For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists and ordinary people listened anxiously to rumblings in the long quiescent volcano Mount St. Helens. Still, when a massive explosion took the top off the mountain, no one was prepared. Fifty-seven people died and the lives of many others were changed forever.

Steve Olson interweaves history, science and vivid personal stories to portray the disaster as a multi-faceted turning point. Powerful economic, political and historical forces influenced who died when the volcano erupted. The eruption of Mount St. Helens transformed volcanic science, the study of environmental resilience and our perceptions of how to survive on an increasingly dangerous planet.

About the Author
Steve Olson is the author of Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens (winner of a Washington State Book Award), Mapping Human History (a finalist for the National Book Award), and other books. He has written for the Atlantic, Science, Smithsonian, and more. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews
"With 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, this is an urgent reminder of the need for advances in the field." -- Nature
"... Olson is a gifted science communicator..." -- Physics World
"Steve Olson not only tells their personal stories, but also turns the tension between the science and the cultural assumptions at play on that day into a drama that reads like a tragic thriller." -- Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature 2016 Shortlist - UKClimbing.com
"In Mr. Olson's telling, [the survivors'] stories read like urgent fiction... These vignettes lend a human face to an event that has become associated largely with geology." -- The Wall Street Journal


Awards
Winner of Washington State Book Award 2017.



Book Information
ISBN 9780393353587
Author Steve Olson
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 264g
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 140mm * 20mm