Reviews

Mountains of Fire: The Secret Lives of Volcanoes by Clive Oppenheimer

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. 

crystal_vogel's review

informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

pigeonindustrialcomplex's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.5

rj6578's review

informative lighthearted slow-paced

3.5

spess's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

I thought this was a pretty entertaining book about volcanoes. My favorite parts were when the author explained how they solved the mysteries of when certain eruptions happened. I also appreciated how he integrated the science of volcanology with the cultural and historical aspects of volcanoes. I think that synthesis was probably the biggest strength of the book.

I didn’t care as much for the personal travelogue elements of the story, but that’s more of my own preference for nonfiction.

I think he mostly did a great job of explaining the science so that the general public could understand, but there were times when I think he didn’t quite succeed at that. However, there were a few times when I had trouble following the science explanations and I myself have a BS and an MS in geology, though I focused on sedimentary geochemistry rather than anything related to volcanoes.

My thanks to NetGalley and the University of Chicago Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.