Ashen Sky: The Letters of Pliny The Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius [Hardcover]

Pliny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2007

Barry Moser's extraordinarily detailed and evocative relief engravings decorate this translation of Pliny the Younger's two famous letters to Tacitus about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and the death of his uncle, Pliny the Elder. The text includes a brief description of the eruption of the volcano, concise biographies of Tacitus and of both Plinys, and a summary of how the texts of the two letters have survived until today.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Since 1970 Barry Moser has provided wood engravings for more than a hundred books, including editions of Moby Dick, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the King James Version of the Bible. His works are found in museums throughout the world as well as in rare-book rooms and special collections of libraries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum; 1 edition (September 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892369000
• ISBN-13: 978-0892369003
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barry Moser is the prizewinning illustrator and designer of nearly three hundred books for children and adults. He is widely celebrated for his dramatic wood engravings for the only twentieth-century edition of the entire King James Bible illustrated by a single artist. He is the Printer to the College at Smith College where he is Professor in Residence in the department of art. His work can be found in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; the Metropolitan Museum; and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, among scores of other libraries and collections. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving Art, December 20, 2007

By 

Daniel W. Hays (Salem, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ashen Sky: The Letters of Pliny The Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius (Hardcover)

Much of what we know about the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius - the eruption that sealed Pompeii and Herculaneum in time and volcanic ash - comes from the letters written by Pliny the Younger to his friend Tacitus. Pliny was an eyewitness, and his uncle died in the eruption.<

These texts have been available for a long time. What is new and impressive about this book are its illustrations, relief engravings by artist Berry Moser, Professor in Residence in the Art Department of Smith College in Massachusetts.<

The letters are freshly translated by Benedicte Gilman, who has also provided biographies of Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, as well as an essay describing how it was that the letters themselves came to be preserved into modern times. This is solid, readable, exciting work in and of itself.<

But the real force in this book is the illustrations. Using a technique generally confined to wood engraving, Moser has given us a series of 16 vital illustrations that bring a terrible life to the horrible events of the eruption. As slim as it is, this volume is a literal "must have" for all lovers of art and history.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moser on Vesuvivus, April 11, 2009

By 

Terrence W. Faulkner (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ashen Sky: The Letters of Pliny The Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius (Hardcover)

I bought this book because the illustrations were done by Barry Moser. As always, his art does not disappoint. The brief text by Pliny is equally worthy of admiration.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Dubious Disciple Book Review, November 13, 2011

By 

Dubious Disciple "Lee Harmon" (White Bear Lake, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ashen Sky: The Letters of Pliny The Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius (Hardcover)

Here's an interpretation of the two letters of Pliny the Younger to Tacitus, about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Black-and-white wood engravings by artist Barry Moser illustrate the grotesque images described in Pliny's letters. Moser's engravings have illustrated more than a hundred books, including Moby Dick and Alice in Wonderland.

Ashen Sky is a good title. Ash from Mount Vesuvius' eruption in Italy spread to Egypt, Syria, and Africa, spreading pestilence. Two cities at its base, Pompeii and Herculaneum, were completely buried in ash and lost to history ... finally uncovered 1,800 years later by a chance archaeological discovery.

Readers of my book about Revelation will immediately recognize the connection of Mount Vesuvius to my religious book blog. Its eruption eerily mimics the description of fire and brimstone torment in the book of Revelation, and many Bible scholars surmise that the image must have burned itself permanently into the mind of Revelation's author. Read especially chapter eight, about the seven trumpets.

It's hard to overestimate the cosmic importance of this event; an eruption of this magnitude happens somewhere on earth about once every 1,000 years. If parts of Revelation begin to sound like the ravings of a madman with a fist full of prophetic scriptures to explain, we can surely pardon its author. So if you're curious about Revelation's inspiration and wish to read the letters of Pliny the Younger, you may as well choose a fun picture book to read.