Parking Lot Construction: As part of our ongoing work to maintain and improve Central Library, the parking lot will be closed for construction from Tuesday, July 28, to Saturday, August 1. Visit the Central Library page for more details. 

CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21, through Saturday, July 25, while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27.

Notice of Public Meeting: Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees | July 27 | 5:30 pm | Central Library/Van Deusen Room. The packet of information for the meeting can be found on the library’s website. 

Book

Volcanoes in human history : the far-reaching effects of major eruptions

Call Number

  • 551.21 Z47 (CEN)

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Publication Information

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2005.

Physical Description

xvii, 295 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.

Summary

Beginning with the Bronze Age eruption that caused the demise of Minoan Crete, this book shows how volcanism shaped religion in Hawaii, permeated Icelandic mythology and literature, caused widespread population migrations, and spurred scientific discovery. 18 halftones. Illustrations & maps.

Contents

  • Volcanism : origins and consequences
  • The Hawaiian Islands and the legacy of Pele the fire goddess
  • The Bronze Age eruption of Thera : destroyer of Atlantis and Minoan Crete?
  • The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 C.E. : cultural reverberations through the ages
  • Iceland : coming apart at the seams
  • The eruption of Tambora in 1815 and "the year without a summer"
  • Krakatau, 1883 : devastation, death, and ecologic revival
  • The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée : a geological catastrophe with political overtones
  • Tristan da Cunha in 1961 : exile to the twentieth century
  • Mount St. Helens in 1980 : catastrophe in the Cascades.

Subjects