Terra: Tales Of The Earth

by Richard Hamblyn

Blending history, science and eye-witness accounts, and arranged in chapters corresponding to the four elements (earth, air, fire and water), "Terra" explores the relationship between the planet and the humans who inhabit its surfaces. Through four case histories -- the Lisbon earthquake of 1755; the weather-panics of the summer of 1783; the eruption of Krakatau in 1883; and the Hilo tsunami of 1946 -- Hamblyn reminds us of the earth's unimaginable force and describes what happens when that force is unleashed, both in terms of the immediate human consequences and the longer term economic and scientific implications. Serving, ultimately, as a stark and incontrovertible reminder of our vulnerability when the earth 'goes wrong', "Terra" also asks why we don't seem fully able to learn from the catastrophes, mistakes and responses of the past.

Praise for Richard Hamblyn's previous book, "The Invention of Clouds: "

'An elegantly written and richly diverting thesis of unusual interdisciplinary facility' "Guardian"

'A book that accomplishes that rare feat of changing the reader's perception of the world' "Economist "

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Environment

268 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Richard Hamblyn studied at the universities of Essex and Cambridge, where he wrote a doctoral dissertation on 18th-century topographical writing. His first book, The Invention of Clouds (2001) told the story of Luke Howard, the amateur meteorologist who named the clouds in 1802; his other publications include The Cloud Book (2008) and Extraordinary Clouds (2009), both published in association with the (UK) Met Office; Data Soliloquies (2009), co-written with the digital artist Martin John Callanan; and Terra: Tales of the Earth, a collection of stories about major natural disasters. His anthology, The Art of Science: A Natural History of Ideas, was published by Picador in October 2011. It is a wide-ranging collection of readable science writing from the Babylonians to the Higgs boson.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book is “Four Events That Changed The World”, which might raise a question in some people’s minds since none is earlier than 1755. Well, it’s not saying these are the only important disasters to change the world, or even the most important; the idea is, I think, that these are events which prompted thought, scientific advances, and provisions for the future. The earthquake in Lisbon prompted innovation in building techniques; the toxic fog in Europe prompted thinkers like Franklin to work on the atmosphere (and gave us important information about climate change); Krakatau prompted research on volcanoes and impacted ecosystems; the tsunami in Hilo prompted international cooperation to get together a warning system.

These aren’t really about single great triumphs of someone in particular, but about the development of a deeper understanding of the Earth and the way it works. Sadly for me, it’s mostly about eyewitness accounts and less about the scientists, architects and politicians who had to respond to the events. It’s pretty much disaster porn to just go on about the way someone’s skin was hanging off their body during the eruption of Krakatau — I’d be much more interested in the scientific side of things.

But I guess for that, I have my Open University textbook… I just wish this had been somewhere in between: illustrative, but more scientific. It’s not badly written, and there is interesting information, but I got a little bit tired of the scenes of horror.

Originally posted here.

[Jason Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hamblyn dissects four natural disasters, under the headings of Earth (Lisbon earthquake 1755), Air (European 'weather panic' 1783), Fire (Krakatau 1883) and Water (Hawaii Tsunami 1946). Each is described in narrative, brought to life by accounts and testimonies of survivors, and analysed for lessons about the operations of natural processes and human response strategies.

The book succeeds in putting the reader in amongst the action - for instance, in telling of a freighter obliged to anchor in darkness and wait out the eruption of Krakatoa (there are numerous spellings), with sparks, pumice and hot ash falling a metre thick on the deck, above a hold filled with a cargo of petroleum! His analyses of how the worst effects of these disasters could be mitigated with better planning and sustained funding of sensible policies is clear-headed and balanced, though a contained anger peeps through in the Afterword.

We also learn how the disparate effects of geology are tied together: subduction creating both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, both of which create tsunamis, whilst a volcano in Iceland was also responsible for the 1783 atmospheric effect. (This was an odd inclusion: a hurricane would seem the obvious illustration of natural forces for 'Air'.) Hamblyn sketches the disaster-driven developments in seismology, vulcanology and oceanography that can now often predict these events and, with proper international action, save thousands of lives.

I wasn't always glued to the page, but this is a solid and illuminating book, exasperated yet optimistic, compelling in its descriptions but devoid of sensationalism.

[Juliet Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled Tales of the Earth - Four Events that Changed the World, this is an excellent, informative book that looks at earth science through the prism of four historical natural disasters. The four are the 1755 earthquake that hit Lisbon, the toxic fog that blanketed Europe in 1783 (linked to the eruption of an Icelandic volcano), the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa and the 1946 Hawaiian tsunami.

Each individual disaster is explored using scientific reports and first person accounts from survivors. In each case, the author then demonstrates how the specific event forwarded the science in the field and looks at policy decisions that can make disasters worse (such as removal of coral reefs or mangroves that can both protect coastlines against storm surges).

The Lisbon earthquake established the protocols of international humanitarian response and lead to the development of the science of seismology (and the construction of the first earthquake proof buildings).

Benjamin Franklin had been thinking about the possibility of global climate change since 1760 and his presence in Europe in 1783 (as US commissioner to the court of France) enabled him to investigate whether the toxic air of that year had a direct link to the excessively cold winter of 1783-84. This work lead to the beginning of the serious study of climate change, which of course has only become more important in recent years.

The eruption of Krakatoa was the first natural disaster to happen in times when it could relatively rapidly become global news. Study of the blast lead to significant advances in vulcanology and meteorology- the studies of its global after effects lead to better understanding of the workings of the upper stratosphere. In addition, the recolonisation of Krakatoa by small animals lead to vital understandings about ecological recovery:

"This question, which is still known as the Krakatoa problem, goes right to the heart of understanding the dynamics of ecological recovery: how exactly do ecosystems restore themselves after major calamities...? Does life only ever return from outside .... or are there any particularly hardy species ... that can withstand the stresses of a paroxysmal blast?"

The book was published around the time of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and includes observations on the effectiveness of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (that had been put in place in the wake of the 1946 Hawaiian tsunami).

The book ends with some thoughts on how best to mitigate the effects of future major natural disasters - having the right technology can only work if combined with public education and policies to prevent disaster including better town planning and conservation of natural elements that buffer against storm surges.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not often that I will give one star to a serious book, but for me this was just so unsatisfying the examples seemed poor choices if you wanted to examine a volcanic explosion that was both a catastrophy in its immediate area then Mt. Tomba in Indonesia in 1815 would be a far better example because in addition it affected the weather in Europe (and elsewhere) for several years causing shorter wetter growing seasons widespread crop failure, social and economic disruption that led to post Napoleonic social disorders that had a very settling affect on the monarchs and the politicians of the time and influence the reactionary nature of those years. I just felt it was not a very good book. Certainly Simon Winchesters book on Krakatoa is much better then anything said on the same subject.

[James Flack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this - I'm an unashamed geek about science books and this was right up my street.
I knew quite a lot already about Krakatoa, having read Simon Winchester's fantastic book on the subject some years ago but this was a another well researched alternative view. I didn't know much about the other three events in the book but I certainly do now with these well written accounts, particularly Hilo and the relevance to more recent events in Indonesia in 2004.

More please... if you are interested in natural sciences, then you should read this book.

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the events discussed were related to the scientific consequences and progresses, but they felt a little shoe-horned into the earth/fire/air/water categories. The combination of storytelling/eyewitness accounts and scientific information suited me and saved it from being overly dry, although the mid section of the book was a bit of a struggle and could've been condensed.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some decent overviews of select natural disasters with good use of first person accounts. The main selling point of the book - what humans have learned from each disaster - felt a bit tenuous at times and awkward given the book released around the time of the Boxing Day tsunami, Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina, three disasters poorly planned for and responded to.

[George Ilsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not really come together for me. The Indian Ocean tsunami, as acknowledged in the foreword, really knocked the stuffing out of this book's premise (as indeed did the March 2011 earthquake/tsunami in Japan). Also not sure that the four events canvassed were ones that changed the world. (The weather panic section is especially weak). Every decade has its share of natural disasters which shape the flow of history. The book is further weakened by the afterword's list of more recent natural disasters. Suitable for an overview of these events, but anyone who has read Simon Winchester's Krakatoa will not benefit from reading this work.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hamblyn describes very vividly four major natural disasters, at the time that relates the human response to affront the consequences. Particularly interesting is the description of the Earthquake in Lisbon in 1755, with several geological details and an outstanding description of the consequences. It was also delightful to learn about the response of the civil minister Marques del Pombal, in response to that earthquake, as defining several construction policies and several experiments to asses the quality of the new buildings.

[JJ Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science fiction and fantasy writers have forever been attempting to describe the strangeness of other worlds for a long time now. Yet we as fellow human beings inhabit a planet that continuously displays a strangeness and unpredictability that is simply jaw-dropping everytime one looks into it. An amazing read.

[Ambre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this from the library on Wednesday - started reading it there and got caught up in the story of the Earthquake in Lisbon in 1755. Hooked from there :)

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical coverage of a seris of significant disasters that affected the Earth.

[Richard Fieldhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaky start, but soon meteoric before erupting into something more wishy-washy.

[Tampines House]

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