Divine wind : the history and science of hurricanes / Kerry Emanuel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Emanuel, Kerry A., 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hurricanes--History.

Hurricanes.

History.

Physical Description:

x, 285 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005.

Summary:

I magine standing at the Center of a Roman Coliseum That is 20 Miles Across, with Walls that Soar 10 Miles into the sky, towering walls with cascades of ice crystals falling along its brilliantly white surface. That's what it's like to stand in the eye of a hurricane.

In Divine Wind, Kerry Emanuel, one of the world's leading authorities on hurricanes, gives us an engaging account of these awe-inspiring meteorological events, revealing how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history, thwarting military incursions and changing the course of explorations. Offering an account of the physics of the tropical atmosphere, the author explains how such benign climates give rise to the most powerful storms in the world and tells us what modern science has learned about them. Interwoven with this scientific account are descriptions of some of the most important hurricanes in history and relevant works of art and literature. For instance, he describes the 17th-century hurricane that likely inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest and that led to the British colonization of Bermuda. We also read about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, by far the worst natural calamity in U.S. history, with a death toll, between 8,000 and 12,000, that exceeded the San Francisco earthquake, the 1889 Johnstown Flood, and the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane combined.

With more than one hundred illustrations, from ultra-modern Doppler imagery to classic paintings by Winslow Homer, Divine Wind captures the profound effects that hurricanes have had on humanity. Its fascinating blend of history, science, and art will appeal to weather junkies, science buffs, and everyone who read Isaac's Storm.

Contents:

Kamikaze

Anatomy of a meteorological monster

Huracán

The tropical hothouse

Columbus's hurricane

The tropical downpour

France gives up La Floride, 1565

The trade winds

The tempest

Nature's steam engine

The hurricanes of 1780

Hurricane intensity

Galveston, 1900

Genesis

Miami, 1926

Death and transfiguration

Their eyes were watching God : San Felipe and the Okeechobee disaster of 1928

Taking aim : how hurricanes move

The Labor Day hurricane of 1935

The storm surge

The great New England hurricane of 1938

Waves

Bull Halsey's typhoons

Rain

The hunters

Hurricane Camille

Into the maelstrom : a photo essay

The great East Pakistan cyclone of November, 1970

Forecasting hurricanes

Cyclone Tracy

Hurricane Andrew, 1992

Hurricanes and climate.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-274) and index.

ISBN:

0195149416

OCLC:

55616457

Publisher Number:

9780195149418