Rating: 
Summary: Completely Captivating . . . You Won't Want To Turn It Off!
Review: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________I say you won't want to "turn it off" because I bought the CD version. Normally I prefer an actual book I can set down and get comfortable with, but these days I'm doing a lot of driving and, not wanting to get in a wreck while reading, I chose this option. I can honestly say, however, that even if you have time for a more traditional "read" you should strongly consider the CD version of this book - especially if you haven't done audio before. The reason is quite simply Simon Winchester's delightful and hypnotic very British accent! It adds a completely different dimension to his book. The 10 CDs are unabridged so you're not getting a whittled down version, the listening time is twelve hours. From the onset Mr. Winchester shows his talent for digging up even the minutest of details on this largest of geologic events in comparatively recent recorded history. Some of the reviews here have taken exception to this "habit" of his, saying that he looses focus and strays too much from the subject at hand. I very much take issue with this. I have found his to be a typically "British" teaching method, one which "some" Americans might view as too meandering, wandering and redundant. Not so! All of these wonderful points of interest are like taking us on so many exhilirating fieldtrips, all related and leading up to Krakatoa, and all interwoven into the fabric of this cataclysmic adventure/tragedy. They include such stops along the way as the history and prehistory of the Krakatoa region, including past eruptions; historical developments in the science of plate tectonics; Wallace's biogeographical line which bisects Indonesia; the development and adaptation of species, which have been brought about, in part, by geological processes over time; the Earth's polar/magnetic changes; volcanically active regions of the earth and the types of volcanism and how they differ; national/economic/cultural/religious differences among the peoples that lived around Krakatoa and how they played a part in the "event" and its aftermath (and how they are playing a similar global part in today's world); Winchester's own personal geologic excursions to other parts of the world (this man is an Oxford geologist) and his and his colleague's findings that are related to Krakatoa; historical news footage, weather reports, tidal measurements, sound and shock wave patterns; projected and likely future geologic activity for the region; etc. - all richly stirred into a superbly flavored narrative. It sounds like so much, and it is, but Mr. Winchester has a gifted way of making it all interesting and tying it in to the subject of his book: Krakatoa. If you like a good mystery and have a keen interest in science, look no further. I highly recommend this intriguing book, and once again, get the CD version!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I had heard a lot about Mr. Winchester's books so Krakatoa was quite anticipated. I was interested in reading pages and pages of information detailing the size of the eruption, the amount of magma, ash, the depth and size of the magma chamber below, and if there is any link to Krakatoa and the mysterious "supervolcanoes" that are now being discovered. Instead, I got a history lesson. Now if someone asks me about Krakatoa, I'll be able to tell them that Dutch colonists were not very well liked by the natives, that they spent the majority of their time indoors drinking genever and smoking cigars, that they generally were morbidly self-righteous and Krakatoa seemed to have given them a well-placed boot to the backside. Winchester could have cut a lot from this. For instance, at the height of his chronicle of the eruption, one of the men discovers that a telegraph cable has been cut by a schooner tossing about in the harbor. Instead of simply telling us what happens next, Mr. Winchester goes into a three-page dissertation on what was used to make the telegraph cable and why it broke. He could have used those pages for a more detailed description of what's left of Krakatoa, in particular a lot more detail of the design left on the blasted half of Rakata. It must be fascinating to see a perfect cross-section of a volcano -- Winchester denies us this when he sums up the description in two or three sentences. Also the maps are poor and difficult to read. I found myself constantly taking out my old World Atlas to see where Batatia and Melak were. A good effort (the plate tectonics information was particularly engrossing) but he could have cut at least 50 pages (if not more) of the political backstory.
Rating:
Summary: A volcano is explosive but Winchester's prose is NOT
Review: I really enjoy history-of-science non-fiction so I had high hopes for "Krakatoa." But Simon Winchester's tendency to go on (and on and on) without coming to the point made a story that should have been thrilling much less so. The story of the explosion itself takes up maybe 40 pages in the middle of the book. First we have to hear about the history of European exploration to Java. Then we do a little geology. No wait, then some more history. THEN the explosion. Then some outrageous claims about the impact of the explosion on modern culture. (Winchester earnestly believes that Krakatoa prefigures Marshall McLuhan. I'm not joking.) Then some more geology, this time featuring Winchester's own visit to the remains of the island. Winchester never met a detail he didn't like, even if it isn't relevant to his narrative. So, we hear not only about the Dutch East India Company, but also its contemporary the Hudson Bay company, which we learn 1) explored North America, 2) was indirectly the founder of a major department store chain in Canada, and 3) rather a lot about the eccentricities of the current owner of that chain. Footnotes abound, but not the kind that document the source of any of Winchester's claims, the kind where the information provided has nothing to do with the main story. However, you will find this book reasonably worthwhile if you can train yourself to think of Winchester as the barmy old uncle by the fire, spinning a yarn or two or ten. You put up with him because his details are entertaining. If you don't have all night to listen to Uncle Simon though, you'd better go elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Your Average Volcano Story
Review: This is an enthralling account not just of an infamous natural disaster, but of the fabric of human culture and technology at the time. Winchester takes great effort to historically prepare the reader for the actual event, which allows a genuine insight into how distant events can affect the entire planet. In particular he focuses on the development of telegraphy, and of the international web telegraphy had formed by 1883, which allowed, for the first time, the quick dissemination of information about such a hugely catastrohic event. The roots of the Reuters news agency are notably fascinating.
My only complaints, both minor, are that the book went a bit long, and that Winchester loves to use obscure words. For someone like me, who loves words and their origins, this is actually a bonus. But for those who don't like to read with a dictionary at hand this is a legitimate drawback.
Rating: 
Summary: Winchester: As a writer, this bloke's a fine geologist
Review: Repetitious and full of digression, this book concentrates on substituting personal stories and the author's deep knowledge of geology for a general history. Some of it is interesting, but it takes 150 pages to actually get to the eruption and the times directly leading up to it. Too much unnecessary background, and too much about Simon's personal life. Discerning readers would be better off reading something else besides this. The guy can't decide whether he's writing for fellow geologists (a party crowd, no doubt), a personal travelog (at these points, his vivid description and interesting anecdotes are as scintillating as Aunt Patsie's Branson Missouri slides)or a serviceable history suitable to the casual reader. He does all of these (even fairly well at times), but the whole is incoherent and a mind-numbing slog. I can't wait to avoid any further literary work on his part.
Rating:
Summary: A Really Big Eruption
Review: Simon Winchester is probably best known for the two books he has written on the OED, The Professor and the Madman and The Meaning of Everything; however, he has also delved into the territory of the physical sciences on a couple of occasions. I very much enjoyed his book on the birth of modern geology, The Map that Changed the World. Equally excellent is this book on the eruption of Krakatoa. Subtitled "The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1888," this book tells the story of one of the most violent volcanic eruptions in recorded history. This devastating eruption killed nearly 40,000 people and its effects were recorded worldwide. Not only were its seismic effects felt around the world but also its effects on air pressure were recorded by barometers everywhere in the immediate aftermath of the explosion with tidal effects measured nearly half-way around the world. In the long term, dust thrown up into the atmosphere altered climate and caused the dramatic atmospheric effects (particularly noticeable around sunset) noticed by artists and scientists for years afterward. The excellence of this book does not lie entirely in its description of the eruption and its aftermath, however. In fact, the eruption doesn't occur until 209 pages in. Winchester's excellence comes in his ability to provide interesting context for the tale he is telling. Along the way to the eruption we learn of the colonial pursuits of Western powers in Indonesia, the beginnings of the "global village" in the expansion of telegraph usage, the development of the theory of plate tectonics to explain volcanism and much, much more. Less compelling, though interesting, is his use of the eruption of Krakatoa as a leaping off point for a discussion of the rise of radical Islam in Indonesia late in the book. He does make some valid points but they felt a little out of place here. Or maybe I'm just tired of the recent trend towards everyone trying to make sense of senseless fundamentalism. His science and history, on the other hand, are first rate. And his closing chapter on the new volcanic island rising over the ashes of Krakatoa is fascinating. This is an excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Krakatoa Effect
Review: As the author so often reminds us, the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa has entered the "world's collective consciousness" in a way no other eruption has been able to match. Mr. Winchester offers the story in an amalgamation of the history of the Dutch empire, plate tectonics, evolution, Islamic religious fundamentalism, the newly developed technologies of the telegraph and undersea cables, eyewitness reports and official government records. The success of the book is his ability to tie all of these various factions into a coherent and seemingly related whole. Occasionally, the course of the book seems to drift. Mr. Winchester acts as if he wants to replace the butterfly effect with the Krakatoa effect. From the relative amounts of energy, the volcano certainly has a more immediately observable impact. While "Krakatoa" is persuasive in its arguments, and admittedly does not emphatically assert its conclusions, some of them seem a bit of a stretch (e.g. rebellion against Dutch colonialism as a result of the eruption?). All in all, an informative book about more than just an infamous volcano. It is a great read especially when dealing with the human response to the eruption and its aftermath.
Rating:
Summary: dense, doesn't live up to the hype
Review: This seemed to have too much in it to keep my interest. I got bored in the nitty-gritty of his many side-trips. The history of Indonesia was good, as were some of the more dramatic descriptions of the erruption. Volcano Cowboys did a more interesting job with the effects of volcanos, and this seemed too much like a leisurely stroll around some historical/ scientific topics that all somehow related to, or were touched by, Krakatoa. I found it didn't live up to the hype. Winchester's Professor and the Madman, on the other hand, was briefer and better focused.
Rating:
Summary: Often Fascinating, Sometimes Sluggish
Review: Readers who pick up KRAKATOA will find a great, exciting, well-researched story of the volcano that literally ripped apart a body of land, killed thousands, and possibly created fanatical religious and political turmoil. Sound farfetched? It's not. Winchester asks some fascinating questions and also speculates on some extraordinary theories. For instance, did all of Earth's continents originally come from one land mass? Can any area of land that undergoes such a catastrophe as Krakatoa did experience regeneration in just a few months? And can the political turmoil of that part of the world during that time REALLY be "blamed" on the eruption of the volcano? Winchester is a rarity: A scientist who is also a pretty good storyteller. I always appreciate a scientist who can explain any science (geology, in this case) so that the general reader can understand what's going on. Readers who exercise a little patience will find that the science behind Krakatoa's eruption is indeed approachable and interesting. Several critics have accused Winchester of not writing strictly about the volcano and it's eruption. Many believe that much of the book has nothing to do with Krakatoa itself. I disagree. Everything in the book is about Krakatoa. Winchester is obligated to discuss both what brought about the eruption and the consequences of it. Readers who don't want to read about those aspects of the event are like kids who want to hear about July 4, 1776, but don't care anything about the events leading up to the date or its ramifications. I will agree that Winchester does sometimes get a little long-winded and sluggish in relating the details of the story. But, I chalk that up to a writer who is truly enthusiastic about his subject. Why can't all writers act like that?
Rating:
Summary: Gudrun
Review: I am not an avid reader of geology or volcanic activity, but after reading an inteview with Winchester I decided to give his book a try. I was very plesantly surprised. This book is about a whole lot more than disaster and covers the history of Krakatoa in a detailed but enjoyable way. I must reccomend this book because it is both educading and intersting.
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