Customer Reviews

Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes

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

 

 

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.

This book is subtitled "The History and Science of Hurricanes." Exactly.
I bought it to learn more about the natural processes that produce hurricanes, and the science that "explains" them. I got everything that I hoped for, and more.
This is a nicely written description of science for the non-scientist, but not dumbed down or patronizing. I also got social history, not a topic I had been looking for, but which I enjoyed; it added yet another dimension to this outstanding presentation.
10 stars for this book.
I am about to buy a second copy, for a friend in Florida.

While it is true that the Amazon rating system only goes to 5, this excellent book should get a 10!! I've read/own most of the hurricane books written and this is absolutely one of the best.

The rare artwork, clear illustrations, historical treatment and cutting-edge science make this a book that should be in your library.

Being a Hurricane Katrina victim I found this book to be quite informative and interesting. The scientific aspect of it is a bit technical, but it related to my current Biology course and it's always nice to come across a real-world application of something you're studying in class. I've also discovered some interesting facts regarding the history of hurricanes, although I was a little disappointed to find there was practically nothing about the Last Island Hurricane which, to my surprise, is a piece of history that has been largely ignored.

As an original member of the 53rd Weather Recon. Sqdn of the USAAC and who has flown in B-17's & B-29's into Hurricanes in the early 1940's, I felt alive as I read Kerry's Divine Wind. I have complimented Kerry on this excellent work that covers History, Poetry and Science. This book is a must for everyone, particularly those living on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. All of us living on Planet Earth need to know about the forces of nature and Divine Wind educates us about Hurricanes--Thanks to the expertise of Kerry Emanuel!

I had the good fortune to attend an event hosted by our local parish on climate change. The speaker was Professor Emanuel of MIT, who also wrote several books geared towards a public audience. I bought one book at that talk, which summarizes the main thrust of his talk about climate change. It is a short book, easy to read and focused on what research is available and how to compare the different results being published.

I liked his talk and book so much that I was inspired to look him up on the internet and discovered this other book, Divine Wind. This book integrates his professional expertise in regards to hurricane formation with a rather poetic and historical approach to that subject. I am finding it a very interesting and informative book and highly recommend it to all. With climate change making itself felt more and more in changing and intensified weather conditions, it helps to understand the forces building in our atmosphere.

God Bless,

Excellent science plus beautiful art and interesting poetry/prose. I was impressed and fascinated. I wish he could update it with Katrina and Rita.

Amazon puts irremovable stickers on the back of their book covers. Stickers have been invented that can be easily peeled off leaving no residue. I don't consider a book as new and collectible that has an Amazon sticker on it.

I ordered this book as a gift. They had requested it so I feel certain that the content was what they wanted and I cannot rate it. My rating is based on the appearance of the book. The cover did not look brand new. It looked as if it had been in the sun somewhere or something. The pages themselves were better, but I was disappointed.