Weather Books

"OUT OF THE BLUE," John S. Friedman's comprehensive study and report on the frightening phenomenon of lightning is, well, enlightening, to say the very least. It is all here - the history, the pre-history, the theories, the facts and the fables surrounding this timeless subject. Friedman has traveled the land and come back with insights and anecdotes you will long remember, including hair-raising, if not hair-scorching, first person accounts of several multiple-strike lightning survivors. The author is a seasoned journalist with an ear for a good story and he knows how to tell it to us. As perfect a summer read as you will find. Just don't nestle with it under a tree in thunderstorm.

This book is a wonderful surprise. It is inspirational and filled with suspense, adventure, and human interest. It is about religion, faith, and the ways humans cope.

The author writes about lightning in a unique way. Instead of looking at it through a dull, scientific lens, he tells how people have reacted to lightning through the ages. We learn how the Greeks and Romans perceived lightning, about lightning in the Bible, about the conversions of St. Paul and Martin Luther that were possibly caused by lightning, about religious beliefs in the Middle Ages, the criticism of Franklin by clerics, the daring laboratory experiments of Charles Steinmetz and Nikola Tesla, and the latest discoveries by researchers.

But what I found most fascinating in Out of the Blue were the stories of survivors--including an incredible rescue on the Grand Teton. Many survivors describe out-of-body and near-death experiences and how lightning spurred them to greater faith, changed their lives, and made them better people. There are lessons here for all of us.

The author of this book makes a valiant attempt at covering the subject of lightning from most angles: the science, the history of thought about lightning, the superstitions, the damage caused and the effects (both physical and mental) on those who have been struck and have survived. The author has conducted interviews with scientists, physicians and several lightning strike survivors; in fact there is much more on the human side of lightning strikes than anything else. On the positive side, this book is written in a clear, friendly and very engaging way. It is a quick, pleasant and easy read. On the negative side, a few passages on the science contain errors, e.g., p. 103: "... the area of positively charged electrons on the ground ....".. However, the direct quotations from scientists seem accurate. Also, there is one entire chapter on tornado chasers where lightning is hardly mentioned; this chapter may have been more suitable for a book on tornados. Finally, three entire chapters are devoted to the detailed play-by-play rescue of a team of mountain climbers, some of whom were struck by lightning; a few pages, as in the case of the many other amazing survivor stories, would most likely have been sufficient. Notwithstanding these minor quibbles, this is an excellent, indeed thrilling, book that can be enjoyed by absolutely anyone.

This is an extremely handy book for making super quick predictions on the skies. Shows all sorts of different cloud formations and what they're bringing with them. Also nice photos of thunderstorms, lightning, etc. Good one to pick up just because.

This book is a great beginners book. The text is easy to read and the pictures are beautiful. It came in particularly handy for my cloud physics class in which I had to keep a cloud journal.

This is a nice, simple, easy to read book on different types of clouds and weather conditions. Fast reference when you need 'em!

Lovely story with charming illustrations. Contains just the right amount of the "silly" factor to entertain, but not so much as to annoy the adult reading this story.

This book tells the story of a small boy who goes out to play in a puddle on a rainy day. He follows his mother's instructions carefully, about not stepping in the puddle. But the animals who come to visit have no such limitations and their antics are quite entertaining.

Although the story is fairly innocuous, small children who become anxious over breaking things may become uncomfortable when reading this story- -an alligator rescues the boy's boat from the puddle, and in the process cracks it with his mouth. In the final scene of the book, the boat is shown in the boy's bathtub, and several small readers lamented that the crack was still there. The book is quite short, with only about 200 words.

My two year old loves this book, simple concept that is well developed, one of the few books I originally took out from the library and then felt compelled to go on and buy.

This book was awesome and proved very informative and I would highly recommend it, however the last couple of pages are where the author gives you their personal opinion (I do believe they earned their right to do so)and it is a bit of downer. Their personal outlook on the future of the coral reefs is rather bleak and suggests that within my generation's lifetime if not their own the reefs will disappear for the extension of the human race's existence. This however, arguably, makes the book of greater importance, because if people don't know then they will never be able to care.

In "A Reef in Time: The Great Barrier Reef from Beginning to End" the highly respected coral reef expert J. E. N. Veron describes both the history of reefs in general and the Great Barrier Reef in particular. Certainly this book is not exactly uplifting because it outlines the future end of the reef, not in space, but in time. This end is to a large part premature and almost certainly to be brought on by human activity.

As Veron notes reefs have come and gone throughout the history of the earth, appearing in the Devonian, Permian and Triassic, only to be destroyed in mass extinction events. New and different reefs returned, but not until after hundreds of thousands to millions of years. On both sides of the Rio Grande Valley, where I now live, are immense remains of middle Permian reefs, all of which disappeared in that mother of all extinction events which marks the Permian-Triassic boundary. The reefs now stand over 4000 feet above sea level, a monument to impermanence. Such would eventually be the fate of the monumental Great Barrier Reef, but in tens of thousands of years at least. The activities of humans (in causing global warming, direct damage to reefs and acidification of the oceans) may now cause the same destruction in hundreds of years or less.

What is to be done? Venon thinks that there is some cause for hope, but I am unsure that that such hope is warranted. In this I would like to be wrong. However I see no political will on the part of either governments or populations to curb their activities in time before tipping points are reached that commit us to a major disruption of the planet. In essence we in the United States have wasted nearly eight years that we really did not have because of an administration that preferred wishful thinking to reality. Still I cannot just blame the United States as even the European Union will not reach its own goals and China and India, among others, are hurrying to reach the same levels of greenhouse gas emissions as the developed world.

Venon has written a thoughtful and well documented book that will certainly educate the reader in the current knowledge of reefs and the likely result of our current predicament. I recommend it, but be aware that you may find it depressing, despite Venon's attempts to be upbeat.

Excellent overview of the Great Barrier Reef's history. The text flows, is extremely easy to read, and the chapters and headings are set out logically. Much of the background involves controversial theories (e.g. reasons for major extinctions), and these, among others, are discussed thoroughly and with sufficient maps, given the relatively short length and overall scope of the book. The important points (carbon dioxide and ocean acidification) are drilled home repeatedly without a loss of their impact.

It is clear that the target audience for this book is for newcomers to the fields of coral research or paleontology. The only major flaw I see in the book are the many identical diagrams and photographs from previous publications by Dr. Veron, but, for those who pick up this book with no prior knowledge, this same information must be novel and informative. Even for those who have a background in the above fields, there is enough new information in this book to satisfy, and a few veritable gems of insight and observation.

This book has a few ideas which people may or may not agree with Dr. Veron, but it is well-researched and well-argued. The overriding message presented in the final chapters is certainly the focus of the book, and in the end, the other details which may or may not be correct rightly take a back seat.

Overall a recommended read.

Wilks brilliantly covers the fundamentals of statistical methods for atmospheric data with clarity and precision. This book is a classic, and a much-needed successor to the 1958 text by Panofsky and Brier. Moreover, the book's coverage is applicable to other geophysical fields, such as hydrology, which broadens its usefulness for researchers, practitioners, and students.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the most commonly used statistical methods in atmospheric research. It is written at a level that is suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students with only a moderate level of mathematical ability, but is suitable also as a basic text book for researchers with moderate experience in statistics. It lacks some depth in some sections, such as in discussions of multivariate methods, but for students the coverage is ideal, and I would strongly recommend the book as a standard text for any course in research methods for atmospheric scientists. Topics covered include empirical distributions and exploratory data analysis, data distributions, hypothesis testing, forecasting and verification methods, time series, and multivariate analyses.

Statistical methods are introduced in the context of their application. The emphasis is on solutions to meteorological problems rather than on the statistical methods per se. Although I see this approach as a major strength of the book, one result is that the book may be of less interest to non-atmospheric scientists. Limitations of the methods are discussed, and the reader is given considerable assistance in interpreting the statistical results of the methods covered. The mathematical back ground is kept at a level that should be digestible by most students. Equations are relatively few, but not lacking, so the mathematically shy should be able to gain a lot from the book. The text is excellently written: very clear and the logical development is very smooth. I think in time this book will prove to appeal to a wide range of atmospheric scientists.

Need more be said? A comprehensive guide to the most useful statistical methods in the fields of oceanographic, meteorological and climatological research. This is the bible for atmospheric research and a neccessity on every research scientist's bookshelf.

I'm a student studying to become a teacher and I used this book to build a lesson plan. I think the concept of how seasons changes is presented in a manner for 2nd or 3rd grader to easily understand. The hands-on demonstration included in the book was also helpful is enforcing the concept of why there are 4 seasons. The additional resource information provided at the back of the book is also a helpful tool for use with modifying your lesson plan to meet various student learning levels. I will keep this book in my library for use when I do become a teacher.

You won't be disappointed with any of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science books. As a primary grade teacher, I am extremely satisfied with this product. The text is easy to read, illustrations are always colorful and relate to the text, and diagrams provide additional information and explanation when needed. I constantly use these books to teach science concepts to my little ones.

if you have an energetic child like my 5 year old who is always asking why - this is a great book. I got this book around summer soltice when my sun did not understand why he is going to bed when it is so bright outside. By doing the "experiment" with an orange and a flashlight, I think he understands why we have seasons.

Ive been watching Terry Swails since I was a child since I loved weather till I moved out of the area 6 years ago. I didnt know he wrote a book to recently and purchased it. I really enjoyed the book. Talking about weathers of all seasons for the Midwest and the Quad Cities area. This is a good book for the weather person for a relaxed reading.

Thanks Terry for making me so much of a weather fanatic!

Growing up in the midwest, storms are a part of life. To see what we've experienced in print is incredible. I was in awe of all the history Terry put into this book. Things I remember happening in our little town and the surrounding counties around the Quad City area, and some things I'm too young to have experienced. The stories and the photos are breathtaking. I've watched him as a newscaster for many years, but never would have known just how much he enjoys his profession. Obviously, weather is much more than just a job to him. I especially liked his reference to the "Wizard of Oz" as it is one of our favorite movies also. Well done Terry.

Am enjoyable read for the weather buff. Lots of great photos of midwestern weather phenomena. The book is basically a "biography" of significant historic weather events in the Quad Cities (Iowa) and an autobiography of the author, TV Weatherman Terry Swailes. The book starts out with a look at tornadoes and thunderstorm-related stuff. Great reading! However, it bogs down toward the end as the author presents some of the less exciting weather features, such as floods and snowstorms. Nevertheless, it was interesting reading and I recommend it. The pictures were great and the layout was very pleasing to the eye.

This book was not what I expected. It was informative, but very wordy. I wasn't able to use this book with my children at school.

I was given this book by my aunt who moved to Point Barrow, Alaska to be a teacher there. She gave me this book to teach me about where she was to be living. This book taught me a lot in a very educational way. I highly recommend it, The pictures are great too!!

This is one of the best written, most comprehensive and accurate children's books about Alaska that I have found. The illustrations are well drawn and clever. This book holds the interest of young children and I would recommend it as a great addition to any young child's library.

I bought this for my 3 1/2 year old because he is fascinated with tornadoes. The illustrations were great and the descriptions were basic enough that he could understand them. He was able to follow along and look at the pictures as well as ask questions about them. Though not as indepth as some of the other tornado books I have reviewed, it's still a very nice book. It also gives great information on what to do if a tornado strikes.

...with it's ability to explain this twist of nature at a level young children can understand. I was most impressed with the fact that not only does it describe the scientific aspects of tornado formation in simple terms, it also discusses tornado safety by giving kids several examples of where they might be when a tornado hits and the best place to take cover for each situation. While the publisher lists ages 4-8 as the targeted reading level, I found with our library groups at school that our 9-11 year olds were very interested in it as well. If you have younger children and live in an area where tornadoes are a real threat, I highly recommend using this book to introduce tornado safety.

I got this book from the library this spring to explain tornadoes to my 4-year-old son. It covered everything it needed to in one small and attractive book. The pages are not too long that he was not able to sit through it, and the illustrations are attractive and provoking. First it explains what a tornado is, where they occur, how they occur, when, and finally what to do if you encounter one. It does touch on the damage that a tornado causes, including speaking briefly about deaths. But I thought it was done in a straightforward manner and did not dwell on the topic or sensationalize it. I definitely think kids from the age of 4 and up could handle all the information in this book.

Do you know how rain is formed? Do you know when tornado season is? If you want to know these questions read the Magic Tree House book Twisters by Mary Pope Osborn and Sal Murdocca. Read this nonfiction book and learn how hail is formed,learn what is the worst storm. Also there are some sweet experiments. This is an awesome book I loved it a lot. Go to the book store near you and get this book or any Magic Tree House book.

The book that I'm reviewing in school is Twisters and it's by Mary Pope Osborne. I think this book deserves four stars because it is an interesting book to read. The book I'm reading is about weather. They talk about twisters, hurricanes, storms and other cool things. One thing that I learned is hail can be the size of a golf ball. Also, there are different kinds of hail sizes, like the size of a ant. I would recommend this book to a friend because if you're doing research you could find great information. Other books by this author are research guides on other topics.

Emerson, NJ Fifth Grader

Twisters are tornadoes. I learned about them in the book Twisters by Will Osborne. Twisters wreak everything. Twisters can destroy homes because the winds go 300 miles per hour. They hit in the midwestern U.S. in April, May and June. I feel excited about this book because it's good to know about natural disasters so if it happens you'll be prepared.