Recommended Reading

Ron here. Since Tom & Amy are going to be sailing Indonesian waters for a while, I thought that I would take a minute to recommend an excellent book about the area.

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
By Simon Winchester

The book is about the eruption of Krakatoa on 27-August-1883. This explosive is among the most violent volcanic events in modern times, about 13,000 times the yield of the atomic bomb which devastated Hiroshima, Japan. Concussive air waves from the explosions traveled seven times around the world, and were detectable for five days. The sky was darkened for days afterwards. Sea waves caused by the eruption were recorded as far away as the English Channel. The explosion is considered to be among the loudest noises ever heard by humans. It was heard 2000 miles away here in Perth, Western Australia.

The reason I recommend the book is because it goes into much more than just the volcano. It examines the impact of the volcano in terms of its political, religious, geographic, and natural impact. It will give you a sense of history of the area during a time of European colonialism into the SE Asian states of today.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ron