Customer Reviews

The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology, Ninth Edition

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

 

 

Having no college background, but a great interest in the weather, I searched high and low for a comprehensive book that would be understandable and informative. This book greatly increased my knowledge of the weather. It is a quality textbook that covers, in depth, what other books just touch on. High and low pressure systems, fronts, weather systems, trade winds, jet streams, precipitation, clouds, visual effects, measuring devices and much more. I would really love to get the next book that carries on where this one left off, but to go much farther will probably require more knowledge of math and physics. This book also gave me the desire for further learning. It's almost contagious because the information is so amazingly interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone who truly loves weather study. Completing the questions in each section really helps to hold the information gained.

I am not qualified to judge the content of this evidently widely-used textbook but it seems carefully written, eg its treatment the relationship between the temperature of a parcel of air and the amount of water vapor it can carry, bearing in mind the cautions on the subject at Penn State University's "Bad Meteorology" web site. It appears to be comprehensive in scope to judge from its Table of Contents, which is comparable to that of other introdutory non-technical meteorology texts I have seen. Photographs and drawings are plentiful, clear with respect to content, and beautifully printed.

When I say "non-technical" I mean readers looking for even a rudimentary treatment of the math, physics, and chemistry of the atmosphere will be disappointed unless, for example, you consider something like a Fahrenheit/Celsius conversion formula mathematically taxing. This is the technical level intended by the authors and publisher however and not a fault of the book.

But if some aspect of meteorology should turn you on when you read about it in "The Atmosphere" expect no help from the text if you want to explore the matter further: bibliography and notes are absent. This may be an artifact of publishing economics or a (bad) judgement about the intellectual curiosity of the average college underclassman rather than an author's omission but it's inexcusable in my view, even for a high school text. It merits a two-star penalty.

If you're a non-science major taking an elective meteorology course to round out your degree requirements and this text is on the reading list you could do worse. If you have an active interest in the earth's atmosphere and the study of it, even if you don't have a background in the hard sciences, you should invest in a different text.

This is the textbook for a course I just took in Junior College (St. Pete, FL). Although I have many other texts and references on Weather on my shelves, The Atmosphere will take the number one spot now. The diagrams and illustrations are very good, and the Appendices are worth the cost of the book alone. Thanks, Bill Bell, St.Pete Florida 7-15-99

Most students of meteorology are well acquainted with Lutgens and Tarbuck's introductory text "The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology". It's usually the first in-depth treatment of atmospheric processes and weather which a potential meteorology major will see. Although it is does not require a strong background in math and physics, it easily translates the complex physical processes of the atmosphere into concise and easy to understand concepts which even the casual weather enthusiast would find beneficial and educational. Another great strength of "The Atmosphere" is it's generous use of full color photos, maps and charts which enhances the reader's understanding of the concepts presented in the text. Special "boxes" within each chapter of the book takes the reader further into the realm of theory with treatment on such subjects as the forces which act on cloud droplets and raindrops; Coriolis force as a function of wind speed and latitude; and even the Tornado Outbreak of April 26

I wanted to better understand the weather. How do systems form, how do they move, what causes it to rain? With no prior reading or knowledge on the subject, this book provided a clear, concise explanation that will help any reader better understand the nightly weather forecast and appreciate all of the variables that make an accurate forecast so difficult.

Clear, easy to understand. Dvd and online bonus. And, I got an A in the class!