Tambora

The Eruption That Changed the World

By: Gillen D'Arcy Wood

Narrated by: Tom Pile

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

When Indonesia's Mount Tambora erupted in 1815, it unleashed the most destructive wave of extreme weather the world has witnessed in thousands of years. The volcano's massive sulfate dust cloud enveloped the Earth, cooling temperatures and disrupting major weather systems for more than three years. Amid devastating storms, drought, and floods, communities worldwide endured famine, disease, and civil unrest on a catastrophic scale. On the eve of the bicentenary of the great eruption, Tambora tells the extraordinary story of the weather chaos it wrought, weaving the latest climate science with the social history of this frightening period to offer a cautionary tale about the potential tragic impacts of drastic climate change in our own century.

The year following Tambora's eruption became known as the "Year without a Summer," when weather anomalies in Europe and New England ruined crops, displaced millions, and spawned chaos and disease. Here, for the first time, Gillen D'Arcy Wood traces Tambora's full global and historical reach: How the volcano's three-year climate change regime initiated the first worldwide cholera pandemic, expanded opium markets in China, set the stage for Ireland's Great Famine, and plunged the United States into its first economic depression. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's monster, inspired by Tambora's terrifying storms, embodied the fears and misery of global humanity during this transformative period, the most recent sustained climate crisis the world has faced.

Bringing the history of this planetary emergency grippingly to life, Tambora sheds light on the fragile interdependence of climate and human societies, and the threat a new era of extreme global weather poses to us all.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2014 Princeton University Press (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

It's not what you think

What did you like best about Tambora? What did you like least?

It is interesting to hear about this major volcanic eruption from 200 years ago and its startling affect on world events. The reader however sounds like he is reciting a zip code directory. That's not a bad thing overall because the book talks very little about the actual eruption and subsequent effects in the local area. The book becomes a depressing advertisement for the problems of current global warming.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending comes about in the first two chapters. The rest of the book is a long explanation of all the similar weather events that occurred the 3 years following the eruption. There were some interesting and probable inferences with world health conditions but again very little about the actual eruption and the local area. This is to be expected because it occurred at a time and place with little opportunity to record the event. I was hoping for more information that may have been discovered since the eruption. There was a little in one chapter.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

It seemed to be a very monotone recitation. Perhaps a different narrator with more emotion would have made the book more enjoyable. As it was I had to force myself to continue to listen to it even though I was intellectually curious about the topic.

Did Tambora inspire you to do anything?

Yes, I won't erupt next time I'm in south east Asia.

Any additional comments?

I was hopeful about this book but ended up being a bit disappointed. I would encourage an interested person to listen to the whole preview and decide if you can handle listening to an entire book that sounds the same.

A Mishmash of Science vs Cultural Impact

This book was not what I expected. It does relay the details of the Tambora volcano explosion and aftermath, but it is concerned mostly with a social impact. There are explanations of the science, but far too many side trips that include poetry verses or artistic works of the respective period. Save it for another book. This was difficult to get through and at times boring as hell. There were bright spots. When sticking to the main narrative, it could be interesting, but this book comes as a mishmash, trying to be too many things to too many people. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audiobook. The narrator's voice was far too soft and monotone as to put you to sleep.

very useful information and quite insightful for

very useful information and quite insightful in regards to current climate issues helps one to understand the effects any volcanic eruption can have on the earth for a very long time

Tour de force

I listened to this twice. He covers all aspects of the local and global effects clearly from the geological to famine and disease and to the literary.

Tamboura is hugely important in an era of permanent global climate change. We need to understand the global effects of what we are doing to plan for the future.

Social commentary on eruption's effects

Had this book been marketed more as a social commentary on SOME of the effects of the eruption of Tambora, I would give it a much higher rating. If you wish to listen or read for hours about Mary Shelley and the writing of Frankenstein, this is your book. but there is very little discussion of the actual eruption itself, how it happened, why it happened, even WHERE it happened. Simon Winchester's Krakatoa book is far superior in that respect, dealing with all the facets of the eruption itself. The narrator also seems to whisper the entire time, with very little emotional inflection or variance in tones. I found myself waiting somewhat desperately for the end of the book by the time he started narrating about the Irish famines and effects, but forced myself to finish it. All in all, while I wouldn't recommend this book, nor would I recommend against it. Very neutral.

Tambora

I liked the detail of this massive eruption and it how the writer tied it into how it changed the world since no one had ever taken the time to connect the dots before.
I would recommend to anyone curious about major eruptions in human history and all history buffs in general.
I gave it 4 stars because while I did love it. I want more. Such as I had seen a comparison elsewhere of Krakatoa being like the explosion of 16,000 atomic bombs and the energy released from Tambora was equivalent to 2.2 million atomic bombs.

An unexpected pleasure

Any additional comments?

I didn't really know what to expect from this book. What I discovered was an interesting and engaging story of the global impacts following the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. This book is not just about the actual eruption, which was the largest in recent history, but about the subsequent global weather impacts that was connected to a cholera outbreak, political upheaval, famine. It was the links to things such as literature (for example Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein") that made this book a truly remarkable expose on the existence of global connections even two centuries ago. In short, this book was fascinating and interesting, even if it was unexpected.

Fascinating and learned study

This book discusses the eruption of Tambora and its consequences drawing from a variety of fields: cultural history, literary studies, climate sciences, geology and epidemiology. It is profoundly original and a trully fascinating piece of environmental history and ecocriticism.

Don't bother

Would you try another book from Gillen D'Arcy Wood and/or Tom Pile?

No. The narration was even worse then the book.

What was most disappointing about Gillen D'Arcy Wood’s story?

I was really excited about this book and it's the kind of topic that interests me. What a disappointment. Boring, boring, boring, boring.

What didn’t you like about Tom Pile’s performance?

Slow and flat.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

I rarely write reviews but this book was so bad I felt I needed to warn other Audible listeners. At the very least listen to the sample before purchasing.