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Devil in the Mountain: A Search for the Origin of the Andes
How do high mountain ranges form on the face of the Earth? This question has intrigued some of the greatest philosophers and scientists, going back as far as the ancient Greeks. Devil in the Mountain is the story of one scientist, author Simon Lamb, and his quest for the key to this great geological mystery.
Lamb and a small team of geologists have spent much of the last decade exploring the rugged Bolivian Andes, the second highest mountain range on Earth--a region rocked by earthquakes and violent volcanic eruptions. The author's account is both travelogue and detective story, describing how he and his colleagues have pursued a trail of clues in the mountains, hidden beneath the rocky landscape. Here, the local silver miners strive to appease the spirit they call Tio-the devil in the mountain.
Traveling through Bolivia's back roads, the team has to cope with the extremes of the environment, and survive in a country on the verge of civil war. But the backdrop to all these adventures is the bigger story of the Earth and how geologists have gone about uncovering its secrets. We follow the tracks of the dinosaurs, who never saw the Andes but left their mark on the shores of a vast inland sea that covered this part of South America more than sixty-five million years ago, long before the mountains existed. And we learn how to find long lost rivers that once flowed through the landscape, how continents are twisted and torn apart, and where volcanoes come from.
By the end of their journey, Lamb and his team turn up extraordinary evidence pointing not only to the fundamental instability of the Earth's surface, but also to unexpected and profound links in the workings of our planet.
Lamb and a small team of geologists have spent much of the last decade exploring the rugged Bolivian Andes, the second highest mountain range on Earth--a region rocked by earthquakes and violent volcanic eruptions. The author's account is both travelogue and detective story, describing how he and his colleagues have pursued a trail of clues in the mountains, hidden beneath the rocky landscape. Here, the local silver miners strive to appease the spirit they call Tio-the devil in the mountain.
Traveling through Bolivia's back roads, the team has to cope with the extremes of the environment, and survive in a country on the verge of civil war. But the backdrop to all these adventures is the bigger story of the Earth and how geologists have gone about uncovering its secrets. We follow the tracks of the dinosaurs, who never saw the Andes but left their mark on the shores of a vast inland sea that covered this part of South America more than sixty-five million years ago, long before the mountains existed. And we learn how to find long lost rivers that once flowed through the landscape, how continents are twisted and torn apart, and where volcanoes come from.
By the end of their journey, Lamb and his team turn up extraordinary evidence pointing not only to the fundamental instability of the Earth's surface, but also to unexpected and profound links in the workings of our planet.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 26, 2024
Probably the first book on plate tectonics for a general audience in the 21st c. Lamb writes clearly, and for me as a layman, the travel and exploration accounts interested me the most. There's of course piles of geology, but with patience, his findings about how the Western shelf of Latin America is becoming crimped as the Nazca plate of the Pacific slides under the Western Cordillera of the Andes, due to a combination of squeezing in the mantle, and popping as magma solidifies and slowly pushes up to form volcanoes emerge...as well as his forays into the New Zealand Alps, and the Himalayan range and Tibetan plateau. While the scientific details were more than I needed, the narrative rests on solid technical papers, decades of fieldwork, and collaborations with his fellow scholars around the world. Photos are monochrome, but illustrated well. Lovely hand-drawn diagrams help you visualize complicated theories. And as a chocolate fan, his extended fudge layer cake analogy's apt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2019
How I wish I had followed my other childhood interest and became a geologist instead.
At least this book lets me have that experience, vicariously. A fascinating and memorable account of one scientist's life's work and adventures in the Bolivian Andes and Altiplano, starting from his first tenuous impressions, the author puts us in the passenger's seat of his Land Rover trudging up bumpy switchbacks as he climbs the mountain of discovery. We watch the theory develop along with the big picture and share in the success of his endeavors as we reach the summit of hi life's work and look out over the vast panorama that he developed and spy from this vantage point the possibilities of future scientific problems to be surmounted.
There should be more books like this. Equal parts adventure memoir and scientific history, the specificity and intimacy is what separates this book from many other popular science books on geology.
At least this book lets me have that experience, vicariously. A fascinating and memorable account of one scientist's life's work and adventures in the Bolivian Andes and Altiplano, starting from his first tenuous impressions, the author puts us in the passenger's seat of his Land Rover trudging up bumpy switchbacks as he climbs the mountain of discovery. We watch the theory develop along with the big picture and share in the success of his endeavors as we reach the summit of hi life's work and look out over the vast panorama that he developed and spy from this vantage point the possibilities of future scientific problems to be surmounted.
There should be more books like this. Equal parts adventure memoir and scientific history, the specificity and intimacy is what separates this book from many other popular science books on geology.
August 8, 2019
A detailed and very accessible explanation of plate tectonics with a focus on the Andes Mountains. Despite the fact that I was basically aware of nearly everything that Lamb described and the fact that the book contained a large number of diagrams, I still found myself lost a few times. The editor should have done a better job forcing Lamb to improve his descriptions of the geological forces at work (and the outcome of those forces). Lamb is a good scientific writer for general audiences, but not a great one.
October 10, 2020
Well written story of geological fieldwork. What is exceptional about this book is the thought put into it. Maps, diagrams, a glossary, and a good bibliography. Also, the author tells his story and does not try to keep it under 270 pages. Far too many popular science books are being published with little thought as to the length of the text, the use and quality of diagrams and photos, and lacking a bibliography and/or index. This reviewer is tired of spending his hard earned cash on books that expensive and short on content.
January 16, 2020
4,5/5
March 18, 2020
Once in a while when I read a lucidly written book from a scholar in a completely different subject area — one that I have never imagined going into as a career — I often have the thought that if I had read it while in high school I might have chosen this as a career path. Richard Dawkins did that to me with his Selfish Gene. And I HATE biology in school. Dawkins made me realize the subject is not what I hate but the rote exams are.
So when I read a review here by a fellow goodreader expressing similar sentiments about wanting to be a geologist after reading this book, it becomes a must read for me. Unfortunately, the resonance is undetectable. Lamb managed to spread an already complex story (of how Andes were formed) into a lengthy history of the discovery and the memoir of his personal involvement. Even with diligent text underlying and chapter summaries, I still can’t piece together the big picture of the discovery with sufficient confidence — and I actually wanted to know it out of curiously.
That said, Bolivia is on my to-visit list and I find the part about people’s life there to be interesting. For instance, there is a constant tension between the poorer rural communities and the richer towns folks in politics. A common occurrence in daily life is the rural people setting road blocks to show their frustration. As an impatient scientist doing field work, they drove around a road block once and the people setting the block didn’t take this well at all. Little gems like that and other scientific factoids still make this a reasonably good read.
So when I read a review here by a fellow goodreader expressing similar sentiments about wanting to be a geologist after reading this book, it becomes a must read for me. Unfortunately, the resonance is undetectable. Lamb managed to spread an already complex story (of how Andes were formed) into a lengthy history of the discovery and the memoir of his personal involvement. Even with diligent text underlying and chapter summaries, I still can’t piece together the big picture of the discovery with sufficient confidence — and I actually wanted to know it out of curiously.
That said, Bolivia is on my to-visit list and I find the part about people’s life there to be interesting. For instance, there is a constant tension between the poorer rural communities and the richer towns folks in politics. A common occurrence in daily life is the rural people setting road blocks to show their frustration. As an impatient scientist doing field work, they drove around a road block once and the people setting the block didn’t take this well at all. Little gems like that and other scientific factoids still make this a reasonably good read.
December 20, 2014
A fascinating "geological a memoir" summarizing a decades worth of fieldwork and research in the Andes. this is a story that is even more complicated than we thought it was a mere 20 years ago, and he does a good job of explaining this conclusions and how he reach them. It also is a interesting description of the realities of fieldwork in a very harsh environment.
A bit dry and spots, but worth reading if you like this kind of stuff.
A bit dry and spots, but worth reading if you like this kind of stuff.
June 2, 2010
Makes me want to be a geologist in my next life.
August 28, 2010
This is a fascinating book not only if you have an interest in geology but also if you're curious about how a scientist actually works.
March 10, 2011
Interesting take on Bolivia and the origin of the Andes. Part story part documentary.
April 4, 2012
Difficult but engaging read of the formation of the Andes (and mountains in general), and how mountains affect the climate.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews