At first glance, this would appear to be just another oversize book of pretty pictures. But while the color photographs are impressive, the text is equally important; Durieux is a volcanologist who has been consulted by the United Nations to evaluate sites for damage and safety, particularly in Africa. Each chapter includes five to ten pages of introductory text on a focused topic, from legends to personal exploratory experiences to scientific description of how volcanoes form. Following are a page of thumbnail photos with descriptions and 30 to 40 pages of incredibly detailed images of volcanoes from all over the world, taken by Bourseiller, a five-time winner of the World Press Prize. The drawbacks are that the text has neither footnotes nor references for further reading and the photographs have no page numbers so that flipping pages is required to connect a photograph to its description. Still, this is very attractive and informative book on volcanoes. Recommended for larger public libraries or home.
Jean E. Crampon, Science & Engineering Lib., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Choice
"...breathtaking images of various modes of volcanic eruptions....A superbly illustrated, informative, popular science book...
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