Eruptions that Shook the World

Clive Oppenheimer is a Reader in Volcanology and Remote Sensing at the University of Cambridge and a Research Associate of 'Le Studium' Institute for Advanced Studies at ISTO (University of Orléans/CNRS). His research focuses on understanding the chemistry and physics of volcanism, and the climatic and human impacts of eruptions in antiquity. He has carried out fieldwork worldwide in collaboration with archaeologists, atmospheric scientists and other geologists. Since 2003, he has studied the lava lake of Erebus volcano with the US Antarctic Program. In 2005 the Royal Geographical Society presented him with the Murchison Award 'for publications enhancing the understanding of volcanic processes and impacts'. Dr Oppenheimer is a co-author with Peter Francis of a leading volcanology textbook and has contributed widely to television and film documentaries on volcanoes, including Werner Herzog's 'Encounters at the End of the World' and most recently, for Discovery, the History Channel, the BBC, Teachers' TV and National Geographic.

'I have to thank God on my knees that Oppenheimer's book did not exist at the time I made my decision to become a filmmaker. I might have become a volcanologist instead.' Werner Herzog, film director and producer

• Preface; 1. Fire and brimstone: how volcanoes work; 2. Eruption styles, hazards and ecosystem impacts; 3. Volcanoes and global climate change; 4. Forensic volcanology; 5. Relics, myths and chronicles; 6. Killer plumes; 7. Human origins; 8. The ash-giant/sulphur-dwarf; 9. European volcanism in prehistory; 10. The rise of Teotihuacán; 11. Dark Ages: dark nature?; 12. The Haze famine; 13. The last great subsistence crisis in the western world; 14. Volcanic catastrophe risk; Appendix A. Volcano trumps: notable eruptions of the past 10,000 years; Appendix B. Further reading; Index.