Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

What is a volcano? Why do some have slow-flowing lava and some explode with fire and rocks? How are volcanoes and earthquakes related? Sigurdsson (oceanography, Univ. of Rhode Island) looks at these questions and more from various points of view: prehistoric legend, religion, superstition, and science from the 17th century to date. He has done his research well. Some of the theories he relates appear foolish in hindsight, but most of them were taken quite seriously in their time. His subtitle is apt, as each chapter adds to the evolution of scientific thought in this area of geology. He shows the importance of other disciplines, including chemistry, physics, and thermodynamics, in understanding how the study of volcanoes has changed over time. He also notes how points of view shift with field research and experimentation. In the end, we are left with more questions, which is one of the excitements of science. For larger public libraries and academic collections supporting the earth sciences.AJean E. Crampon, Science & Engineering Lib., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Dr. Haraldur Sigurdsson's new book "Melting the Earth" is a wonderful journey through time as he traces the history of man's fear and love of volcanic eruptions. I can't think of a better guide on this epic journey." -- Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D., President, Institute for Exploration

Evolving philosophical and theological debate, tempered by a growing body of scientific knowledge, flavors the beautifully written text....The author, born and raised in volcanic Iceland and an international volcanologist, wrote this rich history of his science for deeper appreciation and perseption into the role of human interaction with a mighty natural force. -- T.L.T. Grose, CHOICE, November 1999

Professor Sigurdsson has done exhaustive and meticulous research. He has, as billed, produced a history and more. It is a compendium of the world's thinking about volcanoes since the dawn of time, and as such, it is a valuable addition to the literature. -- John Monaghan, Providence Journal Bulletin, August 1, 1999

This book is delight to read!....It is well documented and is as free from technical jargon as one could hope for....The author has done an excellent job of describing how the human process of answering questions about nature, on this particular topic at least, has evolved from prescientific speculation to modern scientific reasoning. -- Lynn Brant, Science Books & Film

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1ST edition (June 24, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195106652
• ISBN-13: 978-0195106657
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #995,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy Two of These!!, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

Dr. Sigurdsson has woven a superbly documented and wonderfully informative chronical of volcanic phenomena and theory. In Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions, Sigurdsson introduces us to ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists alike. We learn of the Earth's volcanic dynamos: Thera, Etna, Vesuvius, (to mention a few)--from the events leading up to their explosive eruptions, environmental effcts.

Dr. Sigurdsson has compiled a true treasure a preeminent source book on the history of volcanic theory make for provocative reading, causing, awe and respect for this fearsome force of nature. Led by Dr. Sigurdsson's love of the subject and his apt narrative style, we come away educated, entertained, and hungry for more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, March 11, 2003

By	matt (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

"Melting the Earth"
The history of ideas on volcanic eruptions

By Haraldur Sigurdsson
First Draft By Matt Lindsey
Geo 103

The book I chose to read was "Melting the Earth" by Haraldur Sigurdsson. This book covers two of my most favorite subjects History and geology, which made this book even more interesting to read. Early Sigurdsson writes on subjects from, the Polynesian people and there fire myth Maui, who lives in the far depths of the earth, and when he turns while dreaming. He causes earthquakes on the earth above to the discovery of radiology. If you want to read a captivating and educational book about the history of volcanoes containing a wide variety of historical an mythical facts, I truly recommend this book.

In the beginning of this book, Sigurdsson explains early source of fire, some possible ways it was first introduced and used throughout the years to come. An excellent example was 600,000 year old ovens in china to burnt clay found in Africa that dated a staggering 1.5 million years old. Once the early homo-erectus learned of fire there culture changed forever, now they were able to heat and shape rocks more efficiently. But the earliest know form of tools made by homo-erectus was 2.5 million years ago in eastern Africa, made of obsidian (volcanic black glass). Later in this book, Sigurdsson touches on such people as, Kelvin, Zeus other Greek gods, Homer, Socrates, Plato. Then he moves on to discus the bible, and many more verities of philosophers and legends in several different cultures from around the world. World tragedies and accounts of mass destruction are accounted throughout this book, from risky sulfur mining in very active volcanoes to earthquakes that kill 800,000 people, with one major eruption.

About 3/4ths the way through the book he starts delegating a lot about the sources of volcanoes and the cause for there mass eruptions, he also discusses many different geologists that have also studied in this area, comparing both his ideas and theirs to form an overall complete analysis of the history of volcanoes.

It isn't till the last part of the book, he actually starts describing the earth and its mantel strictly on plate tectonics and magma generation. With the discovery of the solid mantel below our feet. In the very last page, he also talks about how major volcanic activity is not limited to earth alone, in fact many planets have had explosions almost 10 times what we do today. Leaving the everlasting question, is there life elsewhere in the galaxy?

I thought this was a very good book, mainly the fact that it was able to keep your attention throughout the whole thing, by bringing up myths from the pacific islands to actual catastrophes, from the first know use of fire to radio carbon of today, this book hits you with just about everything from every angle you could possibly imagine, from the philosophers point of view to the geologists findings through many long tedious expeditions.

Something's I really did not like about this book, was that he made constant reference to others work, and many books surrounding this field, though the points made with Sigurdsson references were helpful it was just that in my opinion he had to many and made it a little hard to fallow.

Overall I think this was a good book. I recommend that if you are interested in volcanoes and the earth around us, you should definitely read this book. The good out weights the bad aspects in this book, you will be in for a great treat as you read about the myths and legends of the past world to the facts and seemingly strange properties of the world today.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant compendium of sources and resources, December 3, 2000

By	Atheen M. Wilson "Atheen" (Mpls, MN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Two of my favorite subjects are history and geology, so this was a double treat for me, since it's sort of a history of geology! Sigurdsson has created a marvelous compendium of sources on the subject of volcanism from mythologies among people native to areas of techtonic activity through Roman authors on the natural sciences to European and American scientists and philosophers into the early 20th Century. Probably one of the most significant things I discovered in reading the book was the underlying cause for the distain of the average person for the "rational" approach of the scientist. In laying before me the various theories for the cause of volcanism and earthquakes, Sigurdsson indirectly makes it clear that the "logical" assumptions of men of science can prove to be wrong, and the best research--for the technology of the time--can still lead to erroneous evaluations shaped by preconceived notions of the world, whether those concepts are biblico/religious ideology or a strongly held school of scientific thinking. Only by reading the entire book does one realize, also indirectly, that the scientific method of enquirey is the only way of gaining ground on the principles underlying natural processes. While the various authors of different theories may be in part or even entirely wrong, it is only through the testing and retesting of theories against the sterling measure of reality, that a clearer, working model of how nature works will arise. What is truely amazing is that so many early thinkers came to have at least a partial understanding of volcanism and of planetary and solar formation in modern terms. Also impressive were the novel approaches to experimental geology that were acheived. Many of the early investigators were truely creative people. Sigurdsson appears to be very well read, and his appreciation of the value of the visual documentary record, in forms such as pre-literate paintings and woodcut and engraved illustrations from rare books, is impressive and worthy of an individual trained in historical research rather than in the sciences. For anyone with an interest in geology, an interest in history, or simply someone who appreciates a good job of research, this is an excellant volume. It would also be a useful starting point for research on most other topics in the history of science, as many of the better resources are mentioned in the text and in the bibliographic entries for each chapter at the end of it. Some of the latter are in German, French or Italian, although many are in English translation in Sigurdsson's citing or can be found in English translations elsewhere.