Rome as Caesar Augustus.(3) The conversion from a temperature _difference_ of 3 Celsius degrees into a temperature _difference_ of 37.5 Fahrenheit degrees is completely wrong. It incorrectly includes the 32-Fahrenheit-degree offset for the freezing temperature of water (32F = 0 C), which isn't involved at all in a temperature-difference conversion. The correct conversion is to a temperature difference of 5.5 Fahrenheit degrees. The conversion of a Celsius temperature _level_ to a Fahrenheit temperature _level_ on the same page is done correctly, however. I suspect that the erroneous conversion was done by a literary editor who wasn't as familiar with temperature scales as I am sure the author must be.But these are minor (though annoying) editorial flaws in a well-written, enlightening book. I recommend it highly.Now, if I can just get my hands on pages 197-228 somewhere....-)

Why do volcanoes erupt? Humans have struggled with this question for many thousands of years, no doubt ever since our ancient ancestors first saw the beauty and power of volcanic eruptions. There are other books available that will tell the reader what we now know about volcanoes, but this is the first book that describes how we have come to understand how they work. It is a wonderful and rare type of book, as it combines history, philosophy, science, and art. The illustrations, many from old lithographs, are very well reproduced. Some come from unlikely sources such as "The Travels of Baron Munchausen". Munchausen's author, the brilliant rogue Rudolph Raspe, was in fact a student of volcanoes and made some significant contributions before his bad behavior led to his disgrace. His story is just one of the many fascinating tales in Melting the Earth. I know this book well, as I reviewed the original manuscript. I am very pleased to see it published and have no hesitation to recommend it to all readers interested in volcanoes, including professional volcanologists and students. Dr. Rosaly Lopes-Gautier

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Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions PDF

Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions PDF

Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions PDF