Chasing Lava: A Geologist's Adventures at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory [Paperback]

Wendell A. Duffield (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0878424628 | ISBN-13: 978-0878424627 | Publication Date: January 1, 2003 | Edition: 1st

PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY'S VOLCANO HAZARDS PROGRAM.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wendell A. Duffield's story of his three-year tenure at the Hawaiin Vocano Observatory balances near-death experiences with lighthearted anecdotes and the science behind the lava." --Lara Caldwell, The Nature Conservancy

About the Author

Wendell A. Duffield received a PhD in geology from Stanford University in 1967. During the following three decades, he studied volcanoes around the world as an employee of the U.S. Geological Survey. Duff teaches geology at Northern Arizona Unviersity, consults about geothermal energy, and writes books and magazine and newspaper articles for a general audienceDuff and his wife, Anne, their dog (Pele), and cat (Marza) spend summers in the beautiful lake country of northwestern Wisconsin and winters in mild Flagstaff, Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company; 1st edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878424628
• ISBN-13: 978-0878424627
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Through a series of unexpected events, my life moved from small-town rural Minnesota, to a fancy New England Prep school, to Carleton College, and then Stanford where I got a PhD in geology. Ever since, I've been chasing volcanoes ... first for the U. S. Geological Survey and now as an Adjunct Professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Being a research scientist and writing technical papers for more than three decades was heady, but at around age sixty I realized that I wanted to communicate with a broader variety of readers than the PhD-toting group. So I started writing popular books and magazine/newspaper essays, some related to volcanoes and some not. All my books are listed at Amazon. You can get the flavor of my other writings by visiting http://oak.ucc.nau.edu/wad3

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trying to Understand Pele, April 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Chasing Lava: A Geologist's Adventures at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book. It combines science, adventure, and the personal journal of a geologist who spent 3 years working with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It includes a major eruption, measuring the ups, downs, and side slips of Kilauea Volcano's surface, and watching the movements of the surface crust on a lava lake that mimics the dance of the Earth's tectonic plates. Trying to understand how active volcanoes work has captivated nearly all the scientists who have studied them, and Duffield's book gives good insight into how and why.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Chasing Lava" a great read, December 3, 2004

By 

Paul R. Sheppard "A Duffield fan" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing Lava: A Geologist's Adventures at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (Paperback)

"Chasing Lava" is excellent. Without being textbookish, Duffield explains the basic workings of Hawaiian volcanism, enabling readers to practically teach it to friends. Above and beyond that, Duffield gives a glimpse of what it's like to be a field scientist who flat out likes his work. Oh, that we could all enjoy our career work as much as Duffield enjoys his. And don't miss the amazing snake story.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Volcanoes for beginners, April 9, 2004

By 

Gene J. Parola (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing Lava: A Geologist's Adventures at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (Paperback)

When I saw the cover of Chasing Lava, I had to pick it up.
For many of us who live on the tops of these under seas volcanoes, the thought is never far away--How did it happen and are these dormant giants going to remain dormant? After all, dormant comes from the root word meaning to sleep. Sleeping things can awaken.
Anyway, Duffield takes us by the hand and helps us to understand how they came to be. And he does so in a simple enough fashion and with enough humor and local color, to make the whole journey from the middle of the earth to its verdant surface a lark. Tke the trip. It's fascinating. By the way, Pele continues to increase the size of the
Island of Hawaii--that process which Duffield experienced 35 years ago--and she seems in no hurry to stop.