An Explosive Read

I just finished reading this book on the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883. Now I'm not sure I'd actually call it an "explosively good read" as that might be a bit over the top--but I did quite enjoy it.

The book covered the European voyages to (and through) the East Indies as well as their eventual colonization. There was also an extensive section about this history of plate tectonics. I appreciated all of these sections along with the main sections that dealt with what preceded and followed the eruption on August 27, 1883.

Here you can see where Krakatoa lies, directly between Sumatra and Java, in the midst of one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. It is marked by the yellow square in the middle of the Sundra Strait.






There are actually four islands today. Two on the sides of the group are thought to be the remnants of an ancient super-Krakatoa (immediately post-Flood I'd think), while the one to the bottom of the group--as viewed in this picture--is the remnant of the mountain that blew itself to bits in 1883. The center spit of land is Anakrakata, or Anak Krakatoa, "Son of Krakatoa." It started to rise above the waters in 1930 and after three false starts really started growing and now is considered a real island.

The author also had some very interesting thoughts about the growth of radical Islam in the Dutch East Indies after the eruption and the similarities to today (for example the bombings in Bali in 2002). Indonesia is the largest populated Muslim nation on earth.

All in all I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who would enjoy such a historically enjoyable trip through time. It was definitely worth the four dollars I paid for it last Friday.


~Matt

-- Posted from my iPhone
(c) 2012 iWolff Ltd.