• Eruption

  • The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens
  • By: Steve Olson
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
  • Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (193 ratings)

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Eruption  By  cover art

Eruption

By: Steve Olson
Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
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Publisher's summary

For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists, and ordinary people listened anxiously to rumblings in the long quiescent volcano Mount St. Helens. Still, when a massive explosion took the top off the mountain, no one was prepared. Fifty-seven people died, including newlywed logger John Killian (for years afterward, his father searched for him in the ash), scientist Dave Johnston, and celebrated local curmudgeon Harry Truman. The lives of many others were forever changed.

Steve Olson interweaves history, science, and vivid personal stories of the volcano's victims and survivors to portray the disaster as a multifaceted turning point. Powerful economic, political, and historical forces influenced who died when the volcano erupted, and their deaths marked the end of an era in the Pacific Northwest. The eruption of Mount St. Helens transformed volcanic science, the study of environmental resilience, and our perceptions of how to survive on an increasingly dangerous planet.

©2016 Steve Olson. Recorded by arrangement with W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Both [narrator Jonathan] Yen and the author truly shine in bringing to life the remarkable stories of those who witnessed the eruption at close range, some of whom survived to tell the tale." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Eruption

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Nope

Not really the story of the eruption. That is almost an aside to the main theme which was environmentalists are good capitalists are bad. I literally skipped chapters when I got bored of hearing about Weyerhaeuser and their logging practices. The telling part was that it didn’t make any difference to understanding the story. The actual eruption was interesting but in tone remained merely a side story to the environmental themes. Disappointed!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Book about St Helens kinda ignores the volcano

Book about the social and cultural context behind the events of the St Helens eruption. Interesting in its own way, but didn't satisfy my curiosity about what we knew/now know about the history and future of the cascade volcanoes.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eruption by Steve Olson, Narrated by Jonathan Yen

The story of Eruption kept my interest even though the beginning chapter were off the story plot seemingly. The background chapters proved to be most interesting. The technical stuff was well explained, and the-deaths and recoveries were handled with respect. The end drew a well thought out conclusion, with a lot for the reader to think about in our own life.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

parts of it were great

I was expecting more of a description of the actual eruption and while this is covered, most of the book is devoted to the history of logging in the area around the mountain. It really brings you face to face with what happened though and the descriptive wording is excellent. Makes me want to take a trip to see it myself.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

engaging story told quite well

This story has always intrigued me, and this book captures so many sides too it you feel as if you really understand the people, places, and the time of this event.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Amazing moment in time, no connection for listener

Sometimes hard to listen to. The reader did not make me look forward to the next chapter, as so many other readers can.
There was no sense of the excitement that must have prevailed in the lead up to the eruption...seemed like just another weekend day. Let's go hiking.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Really good!

This was pretty good for a title included with the audible. I’ve definitely skipped some others that aren’t as good.

I just have one issue with it. I feel that, even though it technically helped the story, I feel like there was too much information about logging around the mountain. I’d say the whole first 1/3 of the book goes on about that, and I personally feel it could be cut.

However, I really liked the narrators voice, and man, when it got to the part where the mountain erupts and they’re telling the story - INTENSE!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Should be retitled “The History of Logging in the Pacific Northwest.”

The book devotes approximately one chapter to the eruption. The rest of the book reads as a biography on the Weyerhaeuser family and their logging company. There is also a brief chapter regarding the railroad industry of the Northwest. If you’re looking for information on Mt. Saint Helens, I’d give this book a pass.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Eruption: How To Trick People Into Reading aBook About Logging

I'm halfway through and I think about 5 paragraphs have been about St. Helens. As interesting as the other information is, the book's title is incredibly misleading, almost insultingly so.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting with a broader scope than expected

Learned more about the background and socio-economic issues than I expected. But that’s not a bad thing.

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