Nearly one in ten people in the world live in the shadow of a volcano-in the shadow of disaster on an unimaginable scale. Following a lifelong passion for volcanoes, author John Calderazzo visits many of the grandest peaks in the world and the people who spend their lives studying and living near them. Part history, part travelogue, Rising Fire recounts famous eruptions-such as that of Indonesia's Mount Tambora, which plunged the world into the "Year Without a Summer" and inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-and visits seven of today's greatest volcanoes. Calderazzo profiles the local people on volcanic islands in the Caribbean and scientists working at the edge of disaster in Alaska. He tells the story of Maurice and Katia Krafft, who had filmed more than 500 active volcanoes, and died with 36 other journalists on live television, covering the explosion of Mount Unzen in Japan in 1991. He describes the plight of the island of Monserrat, radically altered in 1997 by the explosion of the volcano which formed the island. It is still erupting and evolving. As Calderazzo points out, volcanoes can cause complete destruction in the blink of an eye, but they simultaneously give birth to the newest earth on the planet. He argues that volcanoes can be sources of optimism, places where the world truly begins again. This fiery tribute to one of the planet's most impressive natural wonders promises to inspire and intrigue readers.