A Sailor's Guide to Wind, Waves, and Tides

Rating:
Summary: Logical, Pedantic and Painfully Boring
Review: When I purchased Simpson's A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO WIND, WAVES AND TIDES, I was hoping for a primer which would relate the sailing environment to the sailing experience. I was looking for a book that would explain weather conditions in a way that would be particularly useful and interesting to sailors. What I found, however, was a basic weather text that places the highest priority on a logical presentation of theoretical material, in favor of a more personal or stimulating approach. To its advantage, A SAILOR'S GUIDE is concise and factual. To its disadvantage, it rarely mentions sailing as the context in which it bases the weather information, perhaps with the exception of the disappointingly dull, final chapter. Ideas and facts are presented in a pedantic, logical but at least understandable way. Unfortunately, the material does not build on itself, and reading this book is rather like reading any uninspired basic high school science text. And nowhere does the material come together in the form of any discussion about sailing. In summary, I do not recommend Simpson's book as anything fun to read, particulaly applicable to sailors or in any way memorable. At least it is short and to the point and could possibly serve as a simple reference for further, more specific reading.

Rating:
Summary: Logical, Pedantic and Painfully Boring
Review: When I purchased Simpson's A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO WIND, WAVES AND TIDES, I was hoping for a primer which would relate the sailing environment to the sailing experience. I was looking for a book that would explain weather conditions in a way that would be particularly useful and interesting to sailors. What I found, however, was a basic weather text that places the highest priority on a logical presentation of theoretical material, in favor of a more personal or stimulating approach. To its advantage, A SAILOR'S GUIDE is concise and factual. To its disadvantage, it rarely mentions sailing as the context in which it bases the weather information, perhaps with the exception of the disappointingly dull, final chapter. Ideas and facts are presented in a pedantic, logical but at least understandable way. Unfortunately, the material does not build on itself, and reading this book is rather like reading any uninspired basic high school science text. And nowhere does the material come together in the form of any discussion about sailing. In summary, I do not recommend Simpson's book as anything fun to read, particulaly applicable to sailors or in any way memorable. At least it is short and to the point and could possibly serve as a simple reference for further, more specific reading.