Books about Eruptions from Amazon.com

All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’s sixty-mile main line—somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

Attilius—decent, practical, and incorruptible—promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work—both natural and man-made—threatening to destroy him.

With his trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris, bestselling author of Archangel and Fatherland, re-creates a world on the brink of disaster.


From the Hardcover edition..
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In their first adventure as Master Librarians, Jack and Annie go to the city of Pompeii to bring back an ancient story that is in danger of being lost forever Little do they know they are saving the myth of Hercules! But before they can find it, the town's volcano erupts in a mighty explosion   Just when things look hopeless, Jack and Annie get some unexpected help from a certain mythic hero - and the rest, as they say, is history.  .
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Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal, this classic fantasy-adventure is now available in a handsome new edition. "William Pne du Bois combines his rich imagination, scientific tastes, and brilliant artistry to tell a story that has no age limit." -- The Horn Book .
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"Good band, even better book . . . Essential reading."
—Record Collector

One of 2007's Most Intriguing Books
—LA Weekly

"Highly recommended for Van Halen completists "
—Chuck Klosterman, Esquire

"Respect is due to author Ian Christe His book is perfectly pitched, capturing both the flamboyant excitement and inherent absurdity of the rampant ego collective known as Van Halen."
—Geoff Barton, Classic Rock

"Written in jubilant, elastic prose, Ian Christe's Everybody Wants Some is a sort of Day-Glo fairy tale . . . savvy, sympathetic, expert, funny ha-ha."
—The Boston Phoenix

"[Christe's] not fooling around. And his prose is always playful."
—Los Angeles Times

"A new biography of the band that made metal marketable doesn't disappoint the fans."
—The American Prospect

"Christe chronicles the sweeping scope of the Van Halen saga."
—Chicago Sun-Times

If you’ve ever wondered how two Dutch boys trained in classical music grew up to form America’s greatest hard rock band, find the naked truth in Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga. Learn all the juicy details, from the secret of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar mastery to the truth about groupies, midgets, and contract riders and the details of Van Halen’s explosive entrée to California’s hard rock scene. Read about all the strife between Eddie and the singers and find out how Eddie’s drinking affected the band and his personal relationships..
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Illus. in full color. "The drama of natural disasters provides prime material to entice young independent readers. In this volume, the account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius describes village life 2,000 years ago, the eruption itself and its aftermath, and the excitement when the buried town is rediscovered centuries later. A lively and factual glimpse of a devastating moment in history, in an accessible, attractive package."--Publishers Weekly.  .
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What was it like to be a gladiator? How many people died in the destruction of Pompeii? How did Roman children spend their days? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Ancient Rome and Pompeii. This is the nonfiction companion to Vacation Under the Volcano (Magic Tree House #13)..
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What spits our fire and ash? What sleeps for years but may explode with a bang at any time? Find out all about volcanoes! Longer sentences and an expanded vocabulary make this series of 48-page books slightly more challenging: Level 2 is appropriate for children who have started to read but still need help. Information boxes full of background information will stimulate inquisitive minds. These books contain between 700 and 850 words, and they are approximately 70 percent pictures and 30 percent text. The Dorling Kindersley Readers combine an enticing visual layout with high-interest, easy-to-read stories to captivate and delight young bookworms who are just getting started. Written by leading children's authors and compiled in consultation with literacy experts, these engaging books build reader confidence along with a lifelong appreciation for nonfiction, classic stories, and biographies. There is a DK Reader to interest every child at every level, from preschool to grade 4..
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In ancient times, Pompeii was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Its 20,000 inhabitants lived in the shadow of Vesuvius, which they believed was nothing more than a mountain. But Vesuvius was a volcano. And on the morning of August 24, A.D. 79, Vesuvius began to erupt. Within twenty-four hours, the entire city of Pompeii—and many of its citizens—had been utterly annihilated.

It was not until hundreds of years later that Pompeii saw daylight again, as archaeological excavations began to unearth what had been buried under layers of volcanic rubble. Digging crews expected to find buildings and jewelry and other treasures, but they found something unexpected, too: the imprints of lost Pompeiians, their deaths captured as if by photographic images in volcanic ash..
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It may seem a stretch to connect a volcanic eruption with civil and religious unrest in Indonesia today, but Simon Winchester makes a compelling case. Krakatoa tells the frightening tale of the biggest volcanic eruption in history using a blend of gentle geology and narrative history. Krakatoa erupted at a time when technologies like the telegraph were becoming commonplace and Asian trade routes were being expanded by northern European companies. This bustling colonial backdrop provides an effective canvas for the suspense leading up to August 27th, 1883, when the nearby island of Krakatoa would violently vaporize. Winchester describes the eruption through the eyes of its survivors, and readers will be as horrified and mesmerized as eyewitnesses were as the death toll reached nearly 40,000 (almost all of whom died from tsunamis generated by the unimaginably strong shock waves of the eruption). Ships were thrown miles inshore, endless rains of hot ash engulfed those towns not drowned by 100 foot waves, and vast rafts of pumice clogged the hot sea. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away, and the eruption's shock wave traveled around the world seven times. But the book's biggest surprise is not the riveting catalog of the volcano's effects; rather, it is Winchester's contention that the Dutch abandonment of their Indonesian colonies after the disaster left local survivors to seek comfort in radical Islam, setting the stage for a volatile future for the region. --Therese Littleton.
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