This Volcanic Isle

This Volcanic Isle masterfully unpeels the skin of the British landscape to reveal a torrid and turbulent past. It is land famed for its geological antiquity, and yet in journeying through its last 66 million years it is the enduring youthfulness of tectonic, seismic and volcanic actions that constantly surprises and enthrals. Local places and familiar vistas are interwoven with planetary processes in a beautifully written account of how our appreciation of the natural world around us can be immeasurably enhanced by viewing it through rock-tinted spectacles. * Iain Stewart, Geologist and Broadcaster *
Robert Muir-Wood’s voyage through the past 66 million years of the making of the British landscape has biblical-level drama on almost every other page… What a geological genesis Britain had! … I defy anyone to close its covers without their interest in Britain’s rocky nature being piqued. * John Lewis-Stempel, Country Life *
For the most part, Britain exists in a state of tectonic tranquility … but it was not always thus, as this entertaining new book makes clear. And the evidence of this green and pleasant land’s violent past is all around us - you just need to know where … to look. * Geordie Torr, Geographical *
Anyone reading the book should take time to soak in and reflect on its rich content, the observations and resulting deductions and interpretations. It is a fascinating read, different from any geologically based book I have read before, not for the faint hearted, helping the reader understand the various dynamic process that affected the British Isles during the Cenozoic and their impact on the landscapes we know so well today. * Mike Bowman, Geoscientist *
Muir-Wood (Univ. College, London) covers both the geologic history of the British Isles in the Cenozoic Era and the human chronicle of the scientists who unraveled that history over hundreds of years. The result is a fascinating, well-structured mélange that will be relevant to educated readers with an interest in either the natural history of the British Isles or the methods that scientists use to unravel such histories. Highly recommended. * Choice *
[A] fascinating, well-structured m?lange that will be relevant to educated readers with an interest in either the natural history of the British Isles or the methods that scientists use to unravel such histories. * I. D. Sasowsky, Choice *

Robert Muir-Wood is head of research at the world’s largest catastrophe modelling company, RMS, and a visiting professor at UCL’s Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction. He was a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, and since 1995 has worked commercially in catastrophe risk science and modelling. He was lead author on two IPCC reports.

Muir-Wood’s work primarily focuses on the history of science, seismotectonics, and probability risk assessment. He is the author of several books including:

• The Dark Side of the Earth: the battle for the Earth Sciences 1800-1980 (1985)
• The Cure for Catastrophe: How We Can Stop Manufacturing Natural Disasters (2016)

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