Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Covered a Continent in Darkness

by Alexandra Witze, Jeff Kanipe Narrated by John Lescault

Overview

Can a single explosion change the course of history? An eruption at the end of the eighteenth century led to years of climate change while igniting famine, disease, and even perhaps revolution.

Laki is Iceland's largest volcano-and its most fearsome. Its eruption in 1783 is one of history's great, untold natural disasters. Spewing out sun-blocking ash and then a poisonous fog for eight long months, the effects of the eruption lingered across the world for years. It caused the deaths of people as far away as the Nile and created catastrophic conditions throughout Europe.

Island on Fire is the story not only of a single eruption but the people whose lives it changed, the dawn of modern volcanology, as well as the history-and potential-of other super-volcanoes like Laki around the world. And perhaps most pertinently, in the wake of the eruption of another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, which closed European air space in 2010, acclaimed science writers Witze and Kanipe look at what might transpire should Laki erupt again in our lifetime.

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton

A story for the ages. But beneath the barrage of devastation lies an even more profound story: why do we forget these dangers?

Gillian Darley

A terrific, disturbing book. In their fast-paced, enjoyable text the authors show how vulnerable we remain to the most unpredictable of natural disasters.

Nick Crane

A volcanic tour de force. Terrific storytelling that reveals our vulnerability to nature's most destructive forces.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169915655
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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