Adventures in Volcanoland - by Tamsin Mather (Hardcover)

About the Book

An award-winning Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford explores the cultural role volcanoes have played in history and how they have shaped our planet and its future.

Book Synopsis

*A Library Journal Best Book of 2024*

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.

Review Quotes

"A magical scientific exploration of volcanoes, and how they've shaped both nature and human destiny... This detailed, impeccably researched study hints at the kind of divine intervention we may soon need."--Guardian

"A fascinating, beautiful book... Mather is a glorious guide to this extraordinary subject." --Helen Macdonald, New York Times bestselling author of H Is for Hawk

"[Mather's] eloquent and enchanting book, which is rich in analogies and anecdotes, weaves together geological, historical and personal stories to explain how volcanoes work, how they have shaped our planet and how they have been understood through history."--Nature


"From ancient eruptions that sculpted continents to the ongoing ballet between fire and ice that defines our planet's ever-changing topography, Dr. Tamsin Mather seamlessly blends captivating storytelling with profound scientific insights that unravel the extraordinary power of volcanism."--Jill Heinerth, author of Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver

"Using gorgeously evocative prose, Adventures in Volcanoland beautifully weaves together personal, cultural, and geological histories. It's part action-packed research travelogue, part science of volcanoes, and part fascinating examination of the history of human interaction with volcanoes and the indelible impact of volcanoes on nature and societies. Deeply researched and compellingly composed, it's a luminous literary journey that is at once intimate and galactic, timeless and urgent."--Olivia Campbell, New York Times bestselling author of Women in White Coats

"Readers who are interested in popular science will find that this book is hard to put down, a remarkable journey with an entertaining guide. Mather combines a personal story with an era-spanning scope, turning esoteric information into a colorful, engaging account."--Kirkus STARRED review

"Readers will easily imagine they are along for the ride in this crucial contribution to the geology of volcanoes... This marvelous, earnest work is impressive."--Library Journal STARRED review

"A powerful new voice erupts onto the scene of popular science. Mather is the perfect guide to take you on a journey through time and place to explore the fascinating science of volcanoes. Bubbling with a wonderful combination of personal insights and intriguing science." --Marcus du Sautoy, author of Around the World in 80 Games

"A collision of high adventure and vital science. You cannot find a more inspiring introduction to nature's most awesome power. Written with beauty, wit and clarity by one of the world's most brilliant Earth scientists, it puts volcanoes center stage in the eternal drama of geology, climate and life."--Clive Oppenheimer, author of Mountains of Fire and geologist at the University of Cambridge

"Tamsin Mather has a lovely style, making the mechanics of volcanology easy to visualize, while her prose has real finesse. Fascinating."--Irish Sunday Independent

"Mather effortlessly integrates science and technology, geological and social history, harrowing scenes of skin-rippling heat and flying boulders, and thoughtful analysis of where our planet has been and where it may be going."--Booklist

"Geochemist Mather delivers not only a mesmerizing book that tells readers all they want to know about volcanoes, but she also presents it most engagingly. Part memoir, part travelogue, and all science-based, this is a fabulous exploration that readers will remember and talk about long after it ends."--Library Journal