Review: A sleeping volcano awakes and terrorizes the region
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2014
This book reads rapidly, and overall, it is an interesting account of the challenges of living close to an active volcano that moves into an eruptive cycle.  It is both a scientific study of the reaction of a local population confronted with multiple eruptions and the successive evacuations that take place, and a tale of how life goes on.Benzin and Tanjung ultimately evacuated from their home for a time, shuttling goods down to a temporary location as possible, but later decided to return to their more comfortable residence, even though it was in an evacuation zone.Merapi spews clouds of ash and gas that both bury and burn their surroundings.  Many of the locals lost livestock to the eruptions, unable to evacuate them in the early days.  Some cattle survived with burns, others only got blisters.  It was all subject to the location of the animals at the time of the eruptions.  The economic impact of the volcano was probably more severe in the long run than the environmental impact, but there were human deaths associated with the eruptions.There are many black and white pictures included with the text, adding to the depth of the story, but they don't look very impressive on a small kindle.  They will probably register better on a Fire or on a PC.I have read similar books on first-hand experiences with volcanic eruptions that were more interesting overall.  This one has its place as a chronicle of a series of eruptive events as it affected one couple and their friends, plus the locals in the area.