My initial impression on opening The Volcano Adventure Guide was that it could be just the gift for someone you want to ‘bump off’. What could be a more original method of dispatching of an unloved one than to send them a book about planning a trip to an active volcano? However, Rosaly Lopes does clarify the risks of visiting volcanoes along with the essential measures for safe geo-tourism, so this turns out not to be a tome to file alongside the poisoner's handbook on the bookshelf. But Lopes' lively book is more than a travel guide: in her personalized Cook's Tour of the world's volcanoes, she delves into the science of volcanology and reviews some of the most famous eruptions in history and prehistory.
Actually, many millions of people do sightsee on volcanoes each year. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park alone received nearly 1.5 million recreational visitors in 2007. And this is not a new phenomenon: Hawaii opened its doors as a National Park in 1916, and, long before that, Europe's well-heeled dilettante and literati crowd flocked to Naples to admire (besides the magnificent citadels and Bourbon lifestyle) smoking Vesuvius across the bay. So, actually there is real sense in publishing a guidebook dedicated to volcano travellers.
Given the numbers involved in volcano tourism, it is unsurprising that a few are killed in the process now and then. Some of the fatalities result from the stress of hiking up to the summit, thin air at high altitude, and other effects of exertion in mountainous terrain. But there are infrequent incidents in which tourists become victims of volcanic activity: through being caught in unexpected blasts of lava bombs, or poisoned by fumarolic gases, or burnt by scalding mud. There was a close call in 2001 when Masaya volcano in Nicaragua erupted, showering a couple of hundred people in the car park at the crater's edge with hot rocks ejected from the vent. Several were struck by bombs but none seriously injured. Lopes evaluates these and other risks in the first part of her book (which also introduces the global distribution of volcanoes and essential background into eruption characteristics and causes) and provides checklists for preparing for a safe volcano trip. In case the worst should happen, she lists a set of rules on the course of action to follow when caught in an eruption, though it would be best to have read these beforehand.
The second part of the book consists of a set of chapters organized by region: Hawaii, continental USA, Italy, Greece, Iceland, Costa Rica and the West Indies. In all, there are entries for 42 volcanoes, describing their histories and notable features, along with practical information for visiting them. Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list (there is no coverage for instance of the volcanoes of Japan, some of which are extraordinarily popular with local tourists) but it does give the volcano enthusiast (or armchair traveller) plenty to consider in planning (or imagining) a sulphurous vacation. Although the book refers to itself as a ‘guide’, it is not one of the more portable varieties. However, with its hardback covers, it would make a good seat for the volcano traveller, protecting against the often sharp edges of scoriaceous lava, and the large format suits well the overall presentation of text and abundant colour figures and maps.
Lopes is best known in the volcanological community for her research on planetary volcanism; perhaps her next Adventure Guide will be an ‘extraterrestrial edition’ aimed at future generations of space tourists . . . or people you really don't like.
