The Climate Revealed

Climate Revealed William J Burroughs, 1999, CambridgeUniversity Press, 192 pages.The impact of volcanoes, proxy records,El Nino, the Sahel drought, weather modification, sea-level rise,tornadoes, the cost of climate change, the ozone hole - this is traditionally stuff of coffee-room discussions of the meteorologist. No longer! In brilliant color and in an extremely well written text, Dr Burroughs has produced a book that is not just another book on climate and the environment. In this photographic guide to the world's climate, he demystifies these terms.According to the book jacket: "From the catastrophic impact of drought and avalanches to concerns about the effects of El Nino and La Nina, this book raises topical questions, yet creates a sense of wonder as it reveals the magical intricacy of the Earth's climate. The Climate Revealed explores and explains this complex story through specially commissioned, dynamic illustrations, illuminating photographs and accessible text from an expert author".The book is divided into separate chapters that may be read independently - only one to two pages with a number of chapters grouped together under a central theme. The grouped chapters include Climate in Motion, Climate Records, Polar Regions, Desert Regions, Mountain Regions, Mediterranean Regions, The Prairies, The Tropics, Desert Regions, Temperate Regions, Polar Regions and Tundra and Taiga.With a good balance of photographs, graphics, and text, each chapter consists of non-technical text that can be read independently of every other chapter. This makes it a book that will sit on my coffee table for visitors and myself. He does not confine himself to discussing just meteorology but rather the important aspects of meteorology that impact directly on all of us. He has taken material from many scientific disciplines and presented this important information for us all to read and understand. In my opinion, he has the balance between simplicity and the science of it all exactly right. There is also the very interesting occasional brief historical sketch of scientists such as Edward Lorentz, Sir Gilbert Walker, Edmond Halley, etc.There are many books on weather and climate with a similar title but I believe that Climate Revealed by Dr Burroughs stands out in the crowd. Would I fork out my hard-earned dollars for this one? Without hesitation. It is a color spectacular that I would recommend to anyone interested in climate, the biosphere, and the impact of climate on our environment and us. I would even recommend it for the expert. Its price too is reasonable.Dr Burroughs challenges the scientific community by emphasizing where the gaps of research knowledge exist. Also, he keeps to the facts and presents what appears to be a non-emotional summary of past, present and possible future climate and climatic impact events. In his final chapter, he sparked my interest - he hints that climate change issues should be addressed through issues that touch on welfare,