Eruption

“With 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, this is an urgent reminder of the need for advances in the field.” – Nature”… Olson is a gifted science communicator…” – Physics World“Steve Olson not only tells their personal stories, but also turns the tension between the science and the cultural assumptions at play on that day into a drama that reads like a tragic thriller.” – Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature 2016 Shortlist - UKClimbing.com“In Mr. Olson’s telling, [the survivors’] stories read like urgent fiction… These vignettes lend a human face to an event that has become associated largely with geology.” – The Wall Street Journal

Steve Olson is the author of Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens (winner of a Washington State Book Award), Mapping Human History (a finalist for the National Book Award), and other books. He has written for the Atlantic, Science, Smithsonian, and more. He lives in Seattle, Washington.