Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Volcanoes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I stumbled upon it at Academicpress.com/volcano and decided to buy it on Amazon.com -- what a bargain! This 8 pound bookend is the first and only reference to cover ALL aspects of volcanology! More than 80 separate peer-reviewed articles. all original contributions for this work, by leading experts from major institutions of science around the world. I like the glossary entries that explain key terms at the beginning of each chapter and the extensive cross-referencing system that links related articles. Check out the cool articles on Volcano Art, Volcano Literature, and Volcanoes in Film!

As a master's student studying volcanology and remote sensing, and a research assistant at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, I can honestly say this is it! From the depths of the mantle on Earth to the dynamic volcanism on Juptier's moon Io, the large team of authors and editors cover every aspect of volcanology possible in this 1,000 + page book. The book is extremely organized, complete with a detailed index, large glossary, and most importantly, references to journal publications. The book also uses high quality images and photos (black and white and in color), as well as scientific graphs, tables, and plots of data when necessary. Despite being written by such a wide array of scientists from all over the world, this encyclopedia is written with both volcanologists and the lay person in mind. This impressive compilation is well worth the price.

Great compendium of volcanology. Especially thrilling to an older geologist to see the advances in knowledge since we got out of school; for instance, seismic tomography has mapped actual magma chambers, which were semi-mythic suppositions in my undergrad day; and lo, there is the anatomy of the very volcanoes I grew up under. The book comprises dozens of specially submitted articles by diverse international authors, so you get many perspectives, not just of different disciplines, but of authors' sense of how they relate to others.

Flawed by abundant typos. The editing of this book is a great advance over say The Solar System by the same Academic Press, which was a mangled turnip; but they still have a ways to go. It is disappointing to see major scientific works bungled by bottom line that slashes proofing. NASA is probably largely responsible for the Solar System mess (Sally Ride, take a course in remedial english!). Geologists are a lot more meticulous than astronauts. But the buck shd stop with the publisher.

So buy this book and complain to Academic Press. Buy it before it goes out of print and you have to kick yourself; it will be long before the like comes again.

I found this text to be incredibly useful, especially considering the noticable dearth of textbooks dealing with volcanoes. The encyclopedia is comprehensible, yet in depth, and covers a broad range of topics. Whenever I have a volcano question I start here first!

An excellent book. Written by some of the worlds most renowed experts-one of whom I am fortunate enough to know!
The book is well worth the money as every aspect of volcanology is covered.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a serious intest in volcanology.

This book is the best! There isn't anything that the average person isn't able to understand.This book was written by people that have a passon for what they do and love. My hat is off to DR. Sigurdsson for giveing us this masterpice.

I'm an amateur volcano enthusiast, as well as a professional physicist. I can only say that I wish that a book such as this existed for my own field. It is stunningly comprehensive. Whether you are interested in the details of volcanic plumbing, caldera forming eruptions, or even if you want to read reviews of volcano movies like 'Dante's Peak' from the standpoint of a volcanologist - this book has it all! The only downside is that the book is positively enormous: over 1400 large format pages - it is a chore to lug around on business trips, let alone on field trips... Though I suppose that, at a pinch, you could use it as a shield against falling volcanic debris. Seriously though - if you are interested in volcanoes you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this book. Five stars is not enough.

The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes is a methodical by the number overview of most if not all of the known active and inactive volcanoes on earth, with a narrative on the different types of volcanoes and how they are formed. Included is also an explanation of the "mega volcanoes" otherwise known as "calderas" and how these can have a global effect on world climate and lifeforms. Such a wide coverage limits the in-depth geologic knowledge which would probably be beyond the casual reader anyway.