Supervolcano | 
| Author: Supe John Savino
Publisher: Career Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 212184
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.7
ISBN: 1564149536
Dewey Decimal Number: 551.21
EAN: 9781564149534
ASIN: 1564149536
Publication Date: October 9, 2008
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Product Description
Approximately 75,000 years ago, an event occurred that almost wiped out human life. According to a stunning new theory, this singular event may also have completely altered the genetic evolution of humankind. It was an event that released 3,000 times the energy of Mt. St. Helens.
The new book, Supervolcano, explores this eruption of the Toba supervolcano in Sumatra, Indonesia, its far-reaching impact, and the strong possibility of another supervolcano eruption in our lifetime.
Supervolcanoes are considered one of the five biggest threats to humankind, along with asteroids, nuclear war, disease, and global warming. But of those, supervolcanoes are the only threat that cannot be prevented.
And their effects are catastrophic. So devastating was the Toba eruption and the sheer amount of ash it released into the atmosphere, it altered the global climate for years, creating a mini Ice Age that obliterated massive amounts of plant, animal, and human life. A new theory claims this earth-shattering event also caused a severe "population bottleneck" in humans, leading to the eventual extinction of all other branches of our species with the exception of one...the branch that survived Toba and became modern humans.
Supervolcano will explore:
-What supervolcanos are, where they are found, and why they are so deadly to life on earth.
-Toba, the largest of the known supervolcanoes in the past 27 million years, and how its catastrophic environmental aftermath brought humanity to the brink of extinction.
-How genetic, geological, and computer studies show that each human today is related to a survivor of Toba.
-How we can prepare for the next supervolcano, which many earth scientists believe could be right here in our own backyard--Yellowstone National Park. And why they believe an eruption at Yellowstone could be as catastrophic for humanity as Toba.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Intersting December 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When I saw this book advertised here on Amazon, it seemed like the kind of book I enjoy reading, so I ordered a copy. At first glance, this book seems a little lightweight. It is full of pictures, diagrams and scary-looking fonts of the type that tend to fill the pages of speculative books. In addition, although the author is a geophysicist with a Ph.D. he seems to refer to more articles in popular publications such as USA Today and Readers' Digest and abstracts of papers than you would expect of an expert in the field. These limitations aside, the book is actually an interesting read and seems to reflect pretty solid science in most cases. It includes an interesting history of volcanoes and supervolcanoes and the impacts they have had as well as special coverage of the main topic of the book, the Toba supervolcano that created an evolutionary bottleneck about 70,000 years ago. There are interesting references to some of the latest discoveries and developments in a number of fields and fairly even-handed coverage of topics that are still somewhat controversial such as the cause of prior mass extinctions and the so-called KT impact event. There is only one chapter that is very strange. In chapter 8, the author delves into the highly speculative idea of cellular memory, or the suggestion that memories of traumatic events can be stored at the cellular level outside of the brain and thus be passed on. Beside the fact that this is a very controversial area of inquiry, he fails to adequately explain why he even brings up the topic. In addition to the physical effects of a supervolcanic eruption, the author seems to be highly interested in the psychological effects. The book ends with a fictional scenario for an eruption of the Long Valley Caldera after a large earthquake in southern California, and a discussion of what preparations can and should be made in anticipation of any volcanic eruption. Overall, the threat of a supervolcano eruption seems very small, and in that sense, the book seems to be tapping into currently popular doomsday scenarios. However, the parts of the book that deal with basic background information and the historical precedents are interesting and fairly well-written. They are compact and easy to read.
"Supervolcano" August 13, 2008
Absolutely fascinating book. Could have been edited more closely - some sentences and paragraphs were not clearly written and caused "hiccups" in the reading. Not enough information on the "Supervolcano Toba" and its effects on human population, but really good book, anyway.
 A great plot, but clumsily written July 7, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book has a very interesting story to tell - and it almost does.
Unfortunately it is lined with boring repetitions - usually of the same punchlines, which was already written on the back of the cover. The chapters and devision of subjects is relevant and well-chosen, but many of the chapters themselves are messy and lack a stringent train of thought. Sometimes the explanations of study methods or other phenomena are simply so obscure that I don't even think the authours got the point.
I love all the references to sources of information throughout the text, but it also makes the text less fluent and sometimes hard to follow.
Lastly the ending was way to American (which is NOT a compliment!). Someone should definitely tell the authour of the last three chapters that America is neither the ruler nor the center of the Earth.
So, what did I get from reading this book: Some fascinating ideas and some references for further study, but a really confusing reading experience.
A very interesting book about a remote, but dangerous threat. March 28, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is the first well-researched, well-written volume I have seen on supervolcanoes, i.e., resurgent ash-flow calderas. These monsters do not make conical mountains, but scatter ash and other pyroclastic debris over thousand of square kilometers, change climate and incoming solar radiation, and can wipe out species and civilizations in an instant.
The present book discusses these phenomena as well as recent large scale eruptions in the near past, such as Thera, Crater Lake, and Tambora, for purposes of comparison. This is necessary, inasmuch as record-keeping people have been fortunate enough never to experience a true supereruption. It does appear that mankind was nearly driven to extinction by the Toba supervolcanic eruption in 74,000 B.P., however, and much of the book is laudably devoted to an excellent collection of information on this event, and what its repetition, either at Toba or elsewhere, would portend for our civilization. The news is far from encouraging.
My only complaint about the book is the poor reproduction of the black and white photographs. Much important detail that would have greatly aided the written presentation is just simply missing or greatly disotrted. There are no color photographs.
However, the written presentation is superb. The book is filled with interesting details that follow well as a unit. Especially apt is the notation that the largest ash flow caldera known, La Garita, is located in Colorado. FORTUNATELY, that one is extinct.
The book closes worth a narrative of a hypothetical supereruption of Californi's active Long Valley Caldera in 2015, which largely destroys the Southwest and ruins agriculture in the Great Plains.
The supereruption is comparively small on the scale of such things, but still wipes out the U.S. as a global power.
As the authors correctly observe, the odds of a supervolcano erupting in any given year, or even in our lifetime are quite small, so it doesn't pay to stay up worrying about them doing so. Since such a happening COULD occur, and could not be stopped or modified, such places as Yellowstone, Long Valley, Valles in New Mexio, and Taupo in New zealand should be zealously monitored to minimize effects where possible.
Any volcano buff should definitely get this book and put in a distinct place in his or her library. Highly recommended.
 my favorite earth-science book! January 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was fascinated with earth science ever since my first encounter with it, especially when I had a class in it before HIgh School.
This is a great book! Chock full of fun information as well as necessary info (without being alarmist).
I really enjoyed reading it, and so I highly recommend it.
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