Tornadoes

When I was six, our family visited our relatives in Illinois who lived on a farm. While there, my cousin and I wandered off to play. When the sky got black and lightning began striking, he headed off as fast as he could run. I dawdled along. By the time I got home the wind was howling, and we could see a tornado in the distance. In minutes, we were all in the storm cellar. Down there, it sounded like an express train was roaring by. When we came out, a 100-year-old oak tree lay across the top of the house, ripped out by the roots. To this day, I've never had as intense an experience as that one. I also didn't really understand what happened that day. Now, thanks to this book, I do understand the forces behind that experience. Tornadoes is that rare book that combines dramatic, vivid photography with scientific material to explain what you are seeing. In most cases, I was able to follow what was said. Some descriptions were a little puzzling, such as what an "anvil" is which is not defined in the glossary at the end. Despite that, I can now look at thunderstorms with greater understanding, and appreciate their potential for harm through tornadoes. I was fascinated by the statistics on the harm that tornadoes routinely do in various parts of the world.My only reservation about the book is that it seemed a little high priced for a 72-page paperback, but the quality of the images softened that reaction for me. Such excellent photographs and exhibits are expensive to acquire and reproduce.If you would like to know a little more about tornadoes that what you hear on television, get this book!Where else do dangerous phenomena fascinate in the same way? Only large fires probably are as appealing to the eye. What is it about these dangers that draws us to them? I know few people who love looking at earthquakes while they happen. Perhaps it is the ability to see them from what seems like a safe distance that turns them into fascinations, while an earthquake captures us in its danger while it is happening.

The widespread fascination with tornadoes, particularly in North America, results in a high proportion of weather-topic books written on the subject for both children and adults. Few of thosereally grab my attention as many are simply vehicles to publish dramatic tornado photographs and say little new about tornadoes."Tornadoes" by Michael Mogil is one book that grabs me from the first page. It very well illustrated with a large number of full-page-sized tornado photographs, but even more appealing are the top quality explanatory drawings. These are very attractive and yet convey much to-the-point information. The book's striking illustrations balance Mogil's well crafted text. His writing is strongly scientific yet clear enough to convey the complexities of the formation and life cycle of tornadoes and the thunderstorms which spawn them.Mogil begins the book with a strong introduction to thunderstorms as a background for tornadic storms. In fact, the book could easily have been titled: "Thunderstorms and Tornadoes." The author then segues into the title topic through a discussion of the US National Weather Service Program for severe storm watches and warnings.H. Michael Mogil's "Tornadoes" will be the benchmark to which I will compare future "children's books" on tornadoes and similar phenomena. It should be a part of every school or home weatherlibrary. I also take the "and up" part of the recommended audience seriously. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to older audiences looking for a quick introduction to thunderstorms and tornadoes.