1. Introduction
2. The Sleeping Giant
describes the site of the ancient Toba
eruption on Sumatra, Indonesia, as it looks today
3. The Big One: Toba Explodes
describes the
earth's biggest volcanic eruption of the last 28 million years,
with notes on the fate of the Andaman and
Nicobar islands and Mentawei island
4. Aftermath: Climate and Environment
marshals the evidence for a volcanic winter
with following ice age
5. Through the Bottleneck
describes how our ancestors and some
near-relatives walked into a genetic bottleneck and how a few of them came
out alive, despite the odds