Braving the Elements

Rating:
Summary: Suprising page-turner; great read
Review: "Braving the Elements" is a breathtaking trek from the Ice Age to the 'Old World' of Native American North America, from the European invasion of the 'New World' through colonial times(both Jefferson and Washington kept daily weather journals and Franklin 'discovered' Nor'easters); from Lewis and Clark's journals to the hottest decade (1980s) and year (1995) on record to the Storm of the Century (1993) - the virtual history of North America all through the window of weather.

From unprediactable weather in the western U.S. (half the continental US is "classified as deficient in moisture" or practically desert!) to the greenhouse effect; from lethal storms and the people who try to predict them, all aspects of weather are covered.

It is an engaging and hard-to-put-down read which weaves facts, history and science into a really fascinating book. Campers, naturalists, history and weather buffs will all enjoy this engaging story.

Rating:
Summary: Suprising page-turner; great read
Review: "Braving the Elements" is a breathtaking trek from the Ice Age to the 'Old World' of Native American North America, from the European invasion of the 'New World' through colonial times(both Jefferson and Washington kept daily weather journals and Franklin 'discovered' Nor'easters); from Lewis and Clark's journals to the hottest decade (1980s) and year (1995) on record to the Storm of the Century (1993) - the virtual history of North America all through the window of weather.

From unprediactable weather in the western U.S. (half the continental US is "classified as deficient in moisture" or practically desert!) to the greenhouse effect; from lethal storms and the people who try to predict them, all aspects of weather are covered.

It is an engaging and hard-to-put-down read which weaves facts, history and science into a really fascinating book. Campers, naturalists, history and weather buffs will all enjoy this engaging story.

Rating:
Summary: weather as history, history as weather
Review: Every other day we get some weather disaster on cnn then forget it. This book gives the larger picture, over time: the patterns and changes, as well as a fascinating history of how weather was viewed and recorded. You'll find lots more here than you would think.

Rating:
Summary: THE AMERICAN WEATHER EXPERIENCE
Review: In 'Braving the Elements', Laskin gives us a brief history of American weather and how we have survived, forcast, and endured it. The first part of the book looks at Native American and colonial weather, explaining how our perceptions of the elements were being shaped even then. A fascinating chapter looks at the West and the Great Plains, describing the tornadoes, blizzards and dust storms common to the region.

The book's second half covers the National Weather Service and present-day meteorology, showing how technology has changed the art of weather forcasting. We see the daily weather report through the eyes of the weather men themselves.

Laskin is a great writer whose book will appeal to weather buffs and others alike. I only wish he had spent more time covering specific storms in our history and how they have shaped communities.

Rating:
Summary: THE AMERICAN WEATHER EXPERIENCE
Review: In 'Braving the Elements', Laskin gives us a brief history of American weather and how we have survived, forcast, and endured it. The first part of the book looks at Native American and colonial weather, explaining how our perceptions of the elements were being shaped even then. A fascinating chapter looks at the West and the Great Plains, describing the tornadoes, blizzards and dust storms common to the region.

The book's second half covers the National Weather Service and present-day meteorology, showing how technology has changed the art of weather forcasting. We see the daily weather report through the eyes of the weather men themselves.

Laskin is a great writer whose book will appeal to weather buffs and others alike. I only wish he had spent more time covering specific storms in our history and how they have shaped communities.

Rating:
Summary: Decent Book - FAKE PHOTOS
Review: It troubles me to no end that books that are to be taken as scholarly would stoop to using FAKE photographs....in this case none other than the famously fake tornado on the cover....to sell the books. I wish I knew if a) the author, being well-versed in the topic he has written about, KNOWS the photo is fake and is trying to hype his product or; b) he is ignorant of such? I am not sure which is worse? Until consumers cite their disgust with such ploys we are doomed to not knowing what is real and what is FAKE even in so-called non-fiction or "scientific" text. The publisher should be ashamed.

Rating:
Summary: A great read for the weather and history buff!
Review: There have been many books on weather and climate that havepassed through my hands over the last twenty five years.This is one of the more memorable ones. When my brother comes over for a visit I'll go to the bookshelf, pull thisvolume down and read page after page to him. Why? Well, quite simply David Laskin condensed the American climateinto a slender volume that reads like a good novel. Merging modern meteorological understanding and historical research he brings alive the shock European settlers feltwhen they experienced the frigid North American winters andblistering summers. He introduces the reader to theologicalmeteorology, nationalist meteorology, and plain old badmeteorology, all in a style designed to excite and educate the reader."BRAVING TH