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goofymango's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
shanaqui's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
There's no question about Clive Oppenheimer's fascination with volcanoes -- that shows in every page of Mountains of Fire, and in every recollection of the risky things he's done for the science and love of volcanoes. Every time he mentions a risky climb or measuring gases above an active volcano, you can see that not only does he want to know about volcanoes, he wants to know volcanoes as individuals, and understand them. That extends not only to their physical properties, but the stories and superstitions around them as well.
That's where the book was strongest for me. I want to be interested in volcanoes and how they work, but it's one of those rare topics where it doesn't really seem to catch my interest, even when digging into the nitty-gritty detail... and even when the writer is as enthusiastic as Oppenheimer proves to be. It doesn't help, of course, that a lot of it describes the political and practical problems around the study of volcanoes (almost a whole chapter is dedicated to not managing to go to sample a specific area due to threats of kidnapping and violence).
I was interested enough to finish the book, but not interested enough to feel an itch to pick it up and keep reading. I can't say that it's dry or anything like that, it's just not one of my pet topics, and thus it didn't keep me turning the pages. I really think it's a case of "it's not the book, it's me".
That's where the book was strongest for me. I want to be interested in volcanoes and how they work, but it's one of those rare topics where it doesn't really seem to catch my interest, even when digging into the nitty-gritty detail... and even when the writer is as enthusiastic as Oppenheimer proves to be. It doesn't help, of course, that a lot of it describes the political and practical problems around the study of volcanoes (almost a whole chapter is dedicated to not managing to go to sample a specific area due to threats of kidnapping and violence).
I was interested enough to finish the book, but not interested enough to feel an itch to pick it up and keep reading. I can't say that it's dry or anything like that, it's just not one of my pet topics, and thus it didn't keep me turning the pages. I really think it's a case of "it's not the book, it's me".
gcoakley's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
pamiverson's review
too many stories of his adventures, I wanted something more straightforwardly scientivic.
e_f_p21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
eliseg29's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
When I first started this book, I was a little disappointed. The blurb hinted that this book would merge history and cultures of those living in the shadow of volcanoes with the science. However, I felt the first few chapters of this book didn't do this. They focussed mainly on the people who came to explore the volcanoes which, whilst interesting to begin with, became a little repetitive.
The latter half of the book was exactly what I was hoping for. Interesting scientific discovery mixed with history and local knowledge. I found out about volcanoes I'd never heard of before, and their impacts both on the land nearby but also worldwide.
One huge success of this book is its writing- there was great storytelling and descriptive writing in between the scientific information.
Overall not quite as fascinating as I hoped, but had some really strong chapters.
The latter half of the book was exactly what I was hoping for. Interesting scientific discovery mixed with history and local knowledge. I found out about volcanoes I'd never heard of before, and their impacts both on the land nearby but also worldwide.
One huge success of this book is its writing- there was great storytelling and descriptive writing in between the scientific information.
Overall not quite as fascinating as I hoped, but had some really strong chapters.
picklebread's review
5.0
Very interesting book that covers the historical effects of eruptions and the effect on local people
rsarette's review
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
The first few chapters of this book started out slow but it captured my imagination in the middle with stories of volcanoes across the world in different cultures.