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Volcano: an A to Z and Other Essays about Geology, Geography, and Geo-Travel in the American West
Neil Mathison's writing explores the many ways in which the physical world influences our lives. He muses on heritage, boats, and the sea; ponders how living in the shadow of a volcano shapes a person; and ties the physical world to deeper themes of human life, such as relationships and personal tragedies.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Maps
My Tahoe
My Redwoods
Ice
Catastrophic Columbia
an A to Z
Wooden Boat
Twenty-two Ways to Lose and (Maybe) Regain Paradise
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Maps
My Tahoe
My Redwoods
Ice
Catastrophic Columbia
an A to Z
Wooden Boat
Twenty-two Ways to Lose and (Maybe) Regain Paradise
126 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2017
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 15, 2023
Essays on geography and geology centered for the most part on the Pacific Northwest and the adjoining areas in the western United States, with a bit of history, autobiography, some travel anecdotes and personal commentary thrown in. The essays contain a few fascinating gems and tidbits. However, for the most part they are dry, and at times tedious and trite.
The failure to include maps, photographs and illustrations designed to provide context, and illuminate the points made in each essay contribute to the tedium and boredom that occasionally overwhelms the reader as they plow through this book.
The failure to include maps, photographs and illustrations designed to provide context, and illuminate the points made in each essay contribute to the tedium and boredom that occasionally overwhelms the reader as they plow through this book.
December 25, 2017
Mathison’s essays speak to the beauty, terror, ruggedness and magic of nature alongside the personal and family stories of life, loss, remembering and forgetting. His essays are powerful, vivid with a lush and lyrical description of place: geography, geology, landscapes, oceans, mountains, interwoven with history, literature and philosophy. Here’s one of his many gorgeous quotes: “Deep time is daunting. You see a long way into it but never to its bottom.”
November 13, 2018
A great collection of thoughtful and heartfelt essays. I especially liked it as it dealt with geology and landscapes and went through a lot of places I am familiar with, but recommended to all who like good writing.
September 19, 2017
These stunning essays set in the West bring to mind an alchemical mix of Mary Oliver and John McPhee. They are first of all, personal, full of questions, meditations, and insights on marriage, fatherhood, love gone bad, memory and its uses, and family. And they are scientific and philosophical, reflecting on the deep past, on Northwestern landscapes and seascapes via boating on Puget Sound, and road trips to such places as Lake Tahoe, points on the Columbia River, and Mount Rainier. These linked essays explore how these landscapes got here and how we got here. They deliver their insights though language that is limpid and dazzling. A must-read.
December 29, 2017
Volcano an A to Z
Don't let the title fool you--this book is about much more than volcanoes, geology, geography, and geo-travel. It is a beautifully written homage to memory and place. In a series of highly informative, well-crafted essays, the writer imparts his vast array of knowledge about topics as diverse as mudslides and wooden boats. He manages to deliver this information, not in a dry textbook fashion, by interweaving stories from his life and meditations on the importance of place in forming who and what you are.
If you, like me, occasionally veer away from fiction, this is the book for you. You'll come away moved and satisfied.
Don't let the title fool you--this book is about much more than volcanoes, geology, geography, and geo-travel. It is a beautifully written homage to memory and place. In a series of highly informative, well-crafted essays, the writer imparts his vast array of knowledge about topics as diverse as mudslides and wooden boats. He manages to deliver this information, not in a dry textbook fashion, by interweaving stories from his life and meditations on the importance of place in forming who and what you are.
If you, like me, occasionally veer away from fiction, this is the book for you. You'll come away moved and satisfied.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews