The volcano that has fascinated scientists, writers, and poets for two millennia
Capricious, vibrant, and volatile, Vesuvius has been and remains one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes. In its rage, it has destroyed whole cities and buried thousands alive. In its calm, its ashes have fertilized the soil, providing for the people who have lived in its shadows. For over two millennia, the dynamic presence of this volcano has fascinated scientists, artists, writers, and thinkers, and inspired religious fervor, Roman architecture, and Western literature. In Vesuvius, Alwyn Scarth draws from the latest research, classical and eyewitness accounts, and a diverse range of other sources to tell the riveting story of this spectacular natural phenomenon.
Scarth follows Vesuvius across time, examining the volcano's destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D., its eruptions during the Counter-Reformation that were viewed as God's punishment of sinners, and the building of the world's first volcano observatory on Vesuvius in the 1840s. Scarth explores the volcano's current position overlooking a population of more than three million people and the complex attitudes maintained by the residents, at once reverent, protective, and fearful. He also considers the next major eruption of Vesuvius, which experts have indicated could be the most powerful since 1631. The longer Vesuvius remains dormant, the more violent its reawakening will be, and despite scientific advances for predicting when this might occur, more people are vulnerable than ever before.
Exploring this celebrated wonder from scientific, historical, and cultural perspectives, Vesuvius provides a colorful portrait of a formidable force of nature.
Alwyn Scarth is the author of numerous books, including Savage Earth (HarperCollins), Vulcan's Fury, and La Catastrophe.
What People are Saying About This
Jelle Zeilinga de Boer
A superb biography of a live volcano whose intermittent eruptions led to the burial of unsuspecting multitudes, triggered religious fervor, inspired Western literature, revived Roman architecture, and invited Campanian intrigue. — Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, coauthor of "Volcanoes in Human History"
Grant Heiken
Vesuvius is a great overview of events at Vesuvius and the Phlegrean Fields through the eyes of the people who witnessed the historical eruptions. I especially enjoyed descriptions of the eruptions during the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, and how these affected attitudes toward the church and monarchs at that time. — Grant Heiken, coauthor of "The Seven Hills of Rome"
From the Publisher
"A superb biography of a live volcano whose intermittent eruptions led to the burial of unsuspecting multitudes, triggered religious fervor, inspired Western literature, revived Roman architecture, and invited Campanian intrigue."—Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, coauthor of Volcanoes in Human History"Vesuvius is a great overview of events at Vesuvius and the Phlegrean Fields through the eyes of the people who witnessed the historical eruptions. I especially enjoyed descriptions of the eruptions during the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, and how these affected attitudes toward the church and monarchs at that time."—Grant Heiken, coauthor of The Seven Hills of Rome
