No Apparent Danger

by Victoria Bruce | Nonfiction |
ISBN: 0060199202 Global Overview for this book
Registered by winghyphen8wing of Honolulu, Hawaii USA on 12/28/2017
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4 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by winghyphen8wing from Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Thursday, December 28, 2017
This is not an ordinary book: it's a BookCrossing book! BookCrossing books are world travelers - they like to have adventures and make new friends...and every once in a while they even write home to say what they've been doing.

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Subtitle: : The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado del Ruiz

Ex-library hardcover.

Volcanic eruptions are, like many natural phenomena, difficult to predict, and yet...this book looks at two instances where (at least with the benefit of hindsight) warning signs were missed and precautions were not taken, with disastrous results. Although it covers some of the same ground, this seems like a more balanced telling of the events on Galeras than Stanley Williams's Surviving Galeras.

I've been fascinated by volcanoes for about as long as I can remember (growing up next to one probably helped with that), but I'm grateful that Hawaii's shield volcanoes are generally much less explosive than the stratovolcanoes that make the pretty cones and then go boom.

Journal Entry 2 by winghyphen8wing at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Monday, February 12, 2018
Reserved for booklady331's nonfiction VBB (round 7).

Journal Entry 3 by winghyphen8wing at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (7/30/2018 UTC) at Honolulu, Hawaii USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Monday, July 30, 2018: mailed to Tennessee as part of booklady331's nonfiction VBB (claimed during round 8).

USPS tracking #9549 0104 3301 8211 3995 47
ETA 8/20
Apparently this book had some adventures on its way to Tennessee...
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Journal Entry 4 by wingBkind2bookswing at Clarksville, Tennessee USA on Friday, September 7, 2018
Thank you for sharing. In 2000, we got within few miles of the volcano on the big island and could see the steam rising as the lava reached the sea. We were able to see the caldera at the National Park and some of the lava tubes. The power is amazing and so wrapped up in the history of the islands. Thanks for sharing this with me. I look forward to reading this.

Journal Entry 5 by wingBkind2bookswing at Clarksville, Tennessee USA on Saturday, June 20, 2020
This was an amazing account of two volcanic eruptions in Colombia - separated by time, distance, severity - and yet linked by the scientists and their attempts to make sense of the information the volcanoes were giving.

Nevado del Ruiz, located in the northern Andean mountains of Columbia between Bogota and Medellin, is a 17,ooo foot giant with glaciers. When this volcano erupted in 1985, it was not the eruption that was so devastating, but the melting of the glaciers and the resultant mudflows. Nearly 23,000 people died in the ensuing disaster as the town of Armero was wiped out of existence. It was a horrible tragedy. In the aftermath, the government turned to scientists for answers - but predictions are difficult and not precise. There were some signals - tornillos - that did seem to precede the eruptions.

Galeras - a smaller (haha - only 14,000 foot) Andean mountain in southern Columbia near Pasto - had a long history of eruptions but none that were as devastating as Nevado. In 1993, a conference of scientists studying volcanos convened in Pasto and the high point of the week was a day of field trips to Galeras. This field trip would prove to be more than they bargained for as the volcano erupted. It then became a fight for survival.

The author presents a case that so much of the tragedy of Galeras - 9 deaths, including 6 of the scientists - was unnecessary and perhaps foreseeable. This is a tale of professional hubris and political wrangling. It is also a tale of unbelievable heroic and selfless acts. Truly a riveting read.

Journal Entry 6 by wingBkind2bookswing at Clarksville, Tennessee USA on Saturday, February 6, 2021

Released 3 yrs ago (2/9/2021 UTC) at Clarksville, Tennessee USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending in the NF VBB - enjoy!

Journal Entry 7 by wingbooklady331wing at Cape Coral, Florida USA on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
The book arrived today. Thank you so much for sharing with me. I appreciate it.

Journal Entry 8 by wingbooklady331wing at Cape Coral, Florida USA on Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Not much I can add to what was already said about this book. I did find that I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. No I was left wondering what really is the truth between the scientists and what happened at the second volcano. I found it interesting that even the scientists do not agree on what is happening with the volcanoes.

Reserving to send to another bookcrosser.

Journal Entry 9 by wingbooklady331wing at Cape Coral, Florida USA on Thursday, January 20, 2022

Released 2 yrs ago (1/20/2022 UTC) at Cape Coral, Florida USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy! KTM RABCK to Hobbit. This book is set in Colombia and is good for the 666 challenge

Journal Entry 10 by hobbit at Poughkeepsie, New York USA on Saturday, January 29, 2022
It arrived safely although the envelope was quite torn. Thanks for sharing it! This fills my South American books for that challenge!

Journal Entry 11 by hobbit at Poughkeepsie, New York USA on Friday, December 30, 2022
This was an interesting account and the author seems to have done her best to research and reconstruct what happened in a confusing and contentious incident. Like previous readers, I've spent time near volcanoes but not always carefully considered or appreciated the developing science of volcanology. In my case, I lived in Indonesia for several years where I visited several volcanoes. I experienced ash fall from eruptions a couple of times. And I lived in Ecuador for a year and could see 3 volcanoes right from my apartment building.

My only complaint about the book is that the writing is a bit dry or pedestrian. It doesn't add much in the way of interesting descriptions or language.

This is my final book for South America and to complete all books for the 666 Around the World Challenge for 2022. Hurrah for that.

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