Mount Vesuvius has been famous ever since its eruption in 79 CE, when it destroyed and buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. But less well-known is the role it played in the science and
An updated title created in cooperation with the Smithsonian's Air & Space and Natural History museum explains, in simple terms, the characteristics of volcanoes and describes some famous eruption
Marvel at the intricate mosaics, splendid treasures, and ingenious inventions of Ancient Rome and learn the stories they tell about one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known.Step back in time 2,000 years to visit the powerful Roman Empire. Every page reveals a fabulous treasure and its unique storyfrom gladiator battles with lions; chariot races for vast cheering crowds; and mock naval ship battles in flooded auditoriums, to mythical tales of magic and monsters; gods and goddesses for every occasion; and wondrous feasts in fantastical gardens. Learn about Ancient Rome's fast-food joints, the original multi-tool pocketknife, and how some escaped Pompeii's legendary volcanic eruption. DOZENS OF ARTIFACTS: Learn about 36 iconic objects, from a gladiator's sword to the original multi-tool pocketknife. BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED: Vibrant, detailed images of the art, objects, people, and icons of Ancient Rome. FASCINATING FACTS: Includes hundreds of amazing facts about Ancient
Sir William Gell (1777–1836) was a British archaeologist well known for his drawings of sites and objects of classical interest. Gell published this new, two-volume edition of his Pompeiana in 1832, in an effort to describe the latest archaeological discoveries in the Roman city destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Concerned 'that time will incalculably diminish the freshness of those objects … stripped of their external coats by the rains of winter or the burning suns of summer', he made it his task to describe what he had seen both through description and through his own numerous illustrations. In this second volume, Gell focuses on two Pompeiian homes and provides a commentary on the illustrative plates interspersed throughout the book. Pompeiana reveals both the history of the excavations, the individual finds, and the processes of field archaeology itself during a more romantic age.
Sir William Gell (1777–1836) was a British archaeologist well known for his drawings of sites and objects of classical interest. Gell published this new, two-volume edition of his Pompeiana in 1832, in an effort to describe the latest archaeological discoveries in the Roman city destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Concerned 'that time will incalculably diminish the freshness of those objects … stripped of their external coats by the rains of winter or the burning suns of summer', he made it his task to describe what he had seen both through description and through his own numerous illustrations. In this first volume, Gell focuses on sites including the forum, baths, and the temple of Fortune. Pompeiana reveals both the history of the excavations, the individual finds, and the processes of field archaeology itself during a more romantic age.
Beginning in Cologne at the outbreak of war in 1914 and the eruption of Dada, it describes the birth and heyday of Surrealism in Paris in the 1920s and ends with its demise in New York in the 1940s. T
2040-2045: In the years after the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all
Between the American Civil War and the outbreak of world War I, global history was transformed by two events: the United States's rise to the status of a great world power (indeed, the world's greatest economic power) and the eruption of nineteenth- and twentieth-century revolutions in Mexico, China, Russia, Cuba, the Philippines, Hawaii, Panama, Nicaragua, and elsewhere. The American Search for Opportunity traces the U.S. foreign policy between 1865 and 1913, linking these two historic trends by noting how the United States - usually thought of as antirevolutionary and embarked on a 'search for order' during this era - actually was a determinative force in helping to trigger these revolutions. Walter LaFeber argues that industrialization fuelled centralisation: Post-Civil War America remained a vast, unwieldy country of isolated, parochial communities, but the federal government and a new corporate capitalism now had the power to invade these areas and integrate them into an industria
Looks at the earth's eruptions and explosions. This title explains what volcanoes are, how they form, and what happens during an eruption. It also introduces the different types of volcano and famous
A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland's inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island is enshrouded in legend. Fishermen tell tales of seductive witches who steal men's hearts
Pompeii is one of the great legends of the modern world. The name immediately brings to mind the day in 79 AD when the eruption of Vesuvius put an end to the city's life. Tragic skeletons and casts of
This Italian work, published in Naples in 1897, provides a comprehensive bibliography of works, published in Europe and the United States prior to the twentieth century, on the subject of Mount Vesuvius. Federigo Furchheim (b. 1844) begins with the famous eruption of 1631, on the ground that ancient accounts are sufficiently well known, and that reports and descriptions before the seventeenth century are not reliable. The bibliography is wide-ranging and includes works on other volcanos (such as Santorini), earthquakes and mineralogy. Nor is it confined to factual observations: travel writing, poetry, and even fiction, including Bulwer Lytton's The Last Days of Pompeii, appear alongside scientists such as Sir Humphry Davy and enthusiastic amateurs such as Sir William Hamilton. The book includes a chronological listing of published maps and illustrations, and an appendix, arranged chronologically and by topic, that briefly lists ancient and medieval accounts as well as more modern publi
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was a naturalist, explorer and philanthropist now well known for his multidisciplinary approach to science. First published in English in 1873, this two-volume biography was translated from the German edition of 1872, edited by Karl Bruhns, which had been compiled in commemoration of the centenary of Humboldt's birth. Incorporating numerous extracts of Humboldt's own warmly written letters and anecdotes from his many acquaintances, it charts his travels in South America, Asia and Europe. Volume 1 covers his early exploratory trips and some of his lesser-known exploits, including becoming Superintendent of Mines in Northern Bavaria, his research on the sixteenth-century eruption of Nevado del Altar in Ecuador and his friendship with the young Prince William of Prussia. Of interest to students and researchers in the history of science, this is a minutely detailed and compelling insight into the life of the man behind the scientist.
Containing individual masterpieces by Botticelli, da Vinci, Michelangelo and Titian, the extensive collection of Italian drawings at the Fitzwilliam Museum ranges from the work of Pisanello in the early fifteenth century to Sandro Chia in the twentieth. This catalogue provides access to the eclectic collection in its entirety, featuring over 800 entries and 1400 colour illustrations. Spanish masterpieces by Ribera and Goya are also included. The collection was largely acquired in the twentieth century, mainly by the gift and benefaction of private individuals, and the introduction details the historical development of the collection. Special features include a sketch-book drawn in and around Paris in 1640 by Stefano della Bella and eighteenth-century Venetian drawings by the Tiepolo family. Later sketch-books of Italian costumes and an album of views in and around Naples at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1822 bear witness to the development of tourism in Italy.
Mount Etna in Sicily is one of a small number of active volcanoes in the Mediterranean area, where written history survives from more than two millennia: its eruptions are therefore among the best documented in the world. This account of the eruption of 1819 was written by the chemist and vulcanologist Carmelo Maravigna, a professor at the University of Catania, who was commissioned by his colleagues to make scientific observations of the phenomena and to publish them in a clear and methodical format. Maravigna's book opens with the diary of his own observations from 27 May to 5 August 1819; it then describes the physical consequences of the eruption, including the spread and depth of lava flows, and discusses various theories of volcanic activity. The sixth chapter analyses the mineral deposits in the lava, and the last describes the volcano returned to its dormant state.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was a naturalist, explorer and philanthropist now well known for his multidisciplinary approach to science. First published in English in 1873, this two-volume biography was translated from the German edition of 1872, edited by Karl Bruhns, which had been compiled in commemoration of the centenary of Humboldt's birth. Incorporating numerous extracts of Humboldt's own warmly written letters and anecdotes from his many acquaintances, it charts his travels in South America, Asia and Europe. Volume 1 covers his early exploratory trips and some of his lesser known exploits, including becoming Superintendent of Mines in Northern Bavaria and his research on the sixteenth-century eruption of Nevado del Altar in Ecuador. Volume 2 covers his later life, exploring an impecunious period in Paris at the École Polytechnique, where he shared rooms with the French chemist Gay-Lussac, and his later association with Frederick William IV of Prussia.
While a student, George Poulett Scrope (1797–1876) visited Vesuvius and Etna and developed a passionate enthusiasm for volcanos. He did pioneering fieldwork in France in 1821, witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius in 1822, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1826. Scrope became increasingly involved in economics and politics, but later in his career published revised versions of two pioneering books on volcanism he had originally published in the 1820s. Volcanos (1862), reissued here, was based on his Considerations on Volcanos (1825, also reissued in this series) and dedicated to his life-long friend and colleague Charles Lyell. This influential work on volcanic phenomena includes a substantial catalogue of 'all known volcanos and volcanic formations' as well as a dramatic illustration of Vesuvius. It was translated into French and German, went into a second English edition in 1872, and was one of the foundational texts of volcanology.
2045-2059. After the cataclysmic upheavals of Step Day and the Yellowstone eruption humanity is spreading further into the Long Earth, and society, on a battered Datum Earth and beyond, continues to e
Sir William Gell (1777–1836) was a British archaeologist known for his drawings of sites and objects of classical interest. Noting that from the beginning of the excavations at Pompeii in 1748 'to the present day, no [substantial] work has appeared in the English language upon the subject of its domestic antiquities', together with architect and fellow countryman John P. Gandy he first published Pompeiana to help detail important findings that had been made by the excavators in the first two decades of the nineteenth century. To this end they provide historical discussion, analysis, and over 75 plates illustrating various points of archaeological interest including, as their subtitle notes, 'the topography, edifices, and ornaments of Pompeii'. Pompeiana is an important work that helped open the excavations to English readers and created further awareness of the treasures of the doomed city, destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
The geologist and explorer Angelo Heilprin (1853–1907) was one of the first scientists to climb the erupting volcano Mont Pelée in 1902. This study, published the following year, records his on-the-spot observations and the scientific data he collected. The erupting volcano tragically destroyed the city of St Pierre, transforming the tropical paradise of Martinique into disastrous chaos. Heilprin's account includes close-range photographs of the erupting volcano taken by the author himself, illustrating the various phases of its activity. These famous photographs are still widely used today. Heilprin pays tribute to the people of the island, describing the courteous assistance he received during his visits. He compares the Pelée eruptions with Mount Vesuvius and its effects on Pompeii, providing important historical context. The book is recognised as being the most thorough study of the eruption sequence and its consequences - one of the greatest natural disasters of the twentieth cent
