No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado del Ruiz [Hardcover]

Victoria Bruce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2001

On January 14th 1993, a team of scientists descended into the crater of Mt. Galeras, a restless volcano in southern Colombia. Several hours later, Galeras erupted, killing nine people instantly. Two geologists, Marta Calvache and Patty Mothes, raced into the rumbling inferno to save, among others, expedition leader Stanley Williams. For Calvache and her fellow scientists, this was the second Colombian volcanic disaster in less than a decade. No Apparent Danger links the events surrounding those two eruptions - beginning at Nevado del Ruiz, where 23,000 people were killed in 1985 - to tell a story of adventure and survival in which clashing cultures and scientific arrogance contributed to unnecessary loss of life. Dramatic and powerfully written, it is an unforgettable narrative about the deadly results of human folly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fight currently raging within the volcanological community, sketched by the discrepancies between Bruce's work and Stanley Williams and Fen Montaigne's Surviving Galeras (reviewed below), concerns what is known about predicting eruptions, and particularly about Galeras when it blew, and why nine people died in that eruption (see PW, Book News, Feb. 12). In Bruce's harrowing depiction of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, which killed 23,000 people, scientists and survivors describe bureaucratic foolishness, scientific discovery and human strife. In her presentation of the 1993 eruption of Galeras, another Colombian volcano, numerous interviews illuminate further human folly, and particularly Williams's pariah status among geologists. Seismologist Bernard Chouet's testimony discredits Williams's assertion that there was no warning of the eruption. Previously, Chouet had successfully predicted two eruptions from seismographic patterns also visible when Galeras erupted. While Williams says this was never brought to his attention, Bruce notes that leading a team into an active volcano without checking available data hardly seems responsible scientific practice. Chouet claims he presented his prediction technique, with Williams present, in 1991. Further, expedition members contend that, despite Galeras's signs of activity, Williams ignored advice to shorten the visit. One survivor says Williams took no safety precautions and mocked his colleagues who wore hard hats. Scientist and journalist Bruce traces the fascinating recent history of Colombian volcanoes and the scientific community's politics, wherein intellectual property generates fame and near-fortune, in an insightful, spellbinding account. Photos and illus. (Apr. 2)Forecast: Bruce's 11-city tour, participation in Columbia University's Earth Science Colloquium in March and the much-publicized Galeras debacle promise big sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In 1993, a Colombian volcano named Galeras erupted, killing six scientists and three tourists inside its rim and severely injuring the expedition's leader, eminent vulcanalogist Williams. Could this tragedy have been avoided? Could the eruption have been predicted? Two new books debate those questions from opposite ends of the spectrum. Williams offers a firsthand account of the disaster, which traumatized him physically and psychologically, while Bruce, a science writer with a master's degree in geology, provides an investigative journalist's perspective. Arguing that there is no method of accurately predicting eruptions, Williams defends his actions, and his book reads as a partial apology to the nine who died and to all who were injured. Bruce, who also discusses a 1985 eruption at another Colombian volcano that left 23,000 people dead (studied in a referreed scientific publication by Williams), writes in a more sensational style, accusing Williams of not being a "team player" (for years the scientist claimed he was the only survivor despite evidence to the contrary) and ignoring a seismologist's research indicating that Galeras was ready to explode. However, both authors agree that Marta Calvache and Patty Mothes, two Colombian geologists who ran into the volcano to rescue people, were heroes at Galeras. Williams acknowledges that he owes his life to Calvache's actions. Perhaps the whole story still is not known, but both books read together make a try. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Jean E. Crampon, Science & Engineering Lib., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1St Edition edition (March 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060199202
• ISBN-13: 978-0060199203
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,946,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of No Apparent Danger, December 29, 2001

By 

Geoff Habiger "Author of Dinosaur Learning Ac... (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado del Ruiz (Hardcover)

In 1993 a horrible disaster struck the geology community. On January 14 of that year, 13 volcanologists were on a workshop fieldtrip inside the caldera of Galeras, a volcano in southern Columbia, when it erupted killing 6 of the scientists and 3 local tourists. This tragic event shocked and stunned the geological community.

No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz written by Victory Bruce has taken a critical look these two volcanic tragedies that struck Columbia.

Victoria writes in a wonderfully easy to read narrative, that grabs your attention from the beginning. She lays out the events of the two volcanic eruptions in the form of a crime scene, where you know the final outcome, but not the events and facts leading up to the crime. She leads the reader through the multitude of facts and eyewitness accounts of these two eruptions to give a clear understanding of what happened, and the mistakes that were made.

The book was inspired by the tragedy at Galeras, but to understand the tragedy there, she takes us back 8 years to the eruption at Nevado del Ruiz that caused a lahar to burry the town of Armero, killing 23,000 people. Here we meet Marta Calvache, a Columbian geologist who plays important roles in both events. Marta and her colleagues are a group of bright, young Columbian scientists who are given the responsibility to interpret the activity at Nevado del Ruiz, a task that they admit is over their heads. The Columbian scientists seek out the best international help they can get to help them interpret the volcano, and do their best to warn the government of the danger the volcano poses. In the end, their dire warnings are ignored, and the most tragic volcanic eruption of the twentieth century occurs.

After Nevado del Ruiz, we jump forward 8 years to follow Marta Calvache and other Columbian scientists to the newly active volcano at Galeras. This time, the Columbians have more knowledge and equipment at their disposal, but tragedy again occurs. Victoria Bruce leads us as a detective would, setting the background of the volcano, its history and the facts about its activity leading up to the mild, but fatal eruption in 1993. She intersperses her narrative with quotes from the scientists who worked on the volcano, as well as those scientists who were in the caldera on the day of the eruption and survived. Her narrative leads the reader through a series of events, piecing together the decisions that led to the tragedy, and how it could have been prevented.

The book holds you captive as you walk with the scientists into the heart of the danger. Victoria gives us access to the scientists to listen to their personal thoughts, misgivings and concerns about the tragedy and the safety of their companions. Her descriptions are so vivid, that at times I felt like ducking as I read about the explosion and the volcanic bombs that flew out of the crater. The book is not only a critical look at the two eruptions, but a detailed study of crisis management and the importance of knowing all the facts.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars remarkable, April 13, 2001

By 

bobby (yorba linda, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado del Ruiz (Hardcover)

No Apparent Danger is a stunning example of careful and diligent attention to details of the horrible human suffering due to natural disasters in Colombia in the last decade and a half. It explains the events through the words both published and from interviews of dozens of people who were involved.

The book reads in a wonderful, descriptive way. From the earnest attempts of the scientists/engineers to understand the signals from Nevado Del Ruiz-to the flight from Arbolito during the eruption-to the devastation of Armero, the reader is left profoundly saddened. The idea that in 1985, lack and hindrance of scientific support from the government of Colombia was responsible for the death of many thousands of people is appalling.

Strong people of Colombia are introduced to the reader who were coffee growers, engineers, and scientists all working to understand these disasters and to form plans and procedures needed to prevent loss of life and property. These people become real in the book because of the description of their lives, personalities, work, and in some cases, their heroism.

The story of the explosion of Galeras is rich in detail because of the view of people who witnessed it from different places. The confusion in the city of Pasto, the anxiety and concern of the people hiking the flanks of the mountain, the agony of death and injury in the volcano, the search and rescue for surveyors. And the almost comical event where a scientist, TV cameraman, and reporter ended in a heap at the summit.

I am moved by this book, which has described all of this and much more. I am pleased to know of strong, intelligent, and caring people who acted in brave ways in Colombia. I am pleased to read about the women who are dedicated scientists in Colombia and I salute the two women who by example (by running in to the volcano) started the rescue of the injured. It's remarkable.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Comments: The Galeras Eruption and it's Aftermath, May 3, 2001

By 

John L. Snyder (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado del Ruiz (Hardcover)

On January 14, 1993 the Colombian volcano Galeras had a minor eruption in the early afternoon so small that many residents of Pasto, only five miles from the explosion, were unaware it happened. But because some of the world's most experienced volcanologists were too near the crater at the time and were killed or injured as a result, this eruption and it's aftermath received worldwide press attention, and are now the subject of two competing books. One, "Surviving Galeras", is by Stanley Williams and Fen Montaigne. Williams is a co-convener of the volcanological conference then being held in Pasto. The other, "No Apparent Danger" by Victoria Bruce, is the subject of this review.

The first part of "No Apparent Danger" describes the eruption of another Colombian volcano, Nevado del Ruiz in 1985, resulting in the near total destruction of the town of Armero and the loss of twenty-three thousand lives. The second and more extensive part deals with Galeras. On the positive side, the book is easy to read, the numerous characters are clearly drawn, and the reader has no trouble distinguishing the good guys from the bad. The author has interviewed many people, quoted others secondhand, and spins a gripping tale of heroism and hubris, clashing egos and inexcusable foul-ups. But the protagonists are so easily pigeonholed and the biases of the author so apparent, that even a reader with no previous knowledge of these events soon asks, "Is this portrayal of events accurate? In places yes, but as one who attended the Pasto meeting and has a personal regard for many of those portrayed here, I believe this book misrepresents the events at Galeras in several significant ways. For example:

1. The blackest hat is clearly worn by Stanley Williams, who is accused of everything from having a monotonous lecture style to complicity in the deaths of nine people. No attempt is made to present a balanced assessment of what he did and why. Also, many of his purported transgressions would have taken place after he was injured and clearly not himself. Where Williams is concerned, this book is little more than a hatchet job.

2. As some reviewers have already noted, there are several misrepresentations, quotes out of context and similar errors in the text (see among others, Monastersky, R., Under the Volcano, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/30/01). Some of these lapses are more important than others, but most or all tend to demonize Williams.

3. A few participants who should have been interviewed were not, including a geophysicist whose views differed from those given prominence in this book.

4. Very little information is given on why the meeting was held, its importance, and what was accomplished. The purpose was humanitarian; first to assess the threat posed by Galeras to the 300,000 inhabitants of Pasto, and then to identify the best ways to deal with that threat. A final report was prepared at the end of the conference, despite the grief and shock of those involved. The participants and the organizers were sincere scientists with a great deal of combined experience on volcanoes, not a bunch of volcano junkies as one might assume from reading this. Those among them who went in harm's way did so in the belief it was a necessary step that could ultimately save thousands of lives. . So although "No Apparent Danger" is interesting, the author seems to believes that for every mishap, someone is to blame. In attempting to convince us of this, she has produced a work that I found highly biased, often misleading, and sometimes wrong. I would urge potential readers to withhold any judgment of individuals who are described until they have had a chance to study "Surviving Galeras", a much more professional and balanced account.