Customer Reviews

Paricutin: The Volcano Born in a Mexican Cornfield

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Paricutin was a cinder cone born in a Mexican cornfield in 1943. This book is its story, from the time of its birth until it became extinguished. Worth the price of admission alone are several photos taken at the time it first came up in the field. Ihave been a volcano buff for over 50 years and I have never seen anything to match them for sheer excitement. The book contains hundreds of photos, most in black and white.

The book is for those experienced in volcanoes, and would not serve well as an introductory volume for those unacquainted with this phenomena. Some scientific background is necessary to fully assimilate the information the book contains. I do not mean to say that an informed layman would not enjoy the book He would. For anyone interested in geology, or even more narrowly, volcanoes, though, the book is a masterpiece. It is also a good study for the anthropologist or sociologist interested in how persons and groups not versed in technology confront and live through geological cataclysms.

The book also contains interesting chapters on other cinder cone eruptions in recent history, including ones in Mexico, New Guinea, and Italy. The discussion and photos regarding these other cindercones, is shorter, but uniformly excellent.

I would rate this a college-level book, but I recommend it very highly to anyone interested in the subject matter.