The Associated Press Library of Disasters: Volcanoes

There's nothing like a good disaster--natural or man-made. This collection covers about 100 years of calamities from the 1883 eruption of Krakatau to the 1997 Ohio Valley floods in generous selections from contemporary Associated Press coverage. When available, photographs complement the text.

Each volume covers a type of event or phenomenon, from earthquakes and tsunamis in volume 1 to nuclear and industrial disasters in volume 8. Accessible overviews include, in the appropriate volumes, charts of the Saffir-Simpson Scale (hurricanes), the Fujita Scale (tornadoes), and the Richter Scale (earthquakes). Each volume also has a chart of notable events in that category before the coverage period.

Events are arranged chronologically. The language of the news reports is that of the reported period, so some spelling and usage conventions will be slightly different from current usage, and ethnic, racial, and political references will be those of their time. Headline and date of publication in a news source precede the text of each report. The reports are often accompanied by supporting text, in a different typeface, which places the events in context and explains inaccuracies. At the end of each report is a note indicating the outcome of the event.

While the books are not inclusive, certainly the "greatest hits" in world natural and man-made disasters not concealed by military secrecy (e.g., the sinking of the Normandie just before its conversion to a troop ship) are covered--the San Francisco earthquake and fire, the Texas City explosions, Mount St. Helens, and the Hindenburg are all there. The Johnstown floods, Hurricane Andrew, and a heat wave that killed 100 in Chicago in 1995 are among the many other natural disasters included. The Bhopal chemical disaster, Chernobyl, the Watts riot, and the World Trade Center bombing are among the man-made kind.

Each volume indexes the entire set and has a glossary of useful terms. Volumes are well designed, with varying typefaces and good use of white space. Books are library-bound and should lie flat for copying. Illustrations are small photographs that probably will not copy well.

This set will be accessible to students from middle school and above, and adults will enjoy browsing it. Recommended for middle and high schools and public libraries.