Customer Reviews

Tying Down the Wind: Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Eric Pinder subtitles his book "Tying Down The Wind" with "Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth." But when Pinder writes about such weather, he does so with such a poetic pen that you want to experience it with him. I read much of this book sitting outdoors, enjoying the last days of autumn warmth and dryness I found it difficult to read more than one page at a stretch because Pinder's poetic descriptions of the sky made me stop and look more closely at the sky above me, hoping to see some of what he had described. If I gave you all the passages that stirred my imagination, I'd be infringing on copyright laws.

I rate Tying Down The Wind as one of my three favourite weather books for sheer beauty of the writing. On a few occasions, Pinder's poetic license results in a description falling just off the edge of strict scientific accuracy but in only one case does he go too far for my scientific side.

If you love watching the sky or have weather aficionados or nature nuts on your holiday shopping list, buy this book.

Eric Pinder's "Tying Down the Wind" is a terrific combination of science and imagery. As a Meteorologist and life long weather enthusiest, I found Pinders book to capture the vivid imagery of severe weather, atop the great Mount Washington. This book really engulfs the reader, and is difficult to put down. I enjoyed this book throroughly, and would recomend it to almost anyone.

Pinder's book is entertaining and educational! I love science, but most science books tend to be too boring and stuffy. Tying Down the Wind is filled with fascinating stories and facts. Do not be afraid of the genre. Both science "nerds" and science "lamens" will love this novel. I also found Pinder's writing to be beautiful. He writes like poetry, but the meaning is never lost. Even with the beautiful descriptions, anyone with a working brain will come away with this book with a vast increase in knowledge on the topic. I am now even more interested in science and weather because of this book!

I'm not a serious weather buff, but I do enjoy reading about science and nature and also like to watch Nova and Discovery-type television programs. So the title of this book, Tying Down the Wind, appealed to me. I definitely was not disappointed, and I highly recommend it. It was a wonderful read with a combination of exciting science and entertaining, but serious, weather knowledge. Eric Pinder's personal experiences with the snow and wind on Mount Washington in New Hampshire were "breathtaking" (That's a pun for those of you without a sense of humor.) I especially recommend Pinder's section on Antarctica. I experienced this tremendous feeling of reverence and respect for the place. It almost made me want to be there---for just a little while. Read this book! You'll be very glad you did.

Eric Pinder's "Tying Down the Wind" is a terrific combination of science and imagery. As a Meteorologist and life long weather enthusiest, I found Pinders book to capture the vivid imagery of severe weather, atop the great Mount Washington. This book really engulfs the reader, and is difficult to put down. I enjoyed this book throroughly, and would recomend it to almost anyone.

This book's sub-title is a bit misleading as there wasn't a focus on truly severe weather. I purchased this hardback to add to my collection of tornado-related items, but found the chapter addressing that topic disappointingly brief. There are interesting nuggets of weather wisdom in these pages, but they must be ferreted out of the lyrical whimsy and random personal recollections that make up the bulk of this book. I think Mr. Pinder meant well, but someone at Tarcher/Putnam "twisted" (pardon my pun) things a bit for marketing's sake. Maybe if they had called it "Mount Washington's Wild Worst Winter Weather Wonderland".........

I've climbed Mount Washington several times, so I looked forward to reading this book. The writer seems a likable sort, but sheesh! The book meanders aimlessly, with meteorological information sprinkled about in a hit or miss fashion. an effect increased by the fact that my copy goes from pages 1 to 216, followed by pages 185 to 216, followed by pages 249-280. Tarcher/Putnam should be ashamed.

Generally I'm really fascinated with tales of adventure, weather, and Mt. Washington. But I really couldn't read this book because of the overbearing prose style. Honestly, I returned it to the library after struggling through a couple of chapters.

Mr. Pinder fancies himself a poet, but what is needed here is a plainspoken storyteller. Lines like "the stars don't speak" are not beautiful or enlightening, just annoying.

I was prepared to really enjoy "Tying Down the Wind". I've been a weather buff for years and was looking forward to scientific information combined with entertaining anecdotes. The information is probably there somewhere but the language is inappropriately flowery and strains self-consciously at similes, analogies and images that add nothing and seriously detract from what he's trying to say. I was slogging through it rather joylessly anyway because reading is my main addiction, but when it came down to talking about a crescent moon setting at daybreak I just gave up. I would like to assume that he knows better and just got lost in his own convolutions but I really don't know. I would not recommend this book to anyone for any reason. It is a waste of time and money.

What I like most about this book is how different it is from the many other weather books already out there. Some chapters are adventurous and about hurricanes, blizzards, Antarctica. Others are thoughtful and reflective, explaining how ordinary breezes effect our lives, sometimes in surprising ways. The book's really about observing the sky, and it gets you thinking. The book it reminds me of most is Jan DeBlieu's "Wind." It's informative, but not dull like a reference book. It's entertaining and sometimes philosophical, but isn't just disaster and extremes like all the Into Thin Air clones. It's really more a series of nature essays than a single story, but tied together by a common theme, how weather works.

It's worth noting that the legend of Isaac Cline warning people on the beach before the Galveston hurricane, which an earlier reviewer criticizes at length, is only mentioned in passing here. In fact, it's only one sentence, and I like that. Pinder gives the mandatory nod to this famous, often-rehashed event in weather history, but then moves on to more original observations and descriptions. Besides, I've seen that same legend repeated as fact in many weather texts, including Jack Williams excellent "The Weather Book". So if it's wrong, it's a common error. If that's really "the worst thing" the reviewer found, as he says, I'd say thats actually to the book's credit.

It has some nice, descriptive nature writing. Recommended for any science or natural history bookshelf.