Reviews

"Williams's own near-death experience on Galeras drives this riveting story." -- Dava Sobel, author of LONGITUDE and GALLILEO'S DAUGHTER.
"Galeras artfully blends science writing and history with pure, heart-pounding action, captur[ing] the thrill of science on the edge."
--Mark Bowden, author of the NY Times bestseller, BLACK HAWK DOWN
"Frightening and fascinating...expertly narrated account of natural mayhem, in the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm." --starred review Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
"Artfully written" Publishers Weekly
"Williams' account remains the better read, thanks to the firsthand narrative and able assistance from coauthor Fen Montaigne." --Forbes
"'Surviving Galeras' does a masterful job of evoking the volcano's deadly lure." Boston Globe
"A gripping worm's-eye view of being caught in a volcanic eruption with a fascinating overview of horrific eruptions through history." The Oregonian

"Galeras artfully blends science writing and history with pure, heart-pounding action, captur[ing] the thrill of science on the edge."
--Mark Bowden, author of the NY Times bestseller, BLACK HAWK DOWN

"Williams's own near-death experience on Galeras drives this riveting story." -- Dava Sobel, author of LONGITUDE and GALLILEO'S DAUGHTER.
"Galeras artfully blends science writing and history with pure, heart-pounding action, captur[ing] the thrill of science on the edge."
--Mark Bowden, author of the NY Times bestseller, BLACK HAWK DOWN
"Frightening and fascinating...expertly narrated account of natural mayhem, in the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm." --starred review Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
"Artfully written" Publishers Weekly
"Williams' account remains the better read, thanks to the firsthand narrative and able assistance from coauthor Fen Montaigne." --Forbes
"'Surviving Galeras' does a masterful job of evoking the volcano's deadly lure." Boston Globe
"A gripping worm's-eye view of being caught in a volcanic eruption with a fascinating overview of horrific eruptions through history." The Oregonian
"Galeras artfully blends science writing and history with pure, heart-pounding action, captur[ing] the thrill of science on the edge."
--Mark Bowden, author of the NY Times bestseller, BLACK HAWK DOWN

In 1993, a Colombian volcano named Galeras erupted, killing six scientists and three tourists inside its rim and severely injuring the expedition's leader, eminent vulcanalogist Williams. Could this tragedy have been avoided? Could the eruption have been predicted? Two new books debate those questions from opposite ends of the spectrum. Williams offers a firsthand account of the disaster, which traumatized him physically and psychologically, while Bruce, a science writer with a master's degree in geology, provides an investigative journalist's perspective. Arguing that there is no method of accurately predicting eruptions, Williams defends his actions, and his book reads as a partial apology to the nine who died and to all who were injured. Bruce, who also discusses a 1985 eruption at another Colombian volcano that left 23,000 people dead (studied in a referreed scientific publication by Williams), writes in a more sensational style, accusing Williams of not being a "team player" (for years the scientist claimed he was the only survivor despite evidence to the contrary) and ignoring a seismologist's research indicating that Galeras was ready to explode. However, both authors agree that Marta Calvache and Patty Mothes, two Colombian geologists who ran into the volcano to rescue people, were heroes at Galeras. Williams acknowledges that he owes his life to Calvache's actions. Perhaps the whole story still is not known, but both books read together make a try. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Jean E. Crampon, Science & Engineering Lib., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.