On 27 August 1883 the most terrifying volcanic eruption occurred on the island of Krakatoa, five miles off the western tip of Java. The island was destroyed and almost 40,000 people were killed. The impact was truly global: ships sailing in the Red Sea were covered in ash; barometers went haywire in Washington; the seas were disturbed in Devon; stunning sunsets burned over London; immense rafts of pumice floated to Africa.
In his wonderfully engaging and inimitable style, Simon Winchester brings to life the drama, the people and the science behind this iconic event. He explains how Krakatoa is the key to answering our questions about why mountains explode, how life begins and what happens beneath the earth's surface; and hence why the word "Krakatoa" has become embedded in the consciousness of the modern world.
Simon Winchester's book is the first to truly explain the eruption of Krakatoa.
