Tag: Vesuvius
A Very Volcanic Fourth of July
Look, human-made fireworks are pretty. And I enjoy them! Sometimes. When the forest isn’t crispy from an overly hot, dry summer and ready to catch on fire from so much as a heated word. And when I don’t have to battle crowds to see them. And when I don’t have to hear all the noise, which is becoming less and less entertaining as I get older.
Okay, so I like them on television, at my home, with the sound off, okay? Then I love them a lot. They’re very pretty!
But as impressive as some human pyrotechnic displays are, they just can’t quite measure up to the show an erupting volcano can put on. So for this July 4th, I’m going to take you on a world tour of volcanic light shows, courtesy of some very talented photographers.
Resurrecting Pompeii: The Testimony of Skeletons
It’s amazing what bones will tell you if you know what questions to ask. Dr. Estelle Lazer spent years making inquiries of the skeletons of Pompeii, and her Resurrecting Pompeii is filled with their stories.
This is an academic work, written in academic language, so please don’t go into it expecting an easy, breezy read. There isn’t a ton of geology involved, either. You’re going to be encountering more anatomy and pathology than you might have been strictly prepared for. But if you want to see a lot of myths busted, and learn who the people trapped in Pompeii by the eruption were, this book will more than repay all the time you spend googling unfamiliar terms.