Rising Fire: Volcanoes and Our Inner Lives
In order to get a sense of what life is like in the aura of a volcano, a presence at once magnificent (even divine) and threatening (even malevolent), essayist and nature writer Calderazzo travels to Italy's Mount Etna; Hawaii's Kilauea; Paricutin, Mexico, where in 1943 a volcano suddenly erupted in a cornfield; the small volcano-dominated Caribbean island of Montserrat; and California's Mount Shasta, a magnet for the mystically inclined. A boon companion, Calderazzo writes with a seemingly casual directness that belies the in-depth research, reflection, and distillation involved in his quest. His musings on how volcanoes have shaped humankind's sense of the sacred and his profiles of various volcano fanatics, especially the Mexican artist Gerado Murillo, known as Dr. Alt, mentor to Jose Orozco and Diego Rivera, are just as riveting as his dramatic accounts of volcanic eruptions. From the practice of human sacrifice to appease the gods of the underworld to scientific breakthroughs to the cosmic sense of awe and impermanence volcanoes inspire, all are addressed with acumen and eloquence in Calderazzo's compelling disquisition.Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved