Ms. Adventure, Jess Phoenix
Ms. Adventure, Jess Phoenix
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Ms. Adventure
My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life

Author: Jess Phoenix

Narrator: Jess Phoenix

Unabridged: 7 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Timber Press

Published: 03/02/2021


Synopsis

"Jess Phoenix's work encompasses science and representation in such a delightful melding that it could only come from as spry and playful a soul as hers! Open this book and jump into the volcano!" —Patton Oswalt

As a volcanologist, natural hazards expert, and founder of Blueprint Earth, Jess Phoenix has dedicated her life to scientific exploration. Her career path—hard earned in the male-dominated world of science—has led her into still-flowing Hawaiian lava fields, congressional races, glittering cocktail parties at Manhattan’s elite Explorers Club, and numerous pairs of Caterpillar work boots. It has also inspired her to devote her life to making science more inclusive and accessible.
 
Ms. Adventure skillfully blends personal memoir, daring adventure, and scientific exploration, following Phoenix’s journey from reality television sites deep in Ecuadorian jungles to Andean glaciers, university classrooms to Death Valley in summer. She has even chased down members of a Mexican cartel to retrieve a stolen favorite rock hammer. Readers will delight in her unbelievable adventures, all embarked on for the love of science.

 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bonnie on December 22, 2021

In terms of the writing, the book is all over the place and overexaggerated in many parts. For any aspiring young scientist (that I assume the book is aimed for), the author gives little information about how her opportunities came about which would be useful to younger readers. The author has obvio......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on February 26, 2021

This is a super fun read. Jess Phoenix is a geologist who's spent her career investigating rocks, lava, and other minerals the planet has to offer us in some of the coolest places on earth, from the flowing lava fields of Mauna Kea to glaciers in the Andes to the scorching hot basins of Death Valley......more

Goodreads review by Carmen on May 17, 2021

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. From the book's description, I was expecting a science memoir -- the author writing about her life mixed with a lot of fun geology history and facts. In that case, I was expecting a little more outside of field journal s......more

Goodreads review by Tasmin on September 27, 2021

The enthusiasm about geology & volcanoes: 5 stars The personality on show: 1 star Okay, let me clarify because I know this is a hard statement to make. I started this book months ago and had to put it down at about 30% because I got so angry every time I read it. Then the eruption in La Palma happened......more

Goodreads review by Maxine on March 14, 2021

In Ms Adventure, geologist and volcanologist Jess Phoenix mixes her scientific work with stories of many of her mishaps as she does field work in some of the world’s literal hot spots. She recounts being hit by an acute appendicitis attack while alone on a lava flow in Hawaii, falling into a sewer i......more


Quotes

“The sheer grit and tenacity displayed in Jess Phoenix’s stories ensure their grip on the reader’s attention. Geology and adventure enthusiasts will have a blast.” —Publishers Weekly

“Jess Phoenix’s journey has been tempered by volcanic fire, colored by international adventure, molded by a cast of champions and antagonists, and catalyzed by the revelatory nature of science itself. Her fantastical origin story—from a student of history to a polymathic, science-proselytizing rebel—is the very definition of atypical; a polemic against a life of comforting, forgettable ordinariness and a paean to the extraordinary combination of persistence and curiosity.” —Dr. Robin George Andrews, Volcanologist and Science Journalist
 
“Geography itself is the unlikely hero of this exuberant memoir. Whether she is peeking into the top of an active volcano or trying to outwit the heat of the desert, Jess Phoenix brings her best game: the cunning of a detective, the soul of a poet and the open mind of a true explorer. It is pure joy to see the world through her endlessly curious eyes and to read about it in her crystal-clear prose.” —Madeleine H. Blais, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing and author of In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

“The best nonfiction reads like fiction, and that’s certainly true of Jess Phoenix’s Ms. Adventure… Phoenix is a skilled writer and gifted storyteller with a startlingly ability to weave telling details into her narrative.” —Mountain Times

“Not only will the inspiring spirit of the narrator captivate readers, but this book makes it clear why fields like volcanology matter today more than ever. Phoenix’s gritty adventures and love for scientific exploration are made fully accessible to all, no matter your scientific background.” —Shepherd Express