Vesuvius

“A lively biography of the mountain best known for swallowing Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D.… Vesuvius is an entertaining guide to the volcano’s impact on European culture, ranging over its influence on religion, science, philosophy, art, literature, and music.”—Amy Henderson, The Weekly Standard

“Most readers will enjoy this attractive little book as an armchair travel guide to Vesuvius along the paths of history.”—David Keymer, Library Journal

“The terrifying meditations on our own mortality are compensated by the vivid lives that have unfolded for so many centuries on the mountain’s slopes (most of them lives in which Vesuvius has been threatening but not fatal). As a book, Vesuvius promises to be just about irresistible.”—Ingrid Rowland, University of Notre Dame

“It’s brave to write a longue durée history of anything, and here it has been done magnificently. There was much in every part that was new to me.”—Martin Rudwick, author of Bursting the Limits of Time