Weather Forecasting Handbook, 4th ed. Review

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Weather Forecasting Handbook, 4th ed. ReviewI have several problems with this book:
1) The book never tells you how to forecast. It would be nice if it told you, in a step by step fashion, how to predict precipitation and temperature at a certain location. Although he gives general descriptions of how weather phenomenon evolve, the detail is not sufficient for forecasting. The end of the book gives a bunch of surface and upper-level charts as "analysis exercises". The book, however, does not describe how to perform an analysis of a raw chart or give finished analyzed diagrams for you to check your work. It does tell you how to read charts, but this is easy and free to learn off the web. The only case where the author details forecasting tools is for tornado prediction. I know there are a lot of storm chasers out there who care only for tornados (the author lives in Oklahoma, so he may have a little storm chaser in his blood) but this is supposed to be a general forecasting book, not a tornado book. In one section, the book promises more material and more details in "future editions".
2) It's not clear if it's meant for beginners or experienced forecasters. Many basic principles are introduced (e.g. Coriolis effect) but other parts of the book seem to be written for experts. There are descriptions of barotropic and baroclinic weather systems without ever clearly defining what is meant by either. There are several places where the author says forecasting is difficult and you should use "common sense". How will this help a beginner?
3) It is riddled with typos and other errors. There are more spelling errors than one would like to see, but these are easy to correct in your head. More seriously, I have counted numerous instances where the author says "upward" when he meant "downward", "eastward" where he meant "westward" and so on. For a book that is in its 4th edition, this is unbelievably sloppy. Also, there are sections where the author has cut and paste from other sections and just changed a few words.
4) The production values of the book are very poor. The diagrams are often rough hand sketches, reproductions of charts are often difficult to read, and nothing is labeled very well. There are several reproductions of radar soundings that are rough blobs. The caption refers to features you are supposed to see (and I suppose they would be obvious to an expert). But there are no arrows pointing out the features, so if you are not an experienced meteorologist, you will probably only see a blob.
You will probably learn something from reading this book whether you are an expert or a beginner, but it won't justify the time you spend or the price you pay. There must be other, better books out there.
Incidentally, I have a Ph.D. in engineering, a good knowledge of general fluid mechanics, teach at a university, and publish in the domain of air pollution (more on the chemistry side than meteorological side). I was hoping for a forecasting book that would give more practical guidance on forecasting (I understand the basic scientific principles) but this book is a disappointment.Weather Forecasting Handbook, 4th ed. OverviewThe Information Age has blossomed and now anyone can runa weather center from their own office or home.Unfortunately, nearlyall popular weather books are nothing more than essays on the scienceof meteorology.The Weather Forecasting Handbook breaks this mold byexplaining all the latest forecasting principles, techniques, andtools.Basic physical concepts are reviewed, and commonly-employed analysismethods are presented.Then weather systems are explained in terms oftheir thermal structure, dynamics, and effects.Special problems suchas thunderstorms, winter weather, and tropical weather get chapters oftheir own.Margins are filled with forecasting facts, hard-hittingquotes, education stories, and even a few fun weather jokes.Withadded emphasis on analysis, visualization, and awareness of modellimitations, readers learn to learn tools properly and are always astep ahead.The Weather Forecasting Handbook is a must-have for all meteorologystudents, advanced weather hobbyists, professionals, weathercasters,storm chasers, sailors, and pilots. Whether you want to know how ashort wave works, how to find a front, what isentropic surfaces are,how to analyze a 500-millibar chart, what type of vertical motion toexpect around jet streaks, or why a high pressure area is building,the Weather Forecasting Handbook's no-nonsense approach will give youa solid foundation to understanding everyday forecasting problems.146 illustrations, 7 x 10", color cover.

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