From Publishers Weekly
Bluestein, a professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, has been pursuing tornadoes since long before storm-chasing emerged as a hobby of choice for thrill seekers. Though his motivation is primarily scientific, he acknowledges the role awe plays in his quest to understand these violent yet magnificent storms. He invites readers to accompany him on his two decades of storm-tracking through the famed "Tornado Alley" of the American Great Plains. When Bluestein points excitedly at a tornado or cloud formation, he directs the reader's gaze not to the power of the event alone, but also to details of its form and dynamics. In doing so, he employs the straightforward and often detailed discourse of the enthusiastic scientist discussing the topic that has driven his intellectual life. The book's historical organization traces the development of severe-weather science through the last half-century, from early anecdotal observations to today's high-technology measurements. The story ends where it began: at the dawn of a new quest into fuller understanding of the origin and development of these monster storms, demanding ever more detailed observations using ever advancing technologyAplus an ample dose of old-fashioned human curiosity and awe. Myriad illustrations and vivid photographs, many of which Bluestein himself shot, help break up the dense technical prose.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, Bluestein lives in the heart of Tornado Alley, an area extending from northern Texas to central Nebraska that claims the highest reported rate of tornado occurrence in the world. In his first book written for a general audience, he explains what is known about the genesis of tornadoes and their parent stormsAnot muchAand presents a personal history of modern severe-storm research. Bluestein is a storm chaser, someone who pursues severe thunderstorms in an attempt to find (and study) tornadoes. It sounds like a dangerous occupation, but his accounts of chases are characterized mostly by good-natured complaints about malfunctioning automobiles and uncooperative weather gods. The book includes more than 100 of Bluestein's photographs of storm clouds and vortexes, which are not only spectacularly beautiful but also clarify his rather technical descriptions of severe-storm phenomena. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries, particularly those in tornado-prone areas.ANancy Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
