Eruption

The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens

Steve Olson

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English

Norton
07 April 2017

Social impact of disasters; Aid & relief programmes; Mathematics & Sciences; Volcanology & seismology

For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists, sightseers, and nearby residents listened anxiously to rumblings in Mount St. Helens, part of the chain of western volcanoes fueled by the 700-mile-long Cascadia fault. Still, no one was prepared when an immense eruption took the top off of the mountain and laid waste to hundreds of square miles of verdant forests in southwestern Washington State. The eruption was one of the largest in human history, deposited ash in eleven U.S. states and five Canadian providences, and caused more than one billion dollars in damage. It killed fifty-seven people, some as far as thirteen miles away from the volcano's summit.

Shedding new light on the cataclysm, author Steve Olson interweaves the history and science behind this event with page-turning accounts of what happened to those who lived and those who died.

Powerful economic and historical forces influenced the fates of those around the volcano that sunny Sunday morning, including the construction of the nation's railroads, the harvest of a continent's vast forests, and the protection of America's treasured public lands. The eruption of Mount St. Helens revealed how the past is constantly present in the lives of us all. At the same time, it transformed volcanic science, the study of environmental resilience, and, ultimately, our perceptions of what it will take to survive on an increasingly dangerous planet.

Rich with vivid personal stories of lumber tycoons, loggers, volcanologists, and conservationists, Eruption delivers a spellbinding narrative built from the testimonies of those closest to the disaster, and an epic tale of our fraught relationship with the natural world.

By: Steve Olson
Imprint: Norton
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 264g
ISBN: 9780393353587
ISBN 10: 0393353583
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 07 April 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Steve Olson is the author of Eruptions, Mapping Human History (a finalist for the National Book Award),Count Down, and other books. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews for Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens

""With 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, this is an urgent reminder of the need for advances in the field."" -- Nature ""... Olson is a gifted science communicator…"" -- Physics World ""Steve Olson not only tells their personal stories, but also turns the tension between the science and the cultural assumptions at play on that day into a drama that reads like a tragic thriller."" -- Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature 2016 Shortlist - UKClimbing.com ""In Mr. Olson’s telling, [the survivors’] stories read like urgent fiction… These vignettes lend a human face to an event that has become associated largely with geology."" -- The Wall Street Journal