Fire in the Sea: The Santorini Volcano: Natural History and the Legend of Atlantis

Ash particles from this 1980 eruption in Washington State's Cascade Mountains were thrown high enough to be caught up in the jet stream and deposited in a fine-grained plume that extended all the way around the world. This prompted publication of tongue-in-cheek picture postcards that proclaimed, "Don't come to Washington: Washington will come to you!"

But since the book was originally published in Germany, the authors may be forgiven for expecting comparisons with Stromboli and Vesuvius to have more interest for their target audience. An Indonesian author of a similar book might well have focused on comparisons with Krakatoa.


An approachable discourse on the subject   August 2, 2002
Atheen M. Wilson (Mpls, MN United States)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

It was truly an exciting experience which found me capering about loose scoria ridges looming over the still fuming caldera several feet about the beach; I felt quite daring, especially as I am extremely afraid of heights! I learned a lot that I had missed by dropping out of my degree program prior to going on my summer field camp. There were examples of debris flows, unconformities, erosional channels, wind formations, faulting, uplift of sea bed strata with fossiliferous deposits, all an education in themselves. I also learned that hours on end in the hot sun plotting individual grains of rock for size, shape, color, angularity, and inclination is not my cup of tea. It makes a great summer vacation for the enthusiastic amateur, but I couldn't imagine it as a permanent, full time job. I decided I had missed nothing by remaining a nurse, and looked forward to a publication of results that I could enjoy in the quiet of my own home!

Just such a report has since be published (2000). I had the great good fortune to discover Walter L. Friedrich's volume Fire in the Sea while browsing the various Amazon links from another book on geology. Although it's not an in depth geological or archaeological survey of the research on the island, it is an excellent compendium for the page length of what is known about it with respect to these two topics. Above all it is an approachable discourse on the tectonic history of Santorini, both ancient and modern. There are wonderful photos of the various vistas around the island-many of which I recognized from my own visit there--and several maps that show the development of the site through time. Reports of volcanism and earthquake activity through the ages are included from earlier authors that give an almost biographical character to the story of Santorini or ancient Thera, and there are several illustrations of Minoan art work that help recreate the character of the island prior to the eruption for which the volcano is most noted and often cited, that during Minoan times ca. 1700 BC. At the end of the book in Appendix 1, the author has included one of Plato's Dialogs discussing the ancient tale of Atlantis with which the island has been linked by a number of researchers.

I found the book to be an excellent discourse on the geology of the island but was a little disappointed in that there was so little about the archaeological site of Akrotiri, especially as geologists-including Dr. Floyd McCoy, with whom I worked and who is mentioned in the volume-have been very helpful in illuminating some of the events of the city's last moments. The excavation site is fascinating, as the structures are preserved in places up to second stories. The faulted stair case (p. 70) is included and is one of the most emotive sights in the devestated city, but a more thorough discussion of the site and what is believed to have occurred there during the eruption that ended its life is a very stirring tale, one that could have lent a greater sense of the moment to the reader. It would also illustrate how the activities of archaeology and geology are integrated to generate productive results. Although the author discusses in brief some of the concerns of the modern inhabitants of the island, I would also have enjoyed more photos of the modern towns in the area, since I suspect they are very like those that have existed on the island since antiquity. A discussion of their own history and likely future would have added a sense of continuity to the tale of Santorini


An outstanding, informative account for geology students.   September 5, 2000
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful

This in-depth survey of the Santorini volcano's natural history and its connections to the Atlantis legend will hold special appeal for students of volcanism and geology: Fire in the Sea is packed with color photos of the volcano, relics, excavations, and maps; and it includes in-depth discussions of volcanism in general. An outstanding, involving account for the dedicated student of geology.


A Bronze Age Blast   August 22, 2000
Robert E. Lumpkin (Willowbrook, IL USA)
18 out of 27 found this review helpful

This is a lucid and informative book for both ancient history buffs and those interested in volcanos. The book discusses the Santorini volcano system is detail, and outlines the history of eruptions from the remote past to the present day. The greatest emphasis is on the eruption of 1640 B.C., one of the most violent volcanic explosions of all time.

The text, maps and drawings are excellent, and the author presents not only what we know about the Santorini volcano, but how the scientific conclusions evolved and what the evidence is behind them. The book was published in Germany in 1994, which means that the eruption of Mt. St. Helens had not yet occurred when the book was written. Too bad -- that would have been an excellent example for the author to compare to Santorini.

As a bonus, the cover, the paper quality, printing and photos are all superior to those in most hardback books available today.