Public-domain ebook
My experiments with volcanoes
Language: en1,134 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Biographies·Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #69830.
About this book
The work is an autobiographical memoir of Thomas A. Jaggar, a pioneering volcanologist who spent six decades documenting and experimenting on active volcanoes. It opens with a reflective preface in which Jaggar explains that the book is “another experiment,” a synthesis of his field experiences, laboratory work, and the collaborative support of his wife Isabel. The narrative is organized into chronologically titled chapters, Young Scientist, Imitating Ripplemarks, Expedition Decade, and so on, each accompanied by detailed illustrations of lava lakes, eruptions, and field equipment. The opening passage situates Jaggar’s career within the broader scientific community, naming mentors such as Shaler, Hague, and Bailey Willis, and recounting his early fascination with ripple marks on beaches that led him to a lifelong study of volcanic processes.
Jaggar’s voice is that of a seasoned scholar who blends personal anecdote with technical description, written in the measured, expansive prose typical of early‑20th‑century scientific literature. The style is dense yet vivid, peppered with reflections on philosophy, geology, and the evolving understanding of Earth’s deep interior. Readers who appreciate the history of earth science, the development of experimental volcanology, or the personal journey of a field scientist will find this memoir both informative and engaging.
Who appears in My experiments with volcanoes
- Thomas A. JaggarMiddle‑aged man with graying beard, round spectacles, weathered skin, wearing a tweed jacket and field hat
- Isabel JaggarWoman in her forties, dark hair pinned, modest early‑1900s dress, apron, gentle expression
- HagueElderly professor, white hair and moustache, high‑collared academic coat, dignified posture
The opening · free to read
Dr. Jaggar spent the last years of his life writing the history of his sixty years of intensive, rugged, and hazardous scientific achievements. During many of these years, and up to the completion of his life’s history, it has been well stated that one of his most valuable co-workers was his wife, Isabel, who shared with him the disappointments, the joys of discovery, and much of the physical work. It is the privilege of the officers, directors and members of the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association to present in book form this story of Dr. Jaggar’s life.
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