'Bracingly apocalyptic stuff: atmospheric, chock-full of information and with a constantly escalating sense of pace and tension' Sunday Telegraph

Simon Winchester's brilliant chronicle of the destruction of the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in 1883 charts the birth of our modern world. He tells the story of the unrecognized genius who beat Darwin to the discovery of evolution; of Samuel Morse, his code and how rubber allowed the world to talk; of Alfred Wegener, the crack-pot German explorer and father of geology. In breathtaking detail he describes how one island and its inhabitants were blasted out of existence and how colonial society was turned upside-down in a cataclysm whose echoes are still felt to this day.

Krakatoa is a pleasure from beginning to end. -- Boston Sunday Globe
A rattling good read. -- Boston Sunday Globe
A good read. -- Washington Post Book World
A good read. --Washington Post Book World
Masterful build-up of literary and geological tension. --The Economist
A rattling good read. --Boston Sunday Globe
Winchester s exceptional attention to detail never falters. --San Francisco Chronicle
Supremely well told: a fine exception to the dull run of most geological writing. starred Kirkus Review--Kirkus Review (starred review)
A real-life story bigger than any Hollywood blockbuster. --Entertainment Weekly
Winchester...is noted for his ability to turn scholarly history into engrossing narrative. --Chicago Sun-Times
Winchester scores. (byline Baltimore Sun, printed in Pittsburg Post-Gazette)--Baltimore Sun
Brilliant...One of the best books ever written about the history and significance of a natural disaster. --New York Times
Winchester once again demonstrates a keen knack for balancing rich and often rigorous historical detail with dramatic tension and storytelling. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Krakatoa is a pleasure from beginning to end. --Boston Sunday Globe
Winchester dramatically delivers...the book is absorbing... --Daily News
The rich and fascinating KRAKATOA confirms [Winchester s] preeminence. Janet Maslin--International Herald Tribune
Winchester's exceptional attention to detail never falters. --San Francisco Chronicle
Krakatoa is a pleasure from beginning to end. --Boston Sunday Globe
Winchester scores. (byline Baltimore Sun, printed in Pittsburg Post-Gazette)--Baltimore Sun
Winchester once again demonstrates a keen knack for balancing rich and often rigorous historical detail with dramatic tension and storytelling. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Winchester...is noted for his ability to turn scholarly history into engrossing narrative. --Chicago Sun-Times
A real-life story bigger than any Hollywood blockbuster. --Entertainment Weekly
A rattling good read. --Boston Sunday Globe
Brilliant...One of the best books ever written about the history and significance of a natural disaster. --New York Times
The rich and fascinating KRAKATOA confirms [Winchester's] preeminence. Janet Maslin--International Herald Tribune
A good read. --Washington Post Book World
Winchester dramatically delivers...the book is absorbing... --Daily News
Masterful build-up of literary and geological tension. --The Economist
Supremely well told: a fine exception to the dull run of most geological writing. starred Kirkus Review--Kirkus Review (starred review)

Simon Winchester has had an award-winning 20 year career as Guardian correspondent. He lives in New York and is the Asia-Pacific Editor for Conde Nast Traveler and contributes to a number of American magazines, as well as the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator and the BBC. He has written numerous books. The River at the Centre of the World (Viking 1997/Penguin 1998) has been shortlisted for the 1998 Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Award.