{"product_id":"vesuvius-alwyn-scarth-9780691143903","title":"Vesuvius: A Biography","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe volcano that has fascinated scientists, writers, and poets for two millennia\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCapricious, vibrant, and volatile, Vesuvius has been and remains one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes. In its rage, it has destroyed whole cities and buried thousands alive. In its calm, its ashes have fertilized the soil, providing for the people who have lived in its shadows. For over two millennia, the dynamic presence of this volcano has fascinated scientists, artists, writers, and thinkers, and inspired religious fervor, Roman architecture, and Western literature. In \u003ci\u003eVesuvius\u003c\/i\u003e, Alwyn Scarth draws from the latest research, classical and eyewitness accounts, and a diverse range of other sources to tell the riveting story of this spectacular natural phenomenon. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eScarth follows Vesuvius across time, examining the volcano's destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D., its eruptions during the Counter-Reformation that were viewed as God's punishment of sinners, and the building of the world's first volcano observatory on Vesuvius in the 1840s. Scarth explores the volcano's current position overlooking a population of more than three million people and the complex attitudes maintained by the residents, at once reverent, protective, and fearful. He also considers the next major eruption of Vesuvius, which experts have indicated could be the most powerful since 1631. The longer Vesuvius remains dormant, the more violent its reawakening will be, and despite scientific advances for predicting when this might occur, more people are vulnerable than ever before. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExploring this celebrated wonder from scientific, historical, and cultural perspectives, \u003ci\u003eVesuvius\u003c\/i\u003e provides a colorful portrait of a formidable force of nature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alwyn Scarth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691143900\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691143903\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/13\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2009 pg. 42\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/15\/2009 pg. 119\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eScientific American\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2009 pg. 102\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChronicle of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/11\/2009 pg. 15\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2010","brand":"Alwyn Scarth","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43925614395647,"sku":"9780691143903","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_1eeffcd0-cfbe-4c24-ac56-c06c70c16f2b.jpg?v=1681078317","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/vesuvius-alwyn-scarth-9780691143903","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}