Ghosts of Vesuvius A New Look at the Last Days of Pompeii, How Towers Fall, and Other Strange Connections |
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| Author:
| Pellegrino, Charles R. |
| ISBN: | 978-0-380-97310-1 |
| Publication Date: | Aug 2004 |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | USD $25.95 |
Book Description:
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The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which obliterated the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, was a disaster that resounds to this day. Now, paleontologist Charles Pellegrino, author of the New York Times bestseller Her Name, Titanic, presents a wealth of new knowledge about the doomed towns -- the people, their last moments, and the aftermath.
By employing the latest in ⥯rensic archaeology⟲esearchers have been able to piece together long-buried...
More Description
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which obliterated the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, was a disaster that resounds to this day. Now, paleontologist Charles Pellegrino, author of the New York Times bestseller Her Name, Titanic, presents a wealth of new knowledge about the doomed towns -- the people, their last moments, and the aftermath.
By employing the latest in ⥯rensic archaeology⟲esearchers have been able to piece together long-buried stories, including that of wealthy abolitionists (sometimes called Christians) who were supporting a slave girl named Justa against her former master; they have discovered evidence of a thriving ⬩ddle class,⟷hich lived in houses with iron supports, concrete walls, sliding glass doors, and sanitary facilities; they have learned that these Roman citizens, whose medical technology included antibiotics, had a life expectancy not achieved again until the mid-1950s.
The lessons learned from modern scrutiny of that ancient eruption produce disturbing echoes in the present. For the strange physics of volcanic ⣯wnblast⟡nd ⢯llapse column⟷ere at play in the 9-11 World Trade Center disaster. Dr. Pellegrino, who worked at Ground Zero in the attack's aftermath, shares his unique knowledge of these forces, drawing a direct link from past to present, and providing readers with a poignant glimpse into the last moments of our erican Vesuvius."