KRAKATOA : The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883

New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2003. First American Edition, 1st Printing . Hardcover. Near Fine/New. BRAND NEW Copy w/trace water "splash" evidence to lower corner of pg 361 to rear endpaper. First Edition, First Printing. Higloss illustrated boards wrapped w/three-quarter size dust jacket, reproducing the banner headline of Harper's Weekly issue of September 29, 1883, along w/discolored newspaper edges, and the word "Indonesia" handwritten. Story of the volcanic eruption of the Krakatoa islands, Indonesia --- literally an explosion of an island, taking with it a loss of some 40,000 lives, and resounding with such violence, the noise carried over 3,000 miles to Australia and India, and barometers worldwide shuddered. Physical aftermaths of vivid sunsets, plummeting temperatures aside, cultural aftermath was considerable --- the disaster helped trigger the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings as Java was swept up in a tsunami-wave of murderous anti-Western sentiments. The entire world was thrown into disarray. Britsh-born journalist and author Simon Winchester (1944 -) appends detailed bibliography for all who would know more this extraordinary event.