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Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes
' A fantastic account of the power and importance of volcanoes to history ... A book that will make all readers want to become volcanologists.'
PETER FRANKOPAN
'Beautiful. Mountains of Fire is bursting with poetry, with storytelling. '
WERNER HERZOG
Volcanoes mean so much more than threat and calamity. Like our parents, they've led whole lives before we get to know them.
We are made of the same stuff as the breath and cinders of volcanoes. They have long shaped the path of humanity, provoked pioneering explorations and fired up our imaginations. They are fertile ground for agriculture, art and spirituality, as well as scientific advances, and they act as time capsules, capturing the footprints of those who came before us.
World-renowned volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer has worked at the crater's edge in the wildest places on Earth, from remote peaks in the Sahara to mystical mountains in North Korea. His work reveals just how entangled volcanic activity is with our climate, economy, politics, culture and beliefs. From Antarctica to Italy, he paints volcanoes as otherworldly, magical places where our history is laid bare and where nature speaks to something deep within us.
Blending cultural history, science, myth and adventure, Mountains of Fire reminds us that, wherever we are on the planet, our stories are profoundly intertwined with volcanoes.
PETER FRANKOPAN
'Beautiful. Mountains of Fire is bursting with poetry, with storytelling. '
WERNER HERZOG
Volcanoes mean so much more than threat and calamity. Like our parents, they've led whole lives before we get to know them.
We are made of the same stuff as the breath and cinders of volcanoes. They have long shaped the path of humanity, provoked pioneering explorations and fired up our imaginations. They are fertile ground for agriculture, art and spirituality, as well as scientific advances, and they act as time capsules, capturing the footprints of those who came before us.
World-renowned volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer has worked at the crater's edge in the wildest places on Earth, from remote peaks in the Sahara to mystical mountains in North Korea. His work reveals just how entangled volcanic activity is with our climate, economy, politics, culture and beliefs. From Antarctica to Italy, he paints volcanoes as otherworldly, magical places where our history is laid bare and where nature speaks to something deep within us.
Blending cultural history, science, myth and adventure, Mountains of Fire reminds us that, wherever we are on the planet, our stories are profoundly intertwined with volcanoes.
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
August 19, 2025
I listened to the audio version of this book, though I couldn’t see that edition listed on GR. If someone subsequently adds it I will change the page to the correct edition.
I’m of the view that a good audio narrator can enhance a book. In this case, the author narrates the book himself, something I generally view as a mistake, and indeed I think it may have been on this occasion. He isn’t able to project his voice in the way that a professional narrator does, and the listener also has to put up with lots of swallowing noises during the book.
Although this is packaged as book about volcanoes, it’s really a personal memoir of the author’s career combined with a history of volcanology. It’s a sort of around the world trip starting of course in southern Italy, the place where people first started to study volcanoes scientifically. From there the reader is taken across to the Caribbean, South America, and to numerous other locations. Unsurprisingly there are extensive chapters on Iceland and Indonesia, two of the most volcanically active locations on Earth. One of the most interesting chapters was on the rarely visited Tibesti Mountains of Chad, and the last chapter concentrates on Mount Erebus in Antarctica. The author seems to have become something of a specialist on this volcano, and it’s clearly a place he loves.
The book also looks at the spiritual and cultural significance of volcanoes, especially Mount Paektu, which lies on the border of China and North Korea, and which seems to be of great cultural importance to Korean, Manchu and Chinese people alike.
There is a relatively limited amount of scientific information in the book.
One small bonus of the audiobook is that the author provides us with some sound recordings he took of volcanic activity at Mt. Erebus – those noises were quite sinister sounding! Overall though, this might be one to actually read rather than listen to.
I’m of the view that a good audio narrator can enhance a book. In this case, the author narrates the book himself, something I generally view as a mistake, and indeed I think it may have been on this occasion. He isn’t able to project his voice in the way that a professional narrator does, and the listener also has to put up with lots of swallowing noises during the book.
Although this is packaged as book about volcanoes, it’s really a personal memoir of the author’s career combined with a history of volcanology. It’s a sort of around the world trip starting of course in southern Italy, the place where people first started to study volcanoes scientifically. From there the reader is taken across to the Caribbean, South America, and to numerous other locations. Unsurprisingly there are extensive chapters on Iceland and Indonesia, two of the most volcanically active locations on Earth. One of the most interesting chapters was on the rarely visited Tibesti Mountains of Chad, and the last chapter concentrates on Mount Erebus in Antarctica. The author seems to have become something of a specialist on this volcano, and it’s clearly a place he loves.
The book also looks at the spiritual and cultural significance of volcanoes, especially Mount Paektu, which lies on the border of China and North Korea, and which seems to be of great cultural importance to Korean, Manchu and Chinese people alike.
There is a relatively limited amount of scientific information in the book.
One small bonus of the audiobook is that the author provides us with some sound recordings he took of volcanic activity at Mt. Erebus – those noises were quite sinister sounding! Overall though, this might be one to actually read rather than listen to.
August 10, 2024
You cannot deny a certain fascination with vulcano's they cannot be tamed by human technology, we cannot even with certainty predict if a vulcano is going to erupt or even explode. And yet they are a True force of nature and creates life and faith.
This book is about more than geology it is about the human need to build life around a vulcano even if it can destroy civilisation too. Just look at Pompije which is fascinating as it offers us the Roman civilisation as it was unearthed from the day it vanished. Like my tourguide said when one lives among or close to a vulcano one should live life as best as one can. Tomorrow can be the last day.
This book tells us about vulcano's but less in scientific detail but far more in a social culturele way. The vulcano in several episodes are difficult to investigate like Chad, Eritrea, Korea, mount Erabus in Antartica. The weiter tells about the vulcano but also about its history and remains of human history. While the sciencefiction around vulcano's is fairly new there are plenty pioneers and enough written in history about situations that hang together with great eruptions that took place.
This book is a fascinating view upon the field of vulcanos and its Groningen sciencefiction surrounding it no longer being just geology.
A fun book to read that is actually 260 pages and the rest are notes.
If you want to learn about vulcanos and are not into the mood for serious science this is the book for you.
This book is about more than geology it is about the human need to build life around a vulcano even if it can destroy civilisation too. Just look at Pompije which is fascinating as it offers us the Roman civilisation as it was unearthed from the day it vanished. Like my tourguide said when one lives among or close to a vulcano one should live life as best as one can. Tomorrow can be the last day.
This book tells us about vulcano's but less in scientific detail but far more in a social culturele way. The vulcano in several episodes are difficult to investigate like Chad, Eritrea, Korea, mount Erabus in Antartica. The weiter tells about the vulcano but also about its history and remains of human history. While the sciencefiction around vulcano's is fairly new there are plenty pioneers and enough written in history about situations that hang together with great eruptions that took place.
This book is a fascinating view upon the field of vulcanos and its Groningen sciencefiction surrounding it no longer being just geology.
A fun book to read that is actually 260 pages and the rest are notes.
If you want to learn about vulcanos and are not into the mood for serious science this is the book for you.
September 1, 2024
I first became aware of Clive Oppenheimer while watching Werner Herzog's documentary "Encounters at the End of the World". Their meeting at the Erebus volcano in Antarctica led to a collaboration on two more films. I found this British scientist to be a brilliant popularizer and storyteller, so I was very eager to read his book. And he does not disappoint.
It is no coincidence that these two men got along so well. Oppenheimer shares Herzog's insatiable curiosity and ability, or even desire, to be amazed. In this book, he masterfully blends popular science, the history of earlier discoveries, and recollections of his own fascinating expeditions to places like Iceland, the Sahara, Indonesia, and even North Korea ( in the company of Werner Herzog, by the way). His style is witty, colorful, and evocative - it truly transports you to different times and places.
Volcanology is not just an earth science - the modern approach includes cultural and anthropological aspects, as well as the effects of eruptions on our climate and environment. You don't have to be a volcano buff to find this book very interesting.
Thanks to the publisher, University of Chicago Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
It is no coincidence that these two men got along so well. Oppenheimer shares Herzog's insatiable curiosity and ability, or even desire, to be amazed. In this book, he masterfully blends popular science, the history of earlier discoveries, and recollections of his own fascinating expeditions to places like Iceland, the Sahara, Indonesia, and even North Korea ( in the company of Werner Herzog, by the way). His style is witty, colorful, and evocative - it truly transports you to different times and places.
Volcanology is not just an earth science - the modern approach includes cultural and anthropological aspects, as well as the effects of eruptions on our climate and environment. You don't have to be a volcano buff to find this book very interesting.
Thanks to the publisher, University of Chicago Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
May 11, 2025
Written by a Cambridge professor and a vulcanologist, this is a wonderful book. Part science, part history, and part adventure, and a very readable account of volcanoes and their power and effect.
It seems we even come from volcanoes - the gases and minerals they emit allowed life to evolve - and they can also devastate it. He explains how the Tabora eruption of 1815 led to the year ‘without a summer’ the following year and widespread famine. And it seems there have been even bigger eruptions thousands of years ago.
Volcanoes are often in remote places and each chapter is about a particular region and the author’s field work - he covers Chile, Iceland and Indonesia but also places few of us will ever visit such as the Tibesti Mountains in Chad and Mount Paektu in North Korea.
The only thing missing was much about volcanoes under the ocean (there are many more of them than on land), probably because that is a subject he doesn’t appear to have studied to any great degree.
Overall, a really enthralling read.
It seems we even come from volcanoes - the gases and minerals they emit allowed life to evolve - and they can also devastate it. He explains how the Tabora eruption of 1815 led to the year ‘without a summer’ the following year and widespread famine. And it seems there have been even bigger eruptions thousands of years ago.
Volcanoes are often in remote places and each chapter is about a particular region and the author’s field work - he covers Chile, Iceland and Indonesia but also places few of us will ever visit such as the Tibesti Mountains in Chad and Mount Paektu in North Korea.
The only thing missing was much about volcanoes under the ocean (there are many more of them than on land), probably because that is a subject he doesn’t appear to have studied to any great degree.
Overall, a really enthralling read.
October 12, 2025
I am actively trying to read more nonfiction, especially as I’m not reading quite as much for school any more, and this was a fantastic book to start with. I’ve had this one for a while as well, but only picked it up recently, and it’s incredible.
This book is a really really great mix of really cool information about volcanoes all over the globe, stories about pioneering volcano science and scientists, and how volcanoes are permanently integrated in not only human culture and mythos, but our existence. This book takes you from the U.S. to Iceland to the Sahara to Indonesia to Antarctica and many other places in between, and at each stop dives into all of the information surrounding the volcanoes in question. It does a fantastic job of pairing modern science with legend, religion, and cultural meaning and underscores the importance of pairing the two rather than working in isolation. And, the entire book is written through the lens of “holy cow look at how awesome volcanoes are”. The author even talks at one point about how hypothesis-driven science doesn’t always leave room for just going and exploring and appreciating and collecting as much information as possible, and seeing what comes out of it.
There’s a very good reason that volcanoes are present in writings, songs, stories, etc. from as long as humans have been around them. Because they operate on such long timescales compared to a human life, it’s easy to forget how genuinely impactful they are on the planet as a whole, and to me it was a very big reminder that no human is immune to the forces of nature. The only thing we really can do is admire it and recognize its power. THIS BOOK ROCKED!!!!!!!!
This book is a really really great mix of really cool information about volcanoes all over the globe, stories about pioneering volcano science and scientists, and how volcanoes are permanently integrated in not only human culture and mythos, but our existence. This book takes you from the U.S. to Iceland to the Sahara to Indonesia to Antarctica and many other places in between, and at each stop dives into all of the information surrounding the volcanoes in question. It does a fantastic job of pairing modern science with legend, religion, and cultural meaning and underscores the importance of pairing the two rather than working in isolation. And, the entire book is written through the lens of “holy cow look at how awesome volcanoes are”. The author even talks at one point about how hypothesis-driven science doesn’t always leave room for just going and exploring and appreciating and collecting as much information as possible, and seeing what comes out of it.
There’s a very good reason that volcanoes are present in writings, songs, stories, etc. from as long as humans have been around them. Because they operate on such long timescales compared to a human life, it’s easy to forget how genuinely impactful they are on the planet as a whole, and to me it was a very big reminder that no human is immune to the forces of nature. The only thing we really can do is admire it and recognize its power. THIS BOOK ROCKED!!!!!!!!
September 1, 2023
4. Delightful to read! I now want to drop everything and become a volcano explorer. The author was great at describing not only why volcanoes look like and what they do, but also how they feel and why they are important. Beings of mythical proportion, where present and past merge.
Also, for the largest unhumble brag, and a longer, more formally written take:
https://www.economist.com/culture/202...
Also, for the largest unhumble brag, and a longer, more formally written take:
https://www.economist.com/culture/202...
January 19, 2025
⍋ 6/10 ⍋
February 10, 2025
Ahhh the life that could’ve been! This is a really interesting personal memoir of the writer’s travels and research as a volcanologist which is basically my alternate reality dream. Felt like I was escaping to different corners of the globe with every chapter. I knocked a star off for some cringy similes, and another star for the fact that it caught me at a time of particular disenfranchisement with the medical profession which, of course, is not Clive’s fault!
March 2, 2024
If you want to read a bunch of travel narratives about work trips to various remote locations that Oppenheimer has taken over his career, then this is the book for you. If you want to learn anything about the science of volcanoes, it’s a complete waste of time.
October 27, 2023
We're all made of volcanic diffusions of rock, water, and gas (p. 24). Oppenheimer gives us a world tour of the places of fiery and glassy pyroclasms emanating from beneath less than totally terra firma. His interest is evident in both the historical records and today's science. While another recent book, Robin George Andrews' 'Super Volcanoes' charts the big peaks on Earth as well as across our slice of the extraterrestrial realm in lively fashion (see my review), Oppenheimer follows a more topographical route around the planet to elucidate vulcanology. It makes for an instructive experience. Some of his best observations emerge deep from within his footnotes, as well as on pp. 149 and 248. The photos greatly enhance the sense of the landscapes he describes. Chapters are short enough so that his main points stay steady, and he appends ample documentation, although some of it likely to languish in academic archives, to substantiate his research. It makes for a solid narrative, and the final section about his stints in Antarctica at Mt Erebus illustrate touchingly his appreciation at his luck in being able to witness nature.
April 28, 2023
I thought this was a pretty entertaining book about volcanoes. My favorite parts were when the author explained how they solved the mysteries of when certain eruptions happened. I also appreciated how he integrated the science of volcanology with the cultural and historical aspects of volcanoes. I think that synthesis was probably the biggest strength of the book.
I didn’t care as much for the personal travelogue elements of the story, but that’s more of my own preference for nonfiction.
I think he mostly did a great job of explaining the science so that the general public could understand, but there were times when I think he didn’t quite succeed at that. However, there were a few times when I had trouble following the science explanations and I myself have a BS and an MS in geology, though I focused on sedimentary geochemistry rather than anything related to volcanoes.
My thanks to NetGalley and the University of Chicago Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.
I didn’t care as much for the personal travelogue elements of the story, but that’s more of my own preference for nonfiction.
I think he mostly did a great job of explaining the science so that the general public could understand, but there were times when I think he didn’t quite succeed at that. However, there were a few times when I had trouble following the science explanations and I myself have a BS and an MS in geology, though I focused on sedimentary geochemistry rather than anything related to volcanoes.
My thanks to NetGalley and the University of Chicago Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.
May 23, 2023
My favorite nonfiction book of the year so far. The best praise that I can give this book is that I read all the footnotes. You can't really get much better than that. Clive Oppenheimer is a big name in volcanology - even though I've only taken a few geology courses, I've certainly heard of him. This book is a chronicle of his career, and wow, he's had a cool life. He also has a talent for using the perfect adjectives for every situation, which was very satisfying. This is the sort of interdisciplinary science I want to do, and this book was a fascinating read.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 14, 2024
I most appreciated the information on the relationships of humans with volcanoes and how the can provide valuable resources as well as being a threat. The authors tales of some harrowing experiences are entertaining. It is a shame that there aren't more pictures and maps with each chapter. Then it would be a 4 star rating.
March 13, 2025
It's been over a month since I finished this book and I’m STILL thinking about it! Oppenheimer has beautifully visual vocabulary which makes for incredible storytelling. I’m still thinking about Mt Pelee and the Mt Erebus. It’s a page turner for sure. 10/10
August 13, 2024
Volcanoes are essential to the existence and survival of humanity and Oppenheimer really hones in on this.
The book very much reads as though we’re directly reading from his field journal and gives such a unique and thorough insight into what it is to be a volcanologist. Following along with Oppenheimer’s thoughts and feelings gives such a great perspective and his descriptions and details really make you feel like you’re there with him in these incredible places.
Not only do we get this great insight into his own expeditions, Oppenheimer also brilliantly puts together and describes the expeditions of others in the past on their incredible journeys to essentially put volcanology on the map and make observations and recordings of volcanic activity common place.
In that regard it was incredibly interesting to learn more about those who pioneered the field.
I would very much recommend this to anyone who is at all interested in volcanoes!
The book very much reads as though we’re directly reading from his field journal and gives such a unique and thorough insight into what it is to be a volcanologist. Following along with Oppenheimer’s thoughts and feelings gives such a great perspective and his descriptions and details really make you feel like you’re there with him in these incredible places.
Not only do we get this great insight into his own expeditions, Oppenheimer also brilliantly puts together and describes the expeditions of others in the past on their incredible journeys to essentially put volcanology on the map and make observations and recordings of volcanic activity common place.
In that regard it was incredibly interesting to learn more about those who pioneered the field.
I would very much recommend this to anyone who is at all interested in volcanoes!
November 21, 2023
Fascinating, informative and transportive, this book is a journey around the world via a series of volcanoes.
Oppenheimer's writing is not just accessible, but entertaining too. He manages to capture the essence of his experiences and paints such vivid imagery that it feels like you've been there with him. It's a thorough blend of travel writing meets science writing. I particularly liked the way he paid a sort-of tribute to the founding scientists in his field by telling their story, followed by how he has followed in their - often literal - footsteps.
I not only learned so much about volcanology, I feel like I have visited them too. This book has reignited my keen interest in volcanoes and left me hungry for more.
Oppenheimer's writing is not just accessible, but entertaining too. He manages to capture the essence of his experiences and paints such vivid imagery that it feels like you've been there with him. It's a thorough blend of travel writing meets science writing. I particularly liked the way he paid a sort-of tribute to the founding scientists in his field by telling their story, followed by how he has followed in their - often literal - footsteps.
I not only learned so much about volcanology, I feel like I have visited them too. This book has reignited my keen interest in volcanoes and left me hungry for more.
June 25, 2024
Mountains of Fire is a book by Clive Oppenheimer about volcanos. In the book, Oppenheimer examines the multiple facets of volcanos and how they impact the lives of people who live near them.
In that vein, we get some mythology.
The book is fascinating, but I couldn’t get into it for some reason. I finally finished it, though. Oppenheimer is part scientist, part adventurer. He goes to the volcanoes themselves to take spectroscopic measurements of the gases.
The book was great. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
In that vein, we get some mythology.
The book is fascinating, but I couldn’t get into it for some reason. I finally finished it, though. Oppenheimer is part scientist, part adventurer. He goes to the volcanoes themselves to take spectroscopic measurements of the gases.
The book was great. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
December 23, 2024
An ok book. I got it to learn more about the science of volcanoes, as I'm in central America right now and whenever you look up at the sky there's almost always a volcano so I wanted to understand what they are, why they're here and why they erupt a bit better. Sadly this book isn't that as it's more the author's memoirs from his time around the world, which are interesting but not what I was hoping and I feel if you read the Horrible Geography about volcanoes as a kid you knew a lot of the stories from there already.
May 12, 2025
Solid— a bit more of a memoir than an overview of volcanoes, but still interesting to learn about volcanology and so cool that people get to travel to such extreme places for science. Glad I grabbed this off the display at the library
October 26, 2025
Truly captivating! A delightful insight into the secret life of volcanoes through the lens of Oppenheimer’s research and the histories of his predecessors.
March 9, 2024
A leading volcanologist and an oft amusing author who can write well in a populist way (a la Carl Sagan whom he quotes), Oppenheimer has produced a book of Volcano stories with no real structure. While I now know more about volcanoes than before.... it's probably not all that much more.
The author's photo on the book jacket makes him look like a cross between Neil Gaiman and Side Show Bob.... probably a fun guy to have a beer or overnight in a lava tube with.
The author's photo on the book jacket makes him look like a cross between Neil Gaiman and Side Show Bob.... probably a fun guy to have a beer or overnight in a lava tube with.
March 25, 2024
Good. Mix of science, adventures, and culture. Has maps, photos, and fun informative end notes.
Warning, you may want to suddenly become a vulcanologist
Warning, you may want to suddenly become a vulcanologist
December 23, 2023
An interesting book on volcanos that sadly could be as dry as lava at times
Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes by Clive Oppenheimer is a decent look at humanity’s relationship and fascination with volcanos as well as a lengthy scientific and historic breakdown of various volcanic activity throughout the epochs and specific incidents of not to our own geological history.
Gonna be honest…the later chapters weren’t as interesting as the early chapters.
The first couple chapters focused on the cultural and almost mystical connection humans sometimes had for volcanoes…as well as an amusing look at early volcanologists of the 19th and very early 20th centuries (including a nice anecdote involving a ship helping evacuate Martinique during the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée). I would have liked a great focus on past incidents (other than Pompeii of course since that too over done).
To accompany all the fascinating erupting mountain talk, there are a host of black and white photographs and art which I feel do a good job of showcasing the various cultures and peoples interest in volcanos over the century. I would have liked more cultural art like this, but I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Nearly every single one of the pieces is rife for potential almost telling their own story and anecdotes that they allow you to imagine for yourself…
Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes by Clive Oppenheimer is a decent look at humanity’s relationship and fascination with volcanos as well as a lengthy scientific and historic breakdown of various volcanic activity throughout the epochs and specific incidents of not to our own geological history.
Gonna be honest…the later chapters weren’t as interesting as the early chapters.
The first couple chapters focused on the cultural and almost mystical connection humans sometimes had for volcanoes…as well as an amusing look at early volcanologists of the 19th and very early 20th centuries (including a nice anecdote involving a ship helping evacuate Martinique during the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée). I would have liked a great focus on past incidents (other than Pompeii of course since that too over done).
To accompany all the fascinating erupting mountain talk, there are a host of black and white photographs and art which I feel do a good job of showcasing the various cultures and peoples interest in volcanos over the century. I would have liked more cultural art like this, but I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Nearly every single one of the pieces is rife for potential almost telling their own story and anecdotes that they allow you to imagine for yourself…
January 1, 2024
While "Mountains of Fire" explores a very intriguing subject, I found the author's attempts to convey his genuine passion for volcanoes fell short. Ironically, the historical and cultural diversions proved more captivating than the extended, somewhat tedious accounts of Oppenheimer's own explorations and studies.
June 2, 2025
Really interesting. Quite dense and information heavy so not a quick read but very fascinating as an ex earth sciences student who studied volcanoes. Multiple case studies I'd never previously heard of and the combination of science, the authors experience and the culture and societal history of the volcanoes made an engaging read
January 2, 2024
Another of my contributions to the Literary Review:
Mountains of Fire is ostensibly a book about volcanoes, but really it is about the adventures of volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer on his travels to explore these phenomena. He is now Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge, and has made a couple of acclaimed documentaries about his work. This, however, is not a dry academic account of his research, nor even a standard “popularisation”. Instead, it weaves together science, history and culture into a tapestry that is far greater than the sum of its parts, and is also a darn good read.
We meet Oppenheimer as a young student taking foolish risks to make measurements that ended up proving useless, visit North Korea with him, find him at risk of being kidnapped or worse on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and end up on Mount Erebus in Antarctica. This makes for a real page-turner of a book, because of the author’s gripping style and way with a descriptive narrative. If Michael Palin had been a volcanologist, this is the book he might have written.
But there are two other threads to the story. The science is not forgotten, but along with other details that might break up the flow of the story many details are confined to the 82 pages of notes which follow the main text (and can be totally ignored if all you are after is a good read). And best of all Oppenheimer includes many accounts of the adventures of his predecessors, with stories of eruptions in recorded history, as well as those that shaped the world in the far distant past. So we meet Robert Bunsen, of burner fame, on an expedition to Iceland in the mid-nineteenth century, and Charles Darwin being shaken by an earthquake in Chile a couple of decades earlier. Darwin’s first major published work, we learn, was a theory of volcanism that “came remarkably close to pre-empting a central plank of plate tectonic theory.”
My favourite section of the book, which pulls together all the threads, deals with the history of eruptions in Iceland, an island which sits astride a major crack in the Earth’s crust known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland is actually getting wider, by a couple of centimetres a year, as crust spreads out on either side of the ridge, which shows up as a steep-sided canyon crossing the island. “Tectonically speaking,” as Oppenheimer puts it, you can stand there “planting one foot in America and the other in Europe.” As well as Iceland’s own volcanic activity, the nearby Greenland ice cap carries buried in the layers of snow falling each year a dusty record of enormous eruptions from around the globe, including an eruption of the Korean volcano Paektu in the year 946 CE. Identification of this layer in the Greenland ice in turn enabled him to count backwards down the layers to pinpoint the date of a major Icelandic eruption as occurring in the spring of 939 CE. Which ties it neatly to accounts of crop failures across Europe and the Sun showing red in the daytime as far away as Rome. Tree ring data show that the following year, 940 CE, was one of the coldest Northern Hemisphere summers of the past two millennia, as particles from the volcano spread high in the stratosphere around the globe and blocked sunlight. But if you want to know how this ties in with Icelandic medieval poetry and the Norse vision of the end of the world, Ragnarok, you will have to read the book.
There are, however, two omissions that deserved a place in the book, one specific and one general. The catastrophic eruption of Thera, on the island of Santorini, which is thought to have caused the collapse of Minoan civilisation around 1600 BCE surely deserves a mention, and although Oppenheimer discusses the relationships between volcanoes, the environment and life I would have liked to learn his take (for or against) on Gaia theory, the idea that all these processes are linked to make a kind of planetary super-organism.
His early experience on Mount Stromboli is worth sharing:
“A metallic whiff like a struck match smarted my eyes. I was seized by the realisation that volatile molecules just unfettered from the inner Earth, and tasting like sour milk at the back of my throat, were now in my lungs, in my bloodstream . . . I was discovering [that] fieldwork on an active volcano is a profoundly embodying experience.” And when lumps of molten lava start falling at his feet, his notebook laconically records, “working here extremely hazardous.” It’s a wonder that he lived to tell the tale, and the rest of the tales in the book, but all lovers of adventure stories, travel stories, and the science of our living planet can rejoice in the fact that he did. Most of the books I review get passed on, one way or another, fairly quickly; but this one is definitely a keeper.
Mountains of Fire is ostensibly a book about volcanoes, but really it is about the adventures of volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer on his travels to explore these phenomena. He is now Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge, and has made a couple of acclaimed documentaries about his work. This, however, is not a dry academic account of his research, nor even a standard “popularisation”. Instead, it weaves together science, history and culture into a tapestry that is far greater than the sum of its parts, and is also a darn good read.
We meet Oppenheimer as a young student taking foolish risks to make measurements that ended up proving useless, visit North Korea with him, find him at risk of being kidnapped or worse on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and end up on Mount Erebus in Antarctica. This makes for a real page-turner of a book, because of the author’s gripping style and way with a descriptive narrative. If Michael Palin had been a volcanologist, this is the book he might have written.
But there are two other threads to the story. The science is not forgotten, but along with other details that might break up the flow of the story many details are confined to the 82 pages of notes which follow the main text (and can be totally ignored if all you are after is a good read). And best of all Oppenheimer includes many accounts of the adventures of his predecessors, with stories of eruptions in recorded history, as well as those that shaped the world in the far distant past. So we meet Robert Bunsen, of burner fame, on an expedition to Iceland in the mid-nineteenth century, and Charles Darwin being shaken by an earthquake in Chile a couple of decades earlier. Darwin’s first major published work, we learn, was a theory of volcanism that “came remarkably close to pre-empting a central plank of plate tectonic theory.”
My favourite section of the book, which pulls together all the threads, deals with the history of eruptions in Iceland, an island which sits astride a major crack in the Earth’s crust known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland is actually getting wider, by a couple of centimetres a year, as crust spreads out on either side of the ridge, which shows up as a steep-sided canyon crossing the island. “Tectonically speaking,” as Oppenheimer puts it, you can stand there “planting one foot in America and the other in Europe.” As well as Iceland’s own volcanic activity, the nearby Greenland ice cap carries buried in the layers of snow falling each year a dusty record of enormous eruptions from around the globe, including an eruption of the Korean volcano Paektu in the year 946 CE. Identification of this layer in the Greenland ice in turn enabled him to count backwards down the layers to pinpoint the date of a major Icelandic eruption as occurring in the spring of 939 CE. Which ties it neatly to accounts of crop failures across Europe and the Sun showing red in the daytime as far away as Rome. Tree ring data show that the following year, 940 CE, was one of the coldest Northern Hemisphere summers of the past two millennia, as particles from the volcano spread high in the stratosphere around the globe and blocked sunlight. But if you want to know how this ties in with Icelandic medieval poetry and the Norse vision of the end of the world, Ragnarok, you will have to read the book.
There are, however, two omissions that deserved a place in the book, one specific and one general. The catastrophic eruption of Thera, on the island of Santorini, which is thought to have caused the collapse of Minoan civilisation around 1600 BCE surely deserves a mention, and although Oppenheimer discusses the relationships between volcanoes, the environment and life I would have liked to learn his take (for or against) on Gaia theory, the idea that all these processes are linked to make a kind of planetary super-organism.
His early experience on Mount Stromboli is worth sharing:
“A metallic whiff like a struck match smarted my eyes. I was seized by the realisation that volatile molecules just unfettered from the inner Earth, and tasting like sour milk at the back of my throat, were now in my lungs, in my bloodstream . . . I was discovering [that] fieldwork on an active volcano is a profoundly embodying experience.” And when lumps of molten lava start falling at his feet, his notebook laconically records, “working here extremely hazardous.” It’s a wonder that he lived to tell the tale, and the rest of the tales in the book, but all lovers of adventure stories, travel stories, and the science of our living planet can rejoice in the fact that he did. Most of the books I review get passed on, one way or another, fairly quickly; but this one is definitely a keeper.
Read
September 13, 2025I studied volcanoes during my employment at the Field Museum, and I briefly considered getting a masters in volcanology. After reading this book, I’m glad I didn’t. I still find volcanoes fascinating, but I have too much sense to climb up an erupting volcano to look over the rim. I’ll leave that to Oppenheimer.
The book examines several volcanoes in regions throughout the world, including the Caribbean, Indonesia, Italy, and Ethiopia. I try to be fairly aware of events around the world, yet I had to constantly drop this book to Google fascinating stories and regions I’d never heard of, like the New Zealand airline crash on Mt Erebus in New Zealand, the devastating eruption that buried St. Pierre in Martinique, the regions of Tibesti in Chad and Mount Paektu in North Korea, and histories of early vulcanologists, many of whom had specific volcanoes that acted as muses to their research. Oppenheimer discusses aspects of volcanology that I hadn’t fully considered, such as having to balance the economic impacts of evacuation with eruption prediction. And the amalgamation of geology, paleo- and dentroclimatology, and medieval historical records to date eruption is enough to give me a nergasm. At times the book can read as a bit self-congratulatory about his discoveries, but that’s Oppenheimer’s right as a scientist and author.
Some interesting facts:
* Several factors including a volcano’s latitude influence how much an eruption cools the planet, but it’s the amount of sulphur in the stratosphere that is critical.
* Carbon dioxide if the first gas released from a rising magma body. It drives chemical and physical changes in magma, and help control a volcano’s size, shape and eruptive displays.
* Sumatra’s Toba Tuff eruption was 74,000 years ago and would have been experienced by our human ancestors. The amount of pyroclastic rock produced would have been enough to cover the whole of the US to the height of 1 storey (the actual ash ended up in northern Sumatra and the Indian Ocean).
* Like wine, magma has terroir; you can tell where volcanic rocks were produced based on its specific chemical content. This also means that the path of specific obsidian tools can be traced from where they were produced to where they ended up, acting as evidence of prehistoric trade patterns, including across maritime boundaries.
* Lucy’s skeleton was dated not from her bones or teeth, but from the estimated ages of ash fallout above and below her level in sediment.
* Homo sapiens emerged within the last 300,000 years, meaning as a species we’ve largely chosen to live next to volcanoes, despite the risks. It’s therefore unsurprising that volcanoes feature significantly in our religious and cultural beliefs worldwide.
* Thanks to the Tibesti volcanic range in chad, a sizeable subterranean aquifer developed in the eastern Sahara. The oases which developed as a consequence has allowed nomads to cross the terrain through both times of greening and desertification.
* More people have been to space and Mount Everest than have summited Mount Erebus in Antarctica.
* Volcanoes often have specific, regular pulses thanks to the release of gases and lava. They are, in essence, like beating hearts. Despite being composed of rock, they can act like organic systems in themselves and reflect the larger pulse of the inner earth.
I do have one quibble, which is that the digital edition of the book I read could have used another round of editing. I found several typos and grammatical errors.
PS: make sure to read the footnotes. They’re easy to skip but Oppenheimer has included interesting stories that would be a shame to miss.
The book examines several volcanoes in regions throughout the world, including the Caribbean, Indonesia, Italy, and Ethiopia. I try to be fairly aware of events around the world, yet I had to constantly drop this book to Google fascinating stories and regions I’d never heard of, like the New Zealand airline crash on Mt Erebus in New Zealand, the devastating eruption that buried St. Pierre in Martinique, the regions of Tibesti in Chad and Mount Paektu in North Korea, and histories of early vulcanologists, many of whom had specific volcanoes that acted as muses to their research. Oppenheimer discusses aspects of volcanology that I hadn’t fully considered, such as having to balance the economic impacts of evacuation with eruption prediction. And the amalgamation of geology, paleo- and dentroclimatology, and medieval historical records to date eruption is enough to give me a nergasm. At times the book can read as a bit self-congratulatory about his discoveries, but that’s Oppenheimer’s right as a scientist and author.
Some interesting facts:
* Several factors including a volcano’s latitude influence how much an eruption cools the planet, but it’s the amount of sulphur in the stratosphere that is critical.
* Carbon dioxide if the first gas released from a rising magma body. It drives chemical and physical changes in magma, and help control a volcano’s size, shape and eruptive displays.
* Sumatra’s Toba Tuff eruption was 74,000 years ago and would have been experienced by our human ancestors. The amount of pyroclastic rock produced would have been enough to cover the whole of the US to the height of 1 storey (the actual ash ended up in northern Sumatra and the Indian Ocean).
* Like wine, magma has terroir; you can tell where volcanic rocks were produced based on its specific chemical content. This also means that the path of specific obsidian tools can be traced from where they were produced to where they ended up, acting as evidence of prehistoric trade patterns, including across maritime boundaries.
* Lucy’s skeleton was dated not from her bones or teeth, but from the estimated ages of ash fallout above and below her level in sediment.
* Homo sapiens emerged within the last 300,000 years, meaning as a species we’ve largely chosen to live next to volcanoes, despite the risks. It’s therefore unsurprising that volcanoes feature significantly in our religious and cultural beliefs worldwide.
* Thanks to the Tibesti volcanic range in chad, a sizeable subterranean aquifer developed in the eastern Sahara. The oases which developed as a consequence has allowed nomads to cross the terrain through both times of greening and desertification.
* More people have been to space and Mount Everest than have summited Mount Erebus in Antarctica.
* Volcanoes often have specific, regular pulses thanks to the release of gases and lava. They are, in essence, like beating hearts. Despite being composed of rock, they can act like organic systems in themselves and reflect the larger pulse of the inner earth.
I do have one quibble, which is that the digital edition of the book I read could have used another round of editing. I found several typos and grammatical errors.
PS: make sure to read the footnotes. They’re easy to skip but Oppenheimer has included interesting stories that would be a shame to miss.
August 7, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher University of Chicago Press for an advance copy of this book on the lure, the science and the fiery beauty that are volcanos.
Volcanos have a unique place in the human psyche. Many a movie has featured a smouldering mountain on an island home to dangers both mythical and man. Evil villains use volcanos as lairs to carry out their devious actions and attempt at world take overs. Volcanos become gods, entrances to hell, places of wealth and even redemption if a sacrifice is found pleasing. Movies feature them as characters, threats, background seats of knowledge. Two documentaries have been released on a couple who found romance while observing volcanos, and died together doing what the love. Werner Herzog traveled to the Caribbean to watch a volcano erupt, while giving no thought to what was to happen to him or his two companions, if it did. Thankfully it didn't and Herzog has made more documentaries a few on volcanos, and one on the Kraftts as I previously mentioned. Clive Oppenheimer is a volcanologist who has traveled the world, often working with Herzog, or by himself, both studying and filming volcanos, risking his life, learning much and and now sharing this love in book form. Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes is a look at his life among lava, along with a look at humanity's relationship with volcanos, the draw they have, what we have learned, and what we should fear
The book begins with a view of hell. Ash drops from the sky as lava bombs, partially melted rocks that are ejected from the volcano shot into the air, crashing to the earth, or falling back in. The smell and the heat are powerful, and yet beautiful, a sort of devil's music, where one is both drawn and repelled by what one sees. Volcanos have their own climates, which can affect the area, causing good growing seasons in one spot, bad burning areas in others. Volcanos, Oppenheimer points out have a past that is unknown and probably will remain that way, eruptions unmeasured, and destruction that will remain a mystery. Oppenheimer discusses his early investigations dodging lava bombs, walking through ash, alone trying to get temperature readings, and wondering what brought him here to this moment. Oppenheimer has traveled the world, from Antarctica, to Chad, to the Pacific Islands, learning and studying with others, volcanologists, dreamers, religious types and the people who spend their lives in the shadow of eruptions.
Oppenheimer is a very good writer, with an ability to share information, make things interesting and explain things so well it seems both clear and unforgettable. There are a lot of stories from early priests who thought that the fiery substances at the bottom of the volcano was gold, to working in North Korea at Mount Paektu, a volcano that holds much myth and legend in the origins of the North Korean Communist Party. And of course some writing on Werner Herzog, who is always good for a tale or two. A very good mix of science, facts and natural beauty, One of the more interesting and well-written science books that I have read in a long time.
Recommended for people who enjoy first hand stories about science and nature, and those with a thing for volcanos. Also for those who love to read stories about the world and the amazing things that are contained on it. A very well written book that would be of interest to people of any age who like volcanoes.
Volcanos have a unique place in the human psyche. Many a movie has featured a smouldering mountain on an island home to dangers both mythical and man. Evil villains use volcanos as lairs to carry out their devious actions and attempt at world take overs. Volcanos become gods, entrances to hell, places of wealth and even redemption if a sacrifice is found pleasing. Movies feature them as characters, threats, background seats of knowledge. Two documentaries have been released on a couple who found romance while observing volcanos, and died together doing what the love. Werner Herzog traveled to the Caribbean to watch a volcano erupt, while giving no thought to what was to happen to him or his two companions, if it did. Thankfully it didn't and Herzog has made more documentaries a few on volcanos, and one on the Kraftts as I previously mentioned. Clive Oppenheimer is a volcanologist who has traveled the world, often working with Herzog, or by himself, both studying and filming volcanos, risking his life, learning much and and now sharing this love in book form. Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes is a look at his life among lava, along with a look at humanity's relationship with volcanos, the draw they have, what we have learned, and what we should fear
The book begins with a view of hell. Ash drops from the sky as lava bombs, partially melted rocks that are ejected from the volcano shot into the air, crashing to the earth, or falling back in. The smell and the heat are powerful, and yet beautiful, a sort of devil's music, where one is both drawn and repelled by what one sees. Volcanos have their own climates, which can affect the area, causing good growing seasons in one spot, bad burning areas in others. Volcanos, Oppenheimer points out have a past that is unknown and probably will remain that way, eruptions unmeasured, and destruction that will remain a mystery. Oppenheimer discusses his early investigations dodging lava bombs, walking through ash, alone trying to get temperature readings, and wondering what brought him here to this moment. Oppenheimer has traveled the world, from Antarctica, to Chad, to the Pacific Islands, learning and studying with others, volcanologists, dreamers, religious types and the people who spend their lives in the shadow of eruptions.
Oppenheimer is a very good writer, with an ability to share information, make things interesting and explain things so well it seems both clear and unforgettable. There are a lot of stories from early priests who thought that the fiery substances at the bottom of the volcano was gold, to working in North Korea at Mount Paektu, a volcano that holds much myth and legend in the origins of the North Korean Communist Party. And of course some writing on Werner Herzog, who is always good for a tale or two. A very good mix of science, facts and natural beauty, One of the more interesting and well-written science books that I have read in a long time.
Recommended for people who enjoy first hand stories about science and nature, and those with a thing for volcanos. Also for those who love to read stories about the world and the amazing things that are contained on it. A very well written book that would be of interest to people of any age who like volcanoes.
September 25, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed Mountains of Fire, an excellent book about volcanoes that feels like a memoir, mystery, and science article all rolled into one. I even read almost all of the footnotes, where the author tucked away more delightful scientific knowledge and opinions.
Clive Oppenheimer writes from his many years of fieldwork studying volcanoes. He recounts his travels from the deserts of north Africa to the icy fields of Antarctica, with each chapter focusing on a different volcano and area of the world. In some places such as Mount Paektu in North Korea, the political and social situations he encounters are just as interesting as the scientific ones.
I expected volcanoes to be dangerous, and indeed they are, as Oppenheimer describes via some close scrapes with flying lava rocks and plumes of gas clouds. But, they are also awe-inspiring, majestic, old, steeped in the culture and landscape, relevant on both the largest and smallest of scales. They last for millennia yet shift overnight, at once as unchanging as the foundation of the world and as instantly disruptive as the detonation of a bomb. Scientists can take advantage of that longevity to decipher cultural mysteries, such as using obsidian samples to trace ancient human trade routes based on which obsidian tools match which volcanic source.
Oppenheimer's enthusiasm for volcanoes and discovery is contagious throughout the book. He recalls catching his first glimpse of several volcanoes in Chad, saying that “just calling their names out to the others above the din of the [airplane] engines was enough to make me almost delirious with excitement: Emi Koussi, Tarso Yega, Pic Tousside…I couldn’t believe my luck.”
In another chapter, he remembers a tough assignment where his frustrations were suddenly “eclipsed by the thrill of exposing the moment the ancestors witnessed darkness at noon and the earth turned to powder.”
What Oppenheimer taught me most through Mountains of Fire is the importance of showing up and being ready to study, observe, and ponder. A volcano is not the sort of thing you can run controlled experiments on or force to do your bidding. Instead, you must approach as a humble observer, patient and attentive enough to let the mountain reveal itself to you. As Oppenheimer advises, “I’ve often found that putting in the groundwork is the best way to give serendipity a chance to play its hand and thereby learn things beyond my imagination.”
Many thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Clive Oppenheimer writes from his many years of fieldwork studying volcanoes. He recounts his travels from the deserts of north Africa to the icy fields of Antarctica, with each chapter focusing on a different volcano and area of the world. In some places such as Mount Paektu in North Korea, the political and social situations he encounters are just as interesting as the scientific ones.
I expected volcanoes to be dangerous, and indeed they are, as Oppenheimer describes via some close scrapes with flying lava rocks and plumes of gas clouds. But, they are also awe-inspiring, majestic, old, steeped in the culture and landscape, relevant on both the largest and smallest of scales. They last for millennia yet shift overnight, at once as unchanging as the foundation of the world and as instantly disruptive as the detonation of a bomb. Scientists can take advantage of that longevity to decipher cultural mysteries, such as using obsidian samples to trace ancient human trade routes based on which obsidian tools match which volcanic source.
Oppenheimer's enthusiasm for volcanoes and discovery is contagious throughout the book. He recalls catching his first glimpse of several volcanoes in Chad, saying that “just calling their names out to the others above the din of the [airplane] engines was enough to make me almost delirious with excitement: Emi Koussi, Tarso Yega, Pic Tousside…I couldn’t believe my luck.”
In another chapter, he remembers a tough assignment where his frustrations were suddenly “eclipsed by the thrill of exposing the moment the ancestors witnessed darkness at noon and the earth turned to powder.”
What Oppenheimer taught me most through Mountains of Fire is the importance of showing up and being ready to study, observe, and ponder. A volcano is not the sort of thing you can run controlled experiments on or force to do your bidding. Instead, you must approach as a humble observer, patient and attentive enough to let the mountain reveal itself to you. As Oppenheimer advises, “I’ve often found that putting in the groundwork is the best way to give serendipity a chance to play its hand and thereby learn things beyond my imagination.”
Many thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
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