Customer Reviews

All About Lightning

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
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I recommend this book to all who have any interest in natural science. I was personally surprised at how interesting of a read this book was. Ulman did well brining to "light" topics that have plagued me about lightning since my childhood. He also satiated my engineering taste for technical aspects of the electrical phenomena. Photographs and diagrams add well to the text and support the facts presented without overburdening the reader with too much information.

Martin Umans book of, what I would call an intro to lightning (if there is such a thing). I dont claim to be a scientist or know much about the weather, however I found many of Umans boo fascinating as his writing was clear and easy to understand. Some of the technical aspects were a little above me, yet learning about the different kinds of lightning, what lightning does and what is typical to expect from lightning I found very...well....enlightening (sorry about the pun). I found it to be a fun book that was a delight to read.

Within my awareness, this is the best author on the physics of lightning (voltage, current, charge, speed, event sequence, frequency of occurrence, length/width of channel, temperature, etc). Related subjects such as injuries, death rate, damage, protection, thunderstorms, harnessing power, etc are also discussed. The book could use updating with data acquired in the last 16 years (1986-2002). An improvement to the book could be more info on lightning protection. Another book by Uman, 'Lightning', is less general and more technical about the physics of lightning.

Clear, concise, entertaining. Uman takes on the 50 most common questions about lightning and gives explanations in plain English. It's rather like a whiteboard conversation with a skilled teacher. Backed up by his vastly more technical monograph (published separately, more a 1st year graduate student book) Uman can give you new eyes for an everyday experience. This is a quick read and an excellent choice for introducing young adults into science

If you want to learn about lightening without too much science this is a great book. Very well written by a top scientist in the field.

Being a non-scientist but beginning my lightning research I have found this particular book in the series to be amazingly educational. The different components that make up a lightning flash is fascinating and I am grasping the ground roots physics of lightning thanks to Martin Uman's books.

it was a good present for my uncle who has been struck by lightning.

An excellent little book on lightning, especially for its price. Fairly non-technical, it gives a fine overview of nearly all the known characteristics of different types of lightning, and many hints of how to protect oneself from its effects. Answers nearly all the common questions about lightning. An excellent book for any person to read who lives in lightning country, which means just about anyone, anywhere.

Dr. Uman's book is excellent! It gives clear, concise answers about what we know (and don't know) about Lightning in the form of question and answer essays. Includes special topics, such as Ball Lightning as well as ways to keep yourself safe during electrical storms. Extensive bibliography -- very useful for any laymen who is interested in the subject.