Customer Reviews

Weather Basics

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Why is there no rating below 1 star? This is without doubt the worst book I have ever read. It clearly illustrates why some authors must to revert to self publishing. Its writing (punctuation, grammer, typos, sentence structure, etc.) is on par with that of a seventh grade D- English student: it's atrocious. This would be bad enough, but the authors commit so many errors of fact that everything they have written is tainted. For example: Our atmosphere is not composed of "87.08% nitrogen." Compass needles do not align with the Earth's magnetic poles. A meteorite is not "what a meteor ["meteoroide" is the correct term] is called after it hits the earth's surface."--the authors have no idea what the word "meteor" denotes. They also fail to grasp the concept of syzsygy: the alingment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. And, they might be suprised to learn that whatever conifers may bear it is certainly not thistles. Even the layout of the book is terrible. Full color photos vie for space with child-like pencil drawings--I'm talking 5th or 6th grade art work here. Then there is the typwritten index. Although extensive almost to a fault, it has been so reduced in size that the letters and numbers are nearly indecipherable. The only true good that could be wrought from this mess is as an example of how a book should not be put together. In fact, I urge everyone to checkout Basic Weather from their local library just to see how bad a book can be--just don't rely on its contents.

I am arrived in America two years from Pakistan. Meteorology is a big hobby in Pakistan. Everybody talk about weather.I was leader of a club in my home of Karachi. This Balsama book is a very good book. There are not so many amateur meteorology books in Urdu .I am happy Balsama writes a book that is simply for person who has not good English.Do not be a fool for silly reviews that say Balsama book is bad. They do not know. The silly reader from Minneapolis says that Balsama is wrong that a meteorite is meteor that reaches earth's surface. Balsama is correct. I read it in my dictionary. Is my dictionary wrong reader in Minneapolis? Pictures in book are very good not bad. And what is this crazy talk of thistles and conifers. If this makes you mad buy a garden book. If you like the weather, buy the Balsama book.

I don't know whether or not there is truly a new edition of this book--I have my suspicions--but the copy I came across is terrible. Everything the first two reviewers said is absoluty right on. If in fact there is a new edition I sincerely hope the authors had it reviewed by competent meterologists and had it copy edited. The reason for all my doubts is that the last three glowing 5-star reviews all came within a four day period, and two of them on the same day--how likely is that. This, plus the fact that, as pointed out, another 5-star review came from the same small town as one of the authors leads me to believe that the authors may well be stuffing the ballot box. And after looking over the book, such a duplictous act would not suprise me in the least.

This IS a bad book. As pointed out in the other review, mechanicaly it is a mess: The main text has been printed in four different type fonts. The pagination usually occurs centered at the bottom of the page, but it also appears at either side--for no apparent good reason. As for the content. . . well, consider: the discription that accompanies the illustration on page 346 is pure nonsense--what are the authors trying to say? It's gibberish. On page 124 they lapse into an involved illustration of how much 1 inch of rain will accumulate on a square mile. None of the figures they arrive at coincide (broken calculator perhaps or just sloppy work?).

I also must point out that the one positive review for this book, the one from Swampscott Mass., just happens to be from the same small town in which one of the authors resides. Coincidence? I doubt it.

I have been looking for a long time for a good and thorough book that explains all about weather and does so in a way that is easy to read for someone who is not a scientist. I am just a weather enthusiast and want to learn more about this fascinating topic. I completely enjoyed reading this book, "WEATHER BASICS" by Balsama and Chaston. It made the science of weather "come alive". Great chapters on hurricanes, tornadoes, thundertorms, winter weather, etc. etc. Excellent pictures with the chapters as well. I learned a lot. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys weather and wants to learn more, plus have an excellent reference book on all the various weather topics.

Being a weather enthusiast, I own most of the books on weather, and for years had been looking for a comprehensive book on introductory meteorology that explained even the difficult concepts in an undetstandable format. I was terrifically pleasantly surprised when I read "WEATHER BASICS" by Balsama and Chaston. This is a very large book and covers ever aspect of weather, including advanced concepts of which I was unaware. I give this book the highest rating and readily endorse and recommend it to anyone who loves weather.

Wow! What a great book on weather! I am 22, just out of college, going to be a science teacher, and looked for a long time on a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand book on the science of weather, and I've finally found it!!! "Weather Basics" by Balsama & Chaston is an EXCELLENT book on the topic! It is enjoyable to read and re-read. Every time I pick it up and read a chapter or two I learn something. These authors make the subject of weather come alive, and are clearly enthusiastic for the science! I highly recommend "Weather Basics" to you if you want a great book on meteorology!

I don't know whether or not there is truly a new edition of this book--I have my suspicions--but the copy I came across is terrible. Everything the first two reviewers said is absoluty right on. If in fact there is a new edition I sincerely hope the authors had it reviewed by competent meterologists and had it copy edited. The reason for all my doubts is that the last three glowing 5-star reviews all came within a four day period, and two of them on the same day--how likely is that. This, plus the fact that, as pointed out, another 5-star review came from the same small town as one of the authors leads me to believe that the authors may well be stuffing the ballot box. And after looking over the book, such a duplictous act would not suprise me in the least.

I realize that the first printing of this book had printing flaws, but I also have a copy of the second printing, which corrected them. As a science teacher, I find this book to be the best book on meteorology basics I have ever read. It can be read by anyone with an interest in weather. It is full of easily understandable explanations, has numerous helpful graphics and is very well written and organized. High shcools and colleges have chosen it for a text, as I have in my course teaching. Another good selling point is that the publishers have kept the price reasonable for such a large book. I highly recommend "WEATHER BASICS" by Balsama and Chaston to anyone who wants an excellent book on introductory meteorology. It is by far the best I have seen yet.

Both my kids and I loved this book, "WEATHER BASICS". It was a birthday present and although I never wrote a book review before, I feel compelled to recommend this book. We all learned much about meteorology, and I especially liked all the helpful pictures and graphics in this book. I highly recommend "WEATHER BASICS" by Messrs. Balsama and Chaston. I finally got a weather book worth saving!