Customer Reviews

Mount St. Helens: The Eruption and Recovery of a Volcano

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An excellent book, completely readable and very informative. I visited the devastated area by chopper within a year after the big one, and Carson's book told me that a lot of the interpretations I heard in 1981 are no longer considered valid. I particularly enjoyed the appraisal of Weyerhauser's tree farms vs natural reforestation. There are favorable points for both, and it's essentially a matter of choosing the scientific or the industrial benefits. I bought the book at the Monument (Forest Service, not Park Service) and reading it while I was there made it all the more exciting. My only complaint: the page layouts. Too many tall, narrow pictures are printed across the binding. Photos of these dimensions would easily fit on a single page, and their impact and beauty are diminished when so much of them is buried in the binding. Possibly this flaw would be less objectionable in a sewn hardcover edition. Also, pictures are often printed as insets in larger photos -- which suggests to me that the book design was considered more important than the photographs. The illustrations are great complements to a splendid text, and they deserve kinder treatment.

I went to visit Mount St. Helens just a few weeks before she started rumbling and spitting again. I got this book because it is so much better than the superficial descriptions given at the visitors centers. The book also has a much better story. It talks more about the details of what happened. Drawing show the inside of the volcano and what happened to make the eruption occur the way it did. All in all, a much better understanding of the mountain than I got visiting it.

The mountain is not exactly unique, but the lateral blast came as a real surprise to the volcanologists. Only in retrospect did what happened make good sense. The previous eruptions created a solid rock cap on the top of the mountain. The cap was strong enough and heavy enough that it successfully held the pressure. Like the proverbial irresistible force the side of the mountain swelled up and eventually fell away. When that happened the plug at the top of the mountain fell down opening up the channel to the top. Now they know how those previously discovered horseshoe shaped craters are made.

What you don't get from the book is the sense of magnitude that you get from visiting the site. You really can't imagine the blown over trees that go on for literally miles. The answer is simple. First, read the book. Second, go visit the mountain. Third, read the book again and you'll pick up a lot more.

The eruption of Mt. St. Helens is captured in photographic glory for any who would learn about the explosion of the volcano and the subsequent recovery of its surrounding environment. Black and white and some color photos accompany extensive descriptions of the eruption, its short- and long-term effects, and environmental changes.

i recommend this book to anyone who finds volcanoes and the eruption of mt. st helens interesting its very informative and has great pictures a must if your planning a trip to see it first hand

i love this book and the doofus who thought this book wasnt that great(the one below me) needs to read it again he says it moved quickly to the recovery of the mountain: look at the title! thats what it is about retard.you should recognize a great writer when you see one. humph