Customer Reviews

Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Mike and Eric seem to have taken the art of storm photography to new heights...they have produced images that speak eloquently about the grandeur and beauty of storms that many people will never see for themselves."

--from the introduction by Dr. Charles A. Doswell III


Full disclosure first: I'm biased because both authors are good friends of mine and my name is mentioned more than once in the text---but I don't make any money from the sales or have any interest other than promoting the book because I think it's an outstanding product.

Mike and Eric are two of the finest weather photographers in the world, and this book is essentially a greatest hits collection from their individual catalogs. Every page contains one stunning image after another, carefully reproduced on heavy, quality stock. The book is organized by chase day or event, with about six individual chases from Mike, four solo chases by Eric, and the rest featuring pictures from both photographers, usually from different angles to give real dramatic range to the imagery. Accompanying the photos is text from both describing their forecast process and tactical decisions they made in the field. Since Mike and Eric have different styles of chasing, this makes for an interesting contrast as well as an entertaining and informative explanation for various shots.

The introduction by tornado scientist and longtime chaser Charles Doswell sets the tone, describing the allure of storm chasing and placing Mike and Eric's work in the context of those who came before them. Toward the end of the book, Dr. Doswell provides an explanation behind the science of severe weather, an easy-to-understand and memorable description of how such sudden mountains of air and water appear on the plains.

What I like most about the book is how it reflects the values of my two friends: the spectacle of atmospheric phenomena. Their vision is focused strictly outward, on the subjects of their photographs, such as the classic supercells of the northern plains or LPs in New Mexico, Mike's breathtaking auroras in winter, or Eric's timeless shots of the Mulvane, Kansas white tornado and rainbow.

Most chasers know that Eric passed away in the summer of 2007. This collection of images is the perfect tribute to his career as a storm observer and photographer, both in form and content. I believe Eric would agree that the book depicts chasing the way many of us know and love it best, as an escape from daily hassles into the theater of the sky, where an awe-inspiring show plays every spring: the severe storms of the Tornado Alley.


"In storm chasing, you have the chance to see a pageant of power and elegant form unfold before your eyes, even in the absence of the ultimate: a tornado. Mike and Eric have captured that over and over in these images."

--Charles Doswell

I waited a few months to see this book for the first time. I had very high expectations and am normally disappointed when it comes to collections of pictures for storm chasing books. This one not only met, but far exceeded my expectations! The book is of high quality as well. The paper is quite thick as well as the front and back cover. Definitely the most sturdy paperback book I have ever felt. The photographs look great, and are large and even full page photos. The contents are just amazing. Dr. Doswell wrote a great introduction about both authors at the beginning as well as an in depth, but easy to understand explanation of storm structure in the back. This is a must have for anyone who loves storm chasing, is interested in storms, or just likes amazingly beautiful pictures! This book makes a great coffee table book as well as a leisure read. I have never seen pictures of storms the way Eric and Mike have been able to capture them. This work is just truly amazing!! I have nothing bad to say, and cannot say enough. You really will not be disappointed!

A fantastic book with consistently great photographs from two of the best lensmen to roam the Plains. Everyone who likes striking high-quality photographs of Nature at her fierce finest will enjoy this book. It includes a nice dictionary of storm chaser terms as well as a brief but informative section on how these amazing storms work. I had high expectations for this book and it met or exceeded every one.

This book is outstanding and will be a treasure to anyone who loves the majesty, mystery and thrill of our weather world that surrounds us.

You can "hear" the excitement and "feel" the passion that both Mike and Eric have for storm chasing.

The photography is breathtaking, letting you see storm structures beyond your wildest imagination.

An excellent book to keep and to share, you won't be disappointed.

I had high expectations of this book the second I heard it was going to come out. Eric Nguyen and Mike Hollingshead have been amazing photographers and know where to go to acheive the perfect shot. To see and photograph the images they captured requires great forecasting and a great eye to capture the images they did. Anyone interested in weather or photography should buy this book!

Im so glad that Mike is finally getting the recognition he deserves. I started hanging out on his website when I was going to college at Dana in Blair several years ago, and you can see his photography and tracking skills grow over the years. The pics in this book + the commentary take what you have seen every summer and bring it down to you in a way that a straight science text can never do. Kudo's, Mike.

Excellent photography, and interesting real life stories from people who chase mother nature at her worst, make this book a must have! From tornadoes to ice storms, this book covers ever mode of severe weather. A must have!

There isn't much I can add to what Amos already said in his review of this great book. As a storm chaser and photographer myself I am in awe of the work Eric and Mike produced. The photos are truely breathtaking and the chase stories are very lively written.
This book is a must have for every storm photographer and for everyone who just loves convective weather phenomena!

I got this for my tornado-obsessed son. He has looked over it and read it multiple times. It's a nice hardcover book too. Totally worth the money.

Short and sweet. Finest collection of tornado and storm chasing photos I've ever seen in one book. I have a collection of various books from the 50's through now, and I must say it is the best of the collection. Not a fact obviously, just my opinion. The price was steep (purchased it for my meteorologist brother for Christmas) and I had to pay a import tax because I could only find it published in England! Weird, something not right about that. Paid I think around $10 for the import tax, a complete rip off. Then I saw the book and thought...."I'm going to buy this for myself, this is a great book!" So I did.