Dr. Rosaly Lopes is a Principal Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Lead Scientist for Geophysics and Planetary Geosciences. In 2006 she was honoured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the discoverer of the most active volcanoes anywhere and is author of The Volcano Adventure Guide (2005).

“We begin with a ‘volcanoes for dummies, very elementary introduction to the subject. It is part of a series of ‘beginners guides’ to just about everything. The author, Rosaly Lopes, is able to make the complicated clear without talking down to her readers. Her professional papers are equally clear. Anyone from the age of 12 on up, who is curious about volcanoes from the [under]groud on up, will find here a plain language guide to a fascinating area of science. From the first chapter: “What are Volcanoes”, to the last: “Exotic Volcanoes of the Outer Solar System, followed by a look at current research techniques. It will make a good gift for a curious teen, a general science teacher, or writer of disaster novels/movies – it will definitely be appreciated.”