I got super lucky with this book. It wasn't on any of my to-read lists, I'd heard nothing about it, and I just happened to stumble across it last minute at the library and thought I'd page through it if nothing else. I'm so glad I found it. Having a degree in geology and having focused on volcanology quite a bit, I thought I had a pretty good idea of who the main players were in the history of the science. Imagine my surprise when I found out I'd never heard of someone who played a rather pivota

I got super lucky with this book. It wasn't on any of my to-read lists, I'd heard nothing about it, and I just happened to stumble across it last minute at the library and thought I'd page through it if nothing else. I'm so glad I found it. Having a degree in geology and having focused on volcanology quite a bit, I thought I had a pretty good idea of who the main players were in the history of the science. Imagine my surprise when I found out I'd never heard of someone who played a rather pivotal role in starting the monitoring of these amazing forces of nature. The book describes the life of Thomas Jagger along with all of the people his life or legacy touched. There is science, history, and an element of memoir all wrapped up in one. The book takes you on a tour of the some of the most famous volcanoes in the world while describing what Jagger did at each one. There is a focus on Kileuea and Hawaii since that is where he ended up happiest. This is another book that would be good for many different audiences. It has a little bit of something for everyone. My only issue with the book was the title. I am still not sure how it fits in with the story. I highly recommend this one!