Adventures in Volcanoland: What Volcanoes Tell Us about the World and Ourselves

Adventures in Volcanoland charts journeys across deserts, through jungles and up ice caps, to some of the world's most important volcanoes, from Nicaragua to Hawaii, Santorini to Ethiopia, exploring Tamsin Mather's obsession with these momentous geological formations, the cultural and religious roles they have played in the minds of those living around them at different times throughout history, and the science behind their formation and eruptions. Volcanoes help to make and shape our world, bursting forth from inside of the earth and, in many places, looming over us. Present since the earth's beginning they continue to maintain its life support systems and, their extraordinary chemistry may even have created the ingredients needed for life to kick start.In some places volcanoes are even beginning to provide us with part of the energy we need to curb our use of fossil fuels. They have fascinated humans for millennia, their eruptions charted throughout history, seeming to show us how the earth has been living, breathing and changing for billions of years.Adventures in Volcanoland is an enthralling mix of travel, science and environmental writing for fans of Robert MacFarlane and Raynor Winn. A mix of memoir, travel and popular science, charting journeys across deserts, through jungles and up ice caps, to some of the most important volcanoes around the world In this captivating book from one of the most influential geochemists in the field, Tamsin Mather takes us along on her globe-spanning excursions from Nicaragua to Hawaii, Santorini to Ethiopia and beyond. With warmth and lyricism, she explores the cultural roles volcanoes play throughout history, and the growing and evolving science behind their formation and eruptions. Adventures in Volcanoland is an urgent and poetic exploration into the world's most mysterious geological mountains and how they make and shape our world.