No Apparent Danger by Victoria Bruce

In 1993, a team of scientist descended into the crater of Galeras, a volcano on Colombia, for a day of research. As the group slowly moved across the rocky moonscape, Galeras erupted in a barrage of burning rocks and glowing shrapnel. Nine men died instantly, their bodies torn apart by the blast.

While others watched helplessly, Colombian geologist Marta Calvache raced into the rumbling crater, praying to find survivors. Eight years before, Calvache was one of several scientists who worked to prepare for an eruption at Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz volcano, but the group lacked the resources and muscle to implement a plan of action or sway public opinion. When it erupted suddenly, Navado del Ruiz wiped the city of Armero off the face of the earth and killed more than twenty-three thousand people in one of the worst natural disasters of the twentieth century.

Linking the characters and events of these two eruptions to tell a riveting story of scientific tragedy and human heroism, Victoria Bruce weaves together the stories of heroes, victims, and survivors, evoking with great sensitivity what is means to live a hair's-breath away from unthinkable natural clamity. No Apparent Danger shows how clashing cultures and scientific arrogance resulted in tragic and unnecessary loss of life.