Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 8 (1980) 131--135 131

Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in Belgium

B o o k Reviews

Volcanology. H. Williams and A. McBirney. W.H. Freeman & Co., San Fran-
cisco, Calif., 1979, 391 pp., £ 19.50.

Howel Williams and Alexander McBirney's new b o o k on Volcanology is the

first of its kind. It is very well balanced, treating volcanic processes and de-
posits in equal share in a m anner useful for volcanic geologists rather than
just for workers on active volcanoes. It contains excellent descriptions of wit-
nessed eruptions, yet does not overdo it as have some volcanology books in
the past. Lavas and pyroclastic deposits, major types of volcanic forms and
principal types of eruptions are given excellent t r e a t m e n t . The chapt er on
Oceanic Volcanism is excellent and is a topic not generally treated in older
texts on volcanology. Volcanism and Orogeny is a chapter t hat lucidly ex-
plains the tectonic setting of volcanoes and volcanic chains or clusters w i t h o u t
an excessive fitting-of-data to ideas on plate tectonics. Volcanic Gases and
H y d r o t h e r m a l P h e n o m e n a treats, among ot h er topics, geothermal energy.
This, to g eth er with the last chapter on Volcanism and Man, focuses attention
on the importance of volcanism t o the welfare of mankind. T he bibliography
is n o t comprehensive, but is well selected and up-to-date.
As the authors state in their preface, volcanology is so "comprehensive,
many-sided, and rapidly developing", that t h e y could not deal adequately
with all of its aspects.Detailed t r e a t m e n t of geochemistry and petrology,
planetary volcanology, and economic volcanology are left for future authors.
But what is left u n t r e a t e d is far less i m p o r t a n t than topics t hat are included.
! for one e x p e c t an aut hor (or authors) to give me the benefit of their own
experiences and knowledge, and t h e y have d one that. Howel Williams com-
bines his innovative field and p e t r o g r a p h y approach (and delightful style of
prose) with Alexander McBirney's no less innovative theoretical, l aborat ory
and field approach to pr oduc e a highly readable text. Their studies have
dealt with the distribution, behavior, and m o r p h o l o g y of volcanoes and with
the physical nature (and interpretation) of the products.
This b o o k is Howel Williams last published work. He died on January 12.
He was truly a giant among volcanologists, giving us the benefits of over 50
years of an e x t r e m e l y productive and wide-ranging creative mind.
This b o o k is a must for every geologist's shelf.

RICHARD V. FISHER (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

Geothermal World Directory 1978/79. G e o t h e r m a l World Corp. Publishers,

Reseda, Calif., 1979, 522 pp., U.S. $ 45.00.

The G e o t h e r m a l World Directory was published in 1972 and is issued

every year. It contains n o t only a comprehensive di rect ory (Part I), it serves

0377-0273/80/0000--0000/$02.25 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company