The Year Without Summer

December 3, 2012
On April 5, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded in one of recorded history’s most massive volcanic eruptions. In addition to releasing enough ash and pumice “to cover a square area one hundred miles on each side to a depth of almost twelve feet” and immediately killing more than 12,000 people, the blast rocketed enough sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to “form more than 100 million tons of sulfuric acid.” Relying on newspapers, diaries (including that of Mary Shelley, who penned Frankenstein in 1816 ), and letters, William (The First Century: Emperors, Gods, and Everyman) and Nicholas Klingaman—a historian and meteorologist, respectively—demonstrate in excruciating detail how dramatically global weather patterns changed as a result: droughts, floods, and freezing temperatures decimated crops and led to famine and near-famine conditions worldwide. But talking about the weather—no matter how extreme—gets old. Little is gained, for example, to learn that in Maine on June 6, 1816, “one elderly gentleman spent the day chopping wood with a heavy coat on.” Like a cloud of fine ash, copious detail occludes the truly interesting political and migrational effects of the eruption. Agent: Daniel Bial, Daniel Bial Agency.

November 1, 2012
A panoramic overview of the wide-ranging social and political effects of a climatic catastrophe. Historian William Klingaman (Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 2001, etc.) and meteorologist Nicholas P. Klingaman join forces to document the atmospheric pollution from the massive eruption of an Indonesian volcano, Mount Tambora, in 1815. Black ash spread over nearby villages, and a cloud of sulfuric acid first moved over the Indian subcontinent and China and then spread to North America and Europe the following year, with disastrous consequences. Abnormally cold temperatures, respiratory problems, disease and crop failure followed in its wake. The authors begin their detailed account of the volcano in the winter of 1815-1816 as the aerosol cloud cooled temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. The consequences were devastating because of crop damage and ensuing famine, most notably in Ireland but also in France and England and, to a lesser degree, on the Eastern Seaboard in America. Heavy snows in winter were followed by unusually volatile weather that affected crops adversely; a cold summer with barely any sunlight was worse. European grain stores were already depleted as a result of the Napoleonic wars, and commerce was disrupted by the transition from a war economy to peacetime. The Klingamans document the famine and social unrest that followed over the following year. At the same time, many lives were relatively untouched by the calamity--not only monarchs and the politicians who wrestled with problems of poor relief, but also Jane Austen and poets such as Byron and Shelley. One long-term result of the volcanic eruption was the increase in emigration to the U.S. and of more marginal American farmers westward. An intriguing sidelight on the effects of climate change.

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February 1, 2013

The violent eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, almost unnoticed by the Western world when it happened, had an enormous global impact. As much as a hundred cubic kilometers of material was ejected, creating a world-girdling cloud that reflected sunlight and changed weather everywhere. Famines and food riots spread across North America and Europe. Thousands of New England farmers, ruined by snow in June, migrated west. Irish peasants starved. The end of the world was repeatedly prophesied; religious revivals multiplied; governments tottered. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during a rainy, cold July at a Swiss resort. J.M.W. Turner painted the spectacular sunsets created by stratospheric dust. In a world unfamiliar with climate change, where news traveled at the pace of a sailing ship, the phenomena were mysterious, seemingly God-driven, portentous, and terrifying. Popular historian William K. Klingaman and meteorologist Nicholas P. Klingaman have combined scientific and social narratives to good effect. VERDICT Although the title is a bit repetitive in parts, the result is a detailed narrative of what happens when a tiny shift in availability of the sun's energy changes lives with repercussions down the generations.--Edwin Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2013
In April 1815, two giant eruptions from Tamboro, a supposedly latent volcano east of Java, pumped millions of tons of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere. The immediate results were catastrophic, as the blast, lava, poisonous gases, and a tsunami destroyed entire villages. But the long-term effects, felt the following year, were more far-reaching and devastating. The massive expulsion of gas and dust formed clouds that circled the globe, deflected sunlight, and resulted in a significant lowering of temperatures, especially in the northern hemisphere. This cooling caused crop failures, famine, and social turmoil. The Klingamans lay out the scientific details of the disaster in a lucid, easily digestible manner. They also effectively integrate the natural calamities into a narrative that includes the political and social milieu of Europe and North America. This is an engrossing work that illustrates the fragility of societies when confronted with sudden and severe disruption of weather patterns.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)