"The air had no oxygen, like being trapped underwater ... I was being cremated, the pain unbearable."--Jim Scymanky. "I was on my knees, my back to the hot wind. It blew me along, lifting my rear so I was up on my hands ... It was hot but I didn't feel burned--until I felt my ears curl."--Mike Hubbard. A napping volcano blinked awake in March 1980. Two months later, the mountain roared. Author Richard Waitt was one of the first to arrive following the mountain's early rumblings. A geologist with intimate knowledge of Mount St. Helens, Waitt delivers a detailed and accurate chronicle of events. His eruption story unfolds through unforgettable, riveting narratives--the heart of a masterful chronology that also delivers engrossing science, history, and journalism