Scarth: Vesuvius
From Scienticity
(Created page with '{{BNR-table|scienticity=2|readability=3|hermeneutics=5|charisma=3|recommendation=3}} Alwyn Scarth, ''Vesuvius : A Biography.'' Princeton [NJ] : Princeton University Press, 2009. …')
Current revision as of 02:54, 12 July 2010
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Alwyn Scarth, Vesuvius : A Biography. Princeton [NJ] : Princeton University Press, 2009. 342 pages, illustrated.
The reason that I selected this book for the science-book challenge was because of the chapter on the AD 79 eruption. Scarth recreates the eruption from information gleaned from historical texts and from science. This includes how the event affected the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples, Misenium, and Stabaei as well as the death of Pliny the Elder. Later, Scarth gives detailed accounts of each of the volcano's known eruptions in the past 2,000 years, including the geological causes, an analysis of the pyroclastic flow patterns, and the aftermath of each eruption. Most of the science is in the first 3 chapters. The rest of the book is pure history.
I found it ironic that historical texts from antiquity about Vesuvius are more reliable than those dating from the Middle Ages. Religion fueled every thought in those days and both clergy and historians lied about what they saw in order to make a religious point. Another fact that amazed me was that Europe's aristocracy traveled to Campania in order to hike to the summit of Vesuvius, totally disregarding that it was an active volcano, in an effort to keep up with the Joneses.
The last chapter concerns current plans to evacuate the areas around Vesuvius when it erupts again. Vulcanologist believe that it will erupt between 2030 and 2064 and that it will be as catastrophic as the 1631 eruption. They base their estimates on the amount of time between past eruptions. The fact that the past couple of eruptions were moderate tells scientists that Vesuvius' next eruption will be catastrophic as it is building itself back up. The population has doubled since 1631 and developers are building homes all the way up the sides of the volcano. The government in Italy is not helping efforts by both paying people to move out of the area and also offering financial assistance to new couples who want to buy their first home there. Some things never change. Government is still corrupt and people like to live dangerously close to volcanoes because they are attractive.
A good read. Recommended for both scholars and laypeople.
-- Notes by VS
