Ghosts of Vesuvius

	Author(s): Pellegrino, Charles R. Publisher: Perennial Format: Paperback List Price:  $15.95
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Overview:
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and the subsequent destruction of the thriving Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum are historic disasters of monumental proportions, resonating across millennia and remembered to this very day. Now Dr. Charles Pellegrino takes us back to the final days of an extraordinary civilization to experience an earth-shattering catastrophe with remarkable and unsettling ties to the unthinkable disaster of September 11, 2001. Through the modern wonders of forensic archaeology, astonishing facts about the everyday lives of the doomed citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum have been brought to light, revealing a society that enjoyed "modern" amenities such as central heating, sliding glass doors, penicillin, hot and cold running water - and a standard of living and life expectancy that would not be achieved again until the 1950s. But these thriving twin cities would be buried in less than twenty-four hours when Vesuvius came frighteningly alive. Employing volcano physics, Pellegrino brings the cities back to life as he also explores fascinating comparisons and connections to other catastrophic events throughout history. A stunning combination of science, history, humanity, and riveting storytelling, Charles Pellegrino's Ghosts of Vesuvius is an amazing accomplishment, an electrifying, edifying, astonishing, and powerful work of literary art.

Category: Ancient