Review: Inspiring and Positive
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2013
You may not think so from the title, but... Volcano! Fire & Death (Living in the Shadow of Java's Mt. Merapi) by Kate Benzin and Rudy Tanjung is a deeply positive book -- a true `affirmation-of-life' to read.An Illinois girl with a yen for exploring the world, Kate Benzin traveled in 1982 to the island of Java for a work project, intending to only stay for three months.  She ended up staying for a lifetime...  to this very day.  That's because Kate found her own "little piece of paradise" in the community of Balong, located at the eastern end of the island of Java.  There Kate made her home, where she also operates her business, along the slopes of a dramatically beautiful, still-active volcano, called Mt. Merapi.  Here, Kate Benzin has created an internet business that flourishes and here her associate/co-author Rudy Tanjung also works as a freelance photographer.Volcano! Fire & Death is the story of the major eruption of Mt. Merapi that occurred in October and November of 2010, putting Kate's self, staff, and home in the path of mortal danger.  Before the deadly episode was over, it had killed more than 300 people, leveled entire villages, and covered a majority of the countryside in volcanic ash.Co-authors Kate and Rudy, residing in the "safe" community of Balong, refused to worry even when Mt. Merapi started rumbling ominously.  The co-authors believed their town was not vulnerable to danger from lava and deadly gases because it had never been threatened in the past; the government had officially declared their neighborhood as part of a "safe zone" that had never been threatened by lava in days of old... and would, in all likelihood, never be threatened by it in the future.However, as minor smoke emitting from the volcano soon turned into major, explosive eruptions -- a so-called 100-year event for this particular volcano -- Kate and Rudy realized that their "safe zone" was anything but safe.  More than 300 people were killed as villages were destroyed by the volcano, and everything for miles around was covered in deep volcanic ash.So how could this be a `positive story,' you may ask yourself?  Well, trust me, it is... due to the way that Rudy and Kate, along with countless neighbors, met this crisis in a positive, directed, and brave manner.  There was little hysteria, strife, contentiousness, or outright evil (i.e. no looting, fights over food, violent confrontations, etc.)  Together, each in his or her own way, Kate and Rudy helped guide and care for many persons, including themselves, who were fleeing from the noise and frightening pyrotechnics of one of the world's most active volcanoes.This story is told in two voices, Kate's and Rudy's, each presenting what they experienced personally.  Rudy provided hands-on help to many individuals throughout this ordeal, however best he could.  He consistently helped out at the temporary camps and performed numerous good deeds on behalf of strangers. Kate helped out in many ways, too, making sure that her staff and her beloved Dalmatian dogs were relocated to safety, fed, and housed.It's an inspiring, flowing read with great photographs.  You get a real sense of Kate's heart and soul as she writes with great love about her adopted Java home.  Especially after hearing such negative accounts of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, and how things can go wrong on so many fronts, how sometimes extreme adversity brings out the worst in people, especially if there is little disaster planning beforehand, it can make you disillusioned about life.  However, at this time and this place on the island of Java, the people AND the government together rose to the challenges with fortitude and courage.  I was exceedingly impressed at how neighbors and officials all helped one another; even the government was highly prepared and efficient.Since our son recently spent a week in Makassar in Indonesia, I looked up the country of Indonesia on Google Earth.  I zeroed in on Balong and Mt. Merapi to see exactly where the famous volcano was located.  And there it was... looking green and deceptively harmless from Google Earth's viewpoint high above the earth.Kate's and Rudy's dual account in Volcano! Fire & Death is truly heartening for us all, inspiring readers to maintain positivity, as much as possible, when facing times of great danger and challenge.