Description

*As heard on DESERT ISLAND DISCS*

CHOSEN AS ONE OF WATERSTONES’ BEST BOOKS OF 2023

‘If Michael Palin had been a volcanologist, this is the book he would have written… A darn good read.’
LITERARY REVIEW

‘What the French adventurer Jacques Cousteau was to the hidden world under our seas, Oppenheimer is to the hidden, molten world bubbling under our feet.’
SUNDAY TIMES

‘A book that will make all readers want to become volcanologists.’
PETER FRANKOPAN

‘Gripping … like a thriller … Oppenheimer is better than good. This is terrific.’
SPECTATOR

‘Beautiful. Mountains of Fire is bursting with poetry, with storytelling. ‘
WERNER HERZOG
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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.

Publisher Review

Breathtaking. Weaving together geology, history, culture with dramatic personal adventure, Clive Oppenheimer takes us deep into the beating heart of our planet. -- ANIL SETH, author of Being You A fantastic account of the power and importance of volcanoes to history. Clive Oppenheimer takes us on a wonderful tour of some of the world's best and least known volcanoes in a book that will make all readers want to become volcanologists. -- PETER FRANKOPAN Beautiful. Mountains of Fire is bursting with poetry, with storytelling. Clive is one of the rarest of men driven by nomadism, courage, and curiosity. What he studies, volcanic eruptions, are in the rank of things that are mighty, grave, and great. Like a magma eruption, his wonderful prose even spills over into footnotes at the end. Normally, such notes are tucked away, because they are boring and pedantic, but here they are as readable and exciting as the book itself. -- WERNER HERZOG Thrilling! An explosive account of the inner lives of volcanoes, and how they have touched our lives through history. Adventurous, gripping science writing at its very best. -- LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Origins I absolutely loved this book - it's so full of passion, wonderment, philosophy, anthropology and most of all volcanoes! It ignited my mind and delighted my imagination. I loved the deep and poignant connections between history, meaning and people, but it's Clive Oppenheimer's dazzling charisma and thrilling experiences that infuse this book with an energy befitting our planet's most powerful force. -- SARA DOSA, director of the Academy Award-nominated film Fire of Love An engrossing, richly detailed journey into the mysterious world of volcanos and volcano enthusiasts. Clive Oppenheimer's passion for his subject begins in the realm of science and ends with the human soul. -- HELEN GORDON, author of Notes from Deep Time Witty, precise, evocative. Clive Oppenheimer is a beautiful writer and spectacular scholar. He guides us safely through the smelly, noisy blast furnaces of volcanic craters and lava flows. Mountains of Fire tells the story of a volcano doctor who measures the temperature and chemical compounds in volcanic 'breath' while recounting the history, adventures, and spirituality surrounding these wonders of the world. -- Terry Plank, Professor of Earth Science, Columbia University A global tour of some of the world's most fascinating volcanoes ... From North Korea to Antarctica to the Caribbean, he brings the reader along with extraordinary access onto the very flanks of volcanoes. Oppenheimer's deep knowledge of these mountains of fire, combined with his eye for detail and his deep respect for those living alongside volcanoes, yields a thoroughly delightful and accessible exploration of these geological wonders. -- Alexandra Witze, author of ISLAND ON FIRE