Divine wind
Subtitle: the history and science of hurricanes
By: Kerry Emanuel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 285
Subjects: Hurricanes; History
Description: This work presents an overview of hurricanes, with descriptions of how they are formed, how they move, and how they interact with climate, along with a history of some of the most destructive hurricanes of the past. 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 is what it is like to stand in the eye of a hurricane. In this book, the author, 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 combined. Containing more than one hundred color illustrations, from ultra-modern Doppler imagery to classic paintings by Winslow Homer, the book captures the profound effects that hurricanes have had on humanity, using a blend of history, science, and art.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-274) and index.
Table of contents: title: Kamikaze; title: Anatomy of a meteorological monster; title: Huracan; title: The tropical hothouse; title: Columbus's hurricane; title: The tropical downpour; title: France gives up La Floride, 1565; title: The trade winds; title: The tempest; title: Nature's steam engine; title: The hurricanes of 1780; title: Hurricane intensity; title: Galveston, 1900; title: Genesis; title: Miami, 1926; title: Death and transfiguration; title: Their eyes were watching God : San Felipe and the Okeechobee disaster of 1928; title: Taking aim : how hurricanes move; title: The Labor Day hurricane of 1935; title: The storm surge; title: The great New England hurricane of 1938; title: Waves; title: Bull Halsey's typhoons; title: Rain; title: The hunters; title: Hurricane Camille; title: Into the maelstrom : a photo essay; title: The great East Pakistan cyclone of November, 1970; title: Forecasting hurricanes; title: Cyclone Tracy, 1974; title: Hurricane Andrew, 1992; title: Hurricanes and climate.