Ghosts of VesuviusGhosts of Vesuvius
An examination of the disasters at Pompeii and Herculaneum by the author of Her Name, Titanic draws on a wealth of new information about life in AD 79, discussing what forensic archaeology and new findings in volcano physics reveal about modern events, including the "collapse column" at the World Trade Center.
Polyglot scientists and author Pellegrino continues his research into famous events of the past by applying forensic archaeology to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and subsequent destruction of the thriving Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. He puts it into historical and geological context, and finds common features with the fall of the World Trade Center. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which obliterated the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, was a disaster that resounds to this day. Now, paleontologist Charles Pellegrino, author of the New York Times bestseller Her Name, Titanic, presents a wealth of new knowledge about the doomed towns &;&; the people, their last moments, and the aftermath.
By employing the latest in &7;rensic archaeology&6;esearchers have been able to piece together long&;buried stories, including that of wealthy abolitionists (sometimes called Christians) who were supporting a slave girl named Justa against her former master; they have discovered evidence of a thriving &9;ddle class,&1;hich lived in houses with iron supports, concrete walls, sliding glass doors, and sanitary facilities; they have learned that these Roman citizens, whose medical technology included antibiotics, had a life expectancy not achieved again until the mid&;1950s.
The lessons learned from modern scrutiny of that ancient eruption produce disturbing echoes in the present. For the strange physics of volcanic &9;wnblast&9;nd &5;llapse column&1;ere at play in the 9&;11 World Trade Center disaster. Dr. Pellegrino, who worked at Ground Zero in the attack's aftermath, shares his unique knowledge of these forces, drawing a direct link from past to present, and providing readers with a poignant glimpse into the last moments of our &;erican Vesuvius."
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- New York : W. Morrow, 2004.
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