Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes
by Kerry Emanuel
List Price:
Our Price: $31.49
You Save: $23.51 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.69 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Kerry EmanuelEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-09-01
ISBN: 0195149416
Number of pages: 296
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes
Book Review: Splendid Mix of Science and History
Summary: 5 Stars
Rarely has a book come out in so timely a fashion. And to match the timeliness, rarely has a book had such an excellent match of science and history.
The book gives a series of historical stories beginning with the Kamikaze storms that saved Japan from the Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281. He continues with numerous stories from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico including incidents beginning with Columbus and continuing until recent times. Two particularily interesting chapters dealt with the 1945 typhoons that did more damage to Admiral Halsey's fleet than the Japanese, and then the chapter on flying airplanes into the eye fo the storms.
From the scientific standpoint he presents numerous chapters on every aspect from general descriptions to explaining terms used by the weather forcasters such as wind shear. At the conclusion you'll understand what's happening much better.
And to prove just how good forecasting has become, the forecast at the beginning of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season 15 named tropical storms and eight hurricanes were predicted. By November 1, 2005 there have been 23 named storms...with 13 becoming hurricanes and 7 becoming major hurricanes.
Summary of Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes
Imagine standing at the center of a Roman coliseum that is 20 miles across, with walls that soar 10 miles into the sky, towering walls with cascades of ice crystals falling along its brilliantly white surface. That's what it's like to stand in the eye of a hurricane.In Divine Wind, Kerry Emanuel, one of the world's leading authorities on hurricanes, gives us an engaging account of these awe-inspiring meteorological events, revealing how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history, thwarting military incursions and changing the course of explorations. Offering an account of the physics of the tropical atmosphere, the author explains how such benign climates give rise to the most powerful storms in the world and tells what modern science has learned about them. Interwoven with this scientific account are descriptions of some of the most important hurricanes in history and relevant works of art and literature. For instance, he describes the 17th-century hurricane that likely inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest and that led to the British colonization of Bermuda. We also read about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, by far the worst natural calamity in U.S. history, with a death toll between 8,000 and 12,000 that exceeded the San Francisco earthquake, the Johnstown Flood, and the Okeechobee Hurricane co Boasting more than one hundred color illustrations, frommbined. Boasting more than one hundred color illustrations, from ultra-modern Doppler imagery to classic paintings by Winslow Homer, Divine Wind captures the profound effects that hurricanes have had on humanity. Its fascinating blend of history, science, and art will appeal to weather junkies, science buffs, and everyone who read Isaac's Storm.
Earth Sciences Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Earth Sciences Books
Atlas of the World (Atlas of the World, 7th ed)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1999-12-02; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
The Role of the Sun in Climate Changeby Douglas V. Hoyt, Kenneth H. Schatten
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1997-04-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.00
Price in other shops:
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Editionby Marc Reisner
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1993-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.22
Price in other shops:
Earth Science (9th Edition)by Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens
Prentice Hall; Published: 2000-12-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
Study Guide Earth Scienceby Edward J. Tarbuck
Prentice Hall College Div; Published: 1999-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.86
Price in other shops:
Earth Scienceby Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis Tasa
Prentice Hall; Published: 2005-03-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops:
Environmental Science: A Global Concern with bind in OLC cardby William P Cunningham, Mary Ann Cunningham, Barbara Woodworth Saigo, William Cunningham, Barbara Saigo
McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; Published: 2003-03-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
Environmental Science: A Global Concern with OLCby William P Cunningham, Mary Ann Cunningham, Barbara Woodworth Saigo
McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; Published: 2004-02-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.30
Disaster! The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906by Dan Kurzman
William Morrow & Company; Published: 2001-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geologyby Simon Winchester
Harper; Published: 2001-08-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disastersby Piers Blaikie, Terry Cannon, Ian Davis, Ben Wisner
Routledge; Published: 2003-12-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.93
Price in other shops:
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938by R.A. Scotti
Back Bay Books; Published: 2004-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
What We Know About Climate Change (Boston Review Books)by Kerry A. Emanuel
The MIT Press; Published: 2007-08-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.40
Price in other shops:
Mid-Latitude Atmospheric Dynamics: A First Courseby Jonathan E. Martin
Wiley; Published: 2006-07-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.99
Price in other shops:
Hurricanes of the Gulf of Mexicoby Barry D. Keim, Robert A. Muller
Louisiana State University Press; Published: 2009-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.56
Price in other shops:
A First Course in Atmospheric Radiation (2nd Ed.)by Grant W. Petty
Sundog Publishing; Published: 2006-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $41.98
Price in other shops:
A Short Course in Cloud Physics, Third Edition (International Series in Natural Philosophy)by M K Yau, R R Rogers
Butterworth-Heinemann; Published: 1989-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $72.39
Price in other shops:
Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future (Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, & Fu)by Bryan Norcross
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2007-05-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.12
Price in other shops:
Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earthby Jack Williams, Bob Sheets
Vintage; Published: 2001-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.90
Price in other shops:
Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones (Science Encyclopedia)by David Longshore
Checkmark Books; Published: 2008-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.10
Price in other shops: