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ix Foreword By its title, this book is a historical account of half a century of observation, discovery, and research at Mauna Loa Observatory, perched on the upper slopes of the world’s largest mountain mass. However, it encompasses much more—the accounts of earlier explorations, the hardships encountered, and hard-won accomplishments. In the telling , Forrest Mims’ story dwells extensively on the lives and drives of explorers and the character of leadership, often influencing scientific progress and at times impacting national policies and governance issues, most notably the current controversies about global warming. In this comprehensive saga of Mauna Loa, the author’s interests and concerns as an earth scientist and inventive technologist, complementing his literary talents as author of more than sixty books, are reflected in this historical account, crafted to read with the attractions and verve of a novel. Mims traces the history of exploration and discovery on Mauna Loa from the late eighteenth century through the establishment of the present observatory and its half century of scientific achievements. As described, each exploration was different, both in motivation and the lessons learned along the way. And Mims’ account of each exploration springs to life with numerous personal quotations from the participants themselves. All told, the volume is epochal in scope and character. While each episode differs in original concept and outcome, the author’s story presents surprising circumstances or incidents that tend to link or provide interesting contrasts between the succession of explorations. The narrative begins with a brief account of famed British explorer James Cook’s expedition to Hawaii, where, at Kealakekua Bay in 1778, he lost his life during a skirmish with hostile natives before his exploration had made much progress. Cook’s failed exploration, however, is interestingly linked to the highly successful Menzies’ expedition through one of Cook’s principals, George Vancouver. Vancouver was also injured in Cook’s fatal encounter , but he returned fifteen years later as leader of the succeeding expedition. Vancouver’s expedition surgeon was a youthful but ambitious scientist named Menzies. The story describes how Archibald Menzies, a stubbornly determined youth with broad scientific interests, prevailed in his frequent disputes with the expedition leader and ultimately was allowed to organize his own assault team—a band of Hawaiians supplied by King Kamehameha after negotiations with Menzies. With these helpers, he climbed             ments of summit elevations as well as scientific observations and meteorological records. In addition to Menzies unprecedented scientific achievements, Mims is careful to relate how this stubborn individual, often in quarrelsome disagreement with his peers, proved to be an attentively caring and compassionate leader in dealing with his team of Hawaiians during the rigors of the ascent and at the summit, a remarkable combination of grim determination and compassionate leadership in this successful exploration . Following the author’s brief discussion of two lesser explorations in the nineteenth century—first by James Macrae in 1825 and then David Douglas in 1834—the saga proceeds to the most ambitious of the early expeditions to Mauna Loa, the US Exploring Expedition, which receives full attention in this treatise. As a major expedition , it was conceived as and intended to be the successor to Thomas Jefferson’s Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803. It was funded and charged by Congress to conduct a discovery mission to Antarctica, an exploration and mapping of various Pacific Ocean islands, and a full-fledged expedition x Foreword to Hawai‘i, including the scientific exploration and ascent of Mauna Loa. The expedition was well equipped, with a trained staff of more than three hundred. However, the responsibility for its success was placed in the hands of the US Navy’s Captain Charles Wilkes, a competent scientist but regarded as a strict disciplinarian. Nevertheless, history records a long list of scientific achievements and unprecedented measurements under Wilkes’ direction, including gravity at the summit altitude and variations of sound propagation with changes of altitude (or of air density). The story of how the deserved recognition and acclaim that this expedition and its leader had earned were seriously blighted is one of the very sad episodes in exploration history. It was the unfortunate result of perceived shortcomings in Wilkes’ management of the expedition and charges lodged against him by some of his disgruntled senior staff. As a result, Wilkes had to face courts-martial proceedings at the conclusion of the expedition . While most charges were dismissed, the damage had already been done. The blighted reputation of Wilkes continued to hang over...

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