When Tamsin Mather first visited the Amalfi coast on a family trip at 10 years old, she had no idea that the majestic double-humped peak of Mount Vesuvius was a site of such great importance for volcanology, nor that its mystifying and looming presence would spark her life-long obsession with volcanoes. These geological mammoths have fascinated humans for millennia, their eruptions studied throughout history, showing us how the Earth is living, breathing and changing and has been doing so for billions of years.   In this captivating book from an ever-curious volcanologist, Tamsin Mather takes us along on her globe-spanning excursions and discusses some of the most important volcanoes in the field, including:   Santorini in Greece Masaya in Nicaragua Krakatau in Indonesia St. Helens in Washington State Mount Meager in Canada   With warmth and lyricism, Tamsin explores the cultural role