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mscalls's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Phenomenally done. An excellent and compelling look at the physical and cultural changes due to the eruption.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Colonisation
beholderess's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Colonisation
corar's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This was an interesting read for me. Although I have heard of Krakatoa, I really did not know much about the volcano or the disaster that resulted from its eruption. Winchester went into great detail about the historical and scientific contexts of the event. He often took the reader on tangents into topics somewhat related to the event. For example he gave the background on the Alfred Wallace/Charles Darwin controversy because Wallace discovered the Wallace line which was important in the development of plate tectonics which can be used to explain why volcanoes such as Krakatoa erupts. If you don't mind the meandering details there is a lot of interesting information. If you just want him to get to the point of the disaster, it may be annoying. Overall, I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about volcanoes and history and I enjoyed the exploration of the science behind how the island is being reborn and repopulated by nature.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Colonisation
Minor: Child death, Violence, and Murder