Volcanoes [Paperback]

Robert Decker (Author), Barbara Decker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0716724405 | ISBN-13: 978-0716724407 | Publication Date: October 15, 1997 | Edition: 3rd

In Volcanoes, Robert Decker and Barbara Decker provide a brief introduction to volcanology, the study of volcanoes, with the drama due such awesome phenomena. Dynamic prose and photographs and drawings enliven their discussion of the science behind the natural disaster. For the new edition, the authors have rigorously updated their material, adding new findings, a listing of Web sites carrying breaking news of volcanic activity around the world, and 50 new images. The third edition also contains descriptions of the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo Volcano, the eruptions near the city of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea in 1994, and an account of the devastating 1883 eruption of Krakatau in Indonesia written by the captain of a passing ship.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This third edition of Volcanoes published by Freeman, written by the husband and wife team Decker and Decker, provides healthy competition for the others...Examples and descriptions of real eruptions are used to illustrate the processes of volcanic eruptions. These are presented at a level readable by the interested lay person but in sufficient depth to be useful for the student of volcanology...It's a worthy addition to the volcanologist's bookshelf either at home or in the office." -- IAVCEI News

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman; 3rd edition (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716724405
• ISBN-13: 978-0716724407
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geology > Volcanology
  • #29 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Seismology
  • #52 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Earthquakes & Volcanoes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of volcanoes well worth reading., June 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Volcanoes (Paperback)

I really found this book invaliable in my first year of university, especially as volcanoes are my passion. I would recommend this book to anyone with an intrest in all things to do with volcanoes without the hassle of a geological textbook. It covers the main points well and also looks at the impacts upon people who lives near them. The section on volcanic dangers is thought provoking and I found the disscussion and the intergration of diagrams very well done. Very easy to understand.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding blend of readability and rigor, December 6, 2001

By 

Edward Williams "ewillia4" (Northville, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Volcanoes (Paperback)

This book presents fascinating yet complex information with commendable clarity. Not only is the writing excellent, but the diagrams add much to the exposition. For example, the diagram on page 88 ("Ring of Fire" chapter) clearly explains the relationship between severity of volcanism and earthquakes to the steepness of the angle at which a tectonic plate is subducted into the mantle. The book is sensibly organized into introductory material, chapters giving "autobiographies" of volcanoes and thus clarifying the multiplicity of volcanic and eruption types, chapters synthesizing this knowledge into generalization, and chapters explaining opportunities and risks associated with vulcanism (eruption dangers [carefully subdivided into discussion of nuées ardentes, lahars, and lava flows] potential of climatic change, likelihood of finding valuable ores, and the potential of geothermal power). Twenty-five superb color plates, in addition to the excellent diagrams, grace the book. Useful appendices include "World's 101 Most Notorious Volcanoes," web sites pertinent to volcanology, and a useful glossary (although the Icelandic term jökulhlaup [= "glacier outburst flood possibly triggered by volcanism"] is an omission I noted).
This book deserves the rare commendation of simultaneous suitability for a rigorous introductory course in volcanology and accessibility to the curious layperson with no formal geological training, such as myself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's cool. I want to become a volcanologist., August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Volcanoes (Paperback)

I love Volcanoes and most of the books made about it I would give it A two thumbs up