Customer Reviews (1)

Decent overview of the climate of Southern California
This is a good readable book that does a good job of explaining how the unique topography of Southern California affects the weather there. Also covers the weather by region and season. Overall a decent weather book, especially for the weather enthusiast, novice, and potential resident of Southern California. ... Read more

Product Description
The Weather Companion An Album of Meteorological History, Science, Legend, and Folklore Throughout history, as farmer, sailor, hunter, and artist, humans have watched and worried about the weather. We have devised ways to observe it, to predict it, to protect ourselves from it, to take advantage of it. It plays a major role in the science and folklore of every culture. Gary Lockhart’s The Weather Companion is a fascinating compendium of meteorological facts and fables, from ancient myths to the latest research, from the rain forests to the desert regions. You’ll learn about the meteorology of Noah’s flood; methods of forecasting; the behavior of weather cycles; weather predictors such as the thickness of corn husks, the height of saw grass, and the behavior of animals; weather prophets; and much more. Gary Lockhart reveals what makes rain "smell," how natural barometers work, and the long history of weather fish, once kept to predict rain, and revived during China’s Cultural Revolution. You’ll even learn the best time to go fishing! Beautifully illustrated, captivating and original, The Weather Companion is a delightful experience for all ages. Your skies and sunsets will never be the same. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Interesting Possibilities
This book is not a professional meteorological source and should not be read as one.It is however an excellent catalyst for curiousity and although I found it did not answer all my questions, it approached weather legend with scientific results which, though they were not extensive studies, presented possibilites for further studies.The Weather Companion is a book for the beginner in meterorology of for a meteorologist who wishes to explore a different aspect of the weather.Plants and animals have natural indicators of current and possibly future weather, this book brings up a topic which should studied further.INTERESTING READ.....DO NOT USE FOR SERIOUS RESEARCH OR PROJECTS without additional information.

A very intresting book, but leaves out a few details
The Weather Companion, by Gary Lockhart is a very interesting weather book. Unlike what Amazon.com says, my book only has 230 pages ( not 240 ) and is including index, and Bibliography. Great book that goes through mostelements of weather, from clouds to storms to hurricanes to a fewanecdotes.A good book to buy, it is very good for a person who is juststarting to crave knowledge of the weather.

Inaccurate, misleading, speculative and often just wrong
I reviewed this book for the American Meteorological Society and was quite surprised, negatively, that a respected publisher like Wiley could allow so much inaccurate information to be published. This book is poorly edited, poorly conceived and generally not a book that should be recommended for the casual reader looking for solid information on meteorology.

For example when discussing lightning, rather than give the best advice, which would be, "do not stand near trees, get inside if at all possible", Lockhart proceeds with a ridiculous discussion on which tree species get struck least and most often. He then proceeds to give the dangerous advice on which tree species to stand under in case lightning is near. It is probably a function of where a particular tree resides (i.e. ridge vs. valley) and has nothing to do with what is considered by professionals to be meteorology.

This book is a good example of a little knowledge (on the author's part) being a dangerous thing.

There are many excellent books for the lay reader on meteorology, this is NOT one of them, in fact it is among the worst I have seen in 22 years as a professional meteorologist. ... Read more

Product Description
The history of meteorology is a history of the artifacts and insights of modernity.It is, in some measure, a history of imperial aspirations and invention; a history of attempts to understand, predict, and even control phenomena that extend far beyond the local horizon and that change constantly on time scales ranging from geological eras and centuries to decades, years, seasons, and moments; a history of how individuals, immersed in and surrounded by the phenomena they study, attempt to construct privileged positions and address social and political imperatives.These essays, from eight of the leading historians of weather and climate, illuminate the hopes and struggles of researchers and practitioners from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries, across a diverse set of issues, and on a vast array of spatial scales.If the book raises new questions or provides a measure of insight into old ones; if it stimulates in the reader a sense of the "otherness" of a bygone era or a sense of empathy and continuity with the past; if it conveys in any measure the contingency, curiosity, excitement, and frustration of the science and politics swirling around issues of weather and climate, we will deem it a success.We offer it with our sincere wish that it serves as a stimulus to related explorations in other areas of the history of science and technology that juxtapose the intimate and the universal, the local and the global. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A top pick for college holdings strong in science in general and climate history in particular
Human beings interact with the climate constantly, but the science of meteorology is often routine and quiet. INTIMATE UNIVERSALITY: LOCAL AND GLOBAL THEMES IN THE HISTORY OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE traces the history of meteorology and how its strategies, methodology and findings have mirrored and influenced human attempts to understand and control phenomenon on a world-wide basis. College-level students receive essays from eight leading historians of weather and climate, making for a top pick for college holdings strong in science in general and climate history in particular.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Fascinating Collection of Essays on the History of Weather and Climate Studies
"Intimate Universality" is a collected work that James Rodger Fleming, Colby College, has edited along with Vladimir Jankovic, University of Manchester, and Deborah R. Coen, Columbia University. The eight chapters of this book offer a set of fascinating snapshots of historical episodes suggesting a broad perspective on the manner in which humans have understood climate since the Enlightenment. While all of the essays were quite useful I found a few of them especially provocative. Well familiar with the work of William Herschel in astronomy, I was taken by Greg Good's analysis in chapter 2 of Herschel's climatic studies. Equally helpful were the two chapters by Roger Turner and Greg Cushman tying together the need for accurate weather prediction and the development of aviation in the Western Hemisphere. Cushman's linkage of atmospheric sciences and aviation technology to American colonial aspirations in the first half of the twentieth century is an especially intriguing idea that should not be accepted blindly but offers truly exciting prospects for future historical investigation.

Then there is perhaps the signature contribution of the volume, Fleming's "Global Climate Change and Human Agency: Inadvertent Influence and `Archimedean' Interventions," which comments on the nature of global climate change, and especially actions being debated in the public policy arena to counteract our warming planet. He discussed how some have advocated the use of giant sunshades in space or "geoengineering" with orbiting dust and other proposed countermeasures as countermeasures to the pattern of global warming that scientists warn about.

I was reminded in reading this essay of the remarks of Al Gore at the X-Prize Executive Summit that I attended on October 19, 2006. He said of these schemes, "In a word, I think it is nuts. If we don't know enough to stop putting 70 million tons of global warming pollution into the atmosphere every day, how in god's name can we know enough to precisely counteract that?" He had even stronger words for those who denied the reality of global warming. "Our planet has a rising fever. If the crib catches fire you don't say: `Hmmm, how fast is that crib going to burn? Has it ever burned before? Is my baby flame retardant?'"

I think Fleming also sees a similar danger in the public policy considerations of global climate change, noting that the proposed cure through geoengineering may be worse that the disease. Better would be invoking the first law of holes, when you are in one stop digging. As his analysis shows, continued pollution of our planet should be curtailed, stopped entirely in the near term, and counteracted in a more distant future.

This foray into public policy history and analysis is a welcome addition to an important and useful book. I congratulate all those responsible for the publication of this fine volume. I am certain that it will become an important benchmark in the historiography of climate change and weather studies. ... Read more

Product Description
In "So Foul and Fair a Day", Professor Alastair Dawson provides for the first time a detailed account of Scotland's past weather and climate conditions and the effects that they have had on determining the physical and social face of the country. From the middle of the last Ice Age and the arrival of Scotland's first settlers around 9,000 years ago, Dawson traces the fascinating story of the often dramatic changes in weather and climate that have played an important role in shaping Scotland's history to the present day. Examining the ways in which inhabitants of Scotland adapted to changes in climate and weather through the ages, Dawson charts a previously unrecorded history of how floods, storms, blizzards, droughts and volcanic eruptions have influenced the Scottish nation. Concluding with changes that are occurring in the present day, Dawson discusses the key lessons to be learned from the past, providing pointers to the future and new meanings to the terms 'climate change' and 'global warming' - this is a fascinating account of the history of Scotland's weather and climate and an invaluable reference for all those interested in climate change. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is part of the Our Name in History series, a collection of fascinating facts and statistics, alongside short historical commentary, created to tell the story of previous generations who have shared this name.The information in this book is a compendium of research and data pulled from census records, military records, ships' logs, immigrant and port records, as well as other reputable sources. Topics include:

• Name Meaning and Origin
• Immigration Patterns and Census Detail
• Family Lifestyles
• Military Service History
• Comprehensive Source Guide, for future research

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This posthumous publication offers a contribution to the study of agricultural productivity and farming profits in medieval England. It utilizes a series of manorial account rolls from Westminster Abbey's manor of Kinsbourne in Hertfordshire, near the town of Harpenden, to conduct an exploration of the economic history of a medieval demesne. The book assesses the inter-relationships between all variables that may have affected yields and profits at Kinsbourne from the late-13th century through to the late-14th century. At its core lies a systematic breakdown of the Kinsbourne's demesne economy into its component parts, allowing observation of the separate incomes derived from corn, livestock and wool, for example, as well as the impact of both capital and labour costs. It, therefore, should provide a more detailed perspective upon medieval farming than the more common studies of large estates and regions. The quantity of agricultural information supplied in many tables, graphs and appendices, should make this a resource of comparative material for medieval economic historians.One contentious factor studied of interdisciplinary interest, is the long-term impact of climatic change upon farming performance. The author used both direct references to the weather and "proxy" clues to meteorological conditions, such as the dates of agricultural operations (ploughing, sowing, harvesting) to build up a detailed picture of seasonal climate in the locality. His discussion shows how far Kinsbourne's physical output was determined by natural circumstances, as opposed to market forces or managerial policy. Analysis of farming success at Kinsbourne is based upon a comparison of profitability between two periods, first the period 1286-1307 at the height of direct management, and second, the period 1362-1397 which led up to the eventual decision to lease the Kinsbourne demesne. It is argued that the performance in the early-14th century was due to the cultivation of poor land, slack supervision, and unfavourable meteorological conditions. The contraction of the arable after the Black Death, and a strong administration resulted in improved profits, a finding which may indicate that the earlier period was one of hardship rather than prosperity for the manorial landowner.The demesne's final demise is explained by referring to the fall in prices after 1375, and by suggesting that difficulties were experienced in securing labour. ... Read more

Product Description
"Weather is one of the common denominators of our lives.It helps shape our culture, character, conduct, and health.It frequents the pages of our history and can change its course.It colors our conversations, folklore, and literature; it rains on our parades, awes us with its power and beauty, frightens us and sometimes kills us."-Weatherwise Magazine

This important new book places weather in the context of mankind's experience and current understanding of it.The History of Weather provides an interesting and valuable discussion of our interaction so far with this mysterious and powerful component of nature which is so interwoven with mankind's daily lives and well being. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Highly recommended, "reader-friendly", well written.
In The History Of Weather, James Williams provides a fascinating meteorological history that will prove informative for science students and the non-specialist general reading public. Williams begins by describing earth's origin, subsequent cooling and gradual modification into a beautiful, essential, benevolent plant with water and an atmosphere hospitable to life. He goes on to discuss the interacting dynamics of Earth's four physical spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere) and how they evolved in concert and remain balanced. He then chronicles the ice ages and the ascent of homo sapiens. From there we are treated to chapters on the pre-dawn of civilization, the Greek experience, the age of technology, latent heat and storms, modern meteorology's history and theory, 20th century discoveries, and the "new meteorology" based forecasting. The History Of Weather concludes with chapters on the history of the climate, the ice ages, the sun, air, and "Meteorosensivity and Other Folk Lore". Exceptionally well written and presented, with an exentsive section of references and an index, The History Of Weather is a very highly recommended, "reader friendly" addition to school and community library weather science and meteorological studies collections. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite major improvements in collecting information and forecasting the weather, the 'factor of the unpredictable' is as real today, as it was in days when Noah was forced to set sail on the ark. Floods have drowned millions, droughts and famines have wiped out entire populations, frost has brought a sudden halt to invincible armies, and storms have sunk unsinkable armadas. When man comes to face nature's elements, it is not so much human incompetence as the uncertainty of the weather that leads on to disaster. ... Read more

Product Description
Did you know?

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "All-weather," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have All-weather in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with All-weather when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name All-weather, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Weather Radar," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Weather Radar in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Weather Radar when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Weather Radar, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more