Volcano: Nature and Culture

by James Hamilton

For years, tourists have trekked across cracked rock at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano to witness the awe-inspiring sight of creeping lava and its devastating effects on the landscape. In 2010, Eyjafjallajökull erupted in Iceland, stranding travelers as a cloud of ash covered western and northern Europe, causing the largest disruption of air travel since World War II. And just a few months later, Mount Merapi blew in Indonesia, killing over 350 people and displacing over 350,000 others, awakening people once more to the dangerous potential of these sleeping giants.
Though today largely dormant, volcanoes continue to erupt across the world, reminding us of their sheer physical power. In Volcano , James Hamilton explores the cultural history generated by the violence and terrifying beauty of volcanoes. He describes the reverberations of early eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna in Greek and Roman myth. He also examines the depiction of volcanoes in art—from the earliest known wall painting of an erupting volcano in 6200 BCE to the distinctive colors of Andy Warhol and Michael Sandle’s exploding mountains. Surveying a number of twenty-first-century works, Hamilton shows that volcanoes continue to influence the artistic imagination.

 

Combining established figures such as Joseph Wright and J. M. W. Turner with previously unseen perspectives, this richly illustrated book will appeal to anyone interested in science as well as the cultural impact of these spectacular natural features.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2012

About the author

James Hamilton is a curator, writer and lecturer, who entered the University of Manchester to read Mechanical Engineering, and emerged with a degree in History of Art.

Reviews

[Sophy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This offering in the Nature and Culture series was overall good but a little Vesuvius heavy! Hamilton concentrates rather extensively on the eruptions of Vesuvius over the years so his focus is directed at literature, paintings and other forms of art concerning that one particular volcano. Whilst this is fine, I found the focus a little too narrow for my tastes, especially when there are repeated quoted sections of text. It becomes a bit tedious for me then.

Nevertheless the colour photographs are (as always with this series) stunning, really highlighting the beauty and brutality of Mother Nature.

Whilst I enjoyed the read, I'm debating whether or not to keep this one and I'm likely not going to as it's not a title I'm going to re-read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been on a volcano kick since watching Fire of Love, a 2022 documentary about the volcanologist couple Maurice and Katia Krafft. This slim book is an aesthetic pleasure, chock-full of photos and paintings. Some of the world's most famous volcanoes are described, both in their uneasy sleeps and fiery eruptions, the author connecting such blasts to their impact on humanity's artistic and literary imagination over the centuries.

[Nefertari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Focuses almost entirely on Vesuvius, to its detriment. I'd recommend Volcanoes in Human History instead.

[John Tarttelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough and fascinating account of volcanic activity that puts the 'climate change' project fear policy into perspective. Tambora in April 1815 lowered the temperature of the whole of the northern hemisphere by one degree Centigrade and led to the 'Year Without A Summer' in 1816. When a supervolcano like Yellowstone erupts that will raise world temperature by FIVE degrees Centigrade and lead to a new Ice Age.

[Rachel (Sfogs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.