Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories ReviewCerveny has organized his book into sections of types of weather oddities, e.g. hurricanes, hail, tornados, with additional sections at the end for extremes, and one odd weather story for every state in the United States, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. There are numerous small photographs and other illustrations throughout. The book doesn't have narrative flow, but most parts are pretty gripping. Fascinating though it is to read that some people have survived being picked up by a tornado and spun around in the center, I don't think I'll try it.
The sections on specific types of weather usually have thirteen parts, "lucky" thirteen being safety measures. One can hope that people who think that strength of character is sufficient protection from extreme weather will learn a little sense. Made me try to remember where my portable radio is!
Obviously, weather buffs will eat this up. It is also a great book for anyone who like collections of oddities from such "fortean" authors as Charles Berlitz - the advantage is, these are much more likely to be true. Cerveny includes some legends, biblical stories and credible reports, although he is careful to specify when something is considered to be official. He notes that although "ball" lightening has not been scientifically observed, most experts agree that the large number of sightings indicate that it must exist.
It is also an interesting book for picking up and thumbing through at odd moments. I think I was most struck by the case of a PINE plank that was driven through an IRON girder by a tornado. How is that even possible?!
I was torn between giving this a 4 or a 5. Cerveny could do with reading a little more broadly - 1757 was not the Middle Ages in Germany (p.85). Citations are often giving a rather general terms without precise dates or pagination.
There is an extensive bibliography as well as a detailed index.Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories Overview

Want to learn more information about Freaks of the Storm: From Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder: The World's Strangest True Weather Stories?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History Review
Good history is hard to find. For example, did you know?
--At one point in human history, there may have been as few as 500 women capable of procreation. They were very popular.
--Because of the bubonic plague which first...well, plagued Europe in the 6th century, English is the dominant language in the world today.
--The hostile climate in Siberia made it possible for the eruption of modern American culture.
--Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo because it was raining.
--Had it not been for the Little Ice Age in the 15-16th centuries, we would not have Stradivarius violins today.
--In 1947, a scientist proved you could change the course of a hurricane headed to the coast of Florida by dropping two hundred pounds of dry ice into its eye. What the scientist didn't demonstrate was that he could control the new direction, which was Savannah, Georgia where it did about five million dollars worth of damage. The Georgians weren't amused.
Of course you didn't know all this. How could you? There's a lot more history than there's time to read it, which is why the world owes a great debt of thanks to Laura Lee for bringing into the light so much that had been hidden in mist and fog. With a dry sense of humor and a keen eye for recognizing and marrying apparently unrelated events, she has created the perfect excuse for abandoning Gibbon's 25,000 page Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and relying on her slim volume for the truth behind much of world history.
The book brings to mind that most august and definitive history of the island of Britain, 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings, and 2 Genuine Dates. Written by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman and published in 1930, it proved that history need not be long, complicated, or even accurate in order to be interesting.
To her credit, Ms. Lee tackles the entire world. At one point she toys with the notion of bring the Big Bang Theory into her thesis, but, in this reviewer's eyes, wisely backs away. That's a black hole from which few if any historians, even of Ms. Lee's caliber, ever return.
There are books that, like potato chips, cannot be put down. There are others that, like fine chocolate, must be savored a bit at a time. Blame it on the Rain clearly falls into the latter category. One only need pick it up to read a brief chapter (few are longer than five or six pages,) smile, and feel ennobled by the wisdom one has gained. While not a large box of chocolates, the book, if read properly, can keep one's appetite sated for months.
There is one significant flaw in the book that cannot be overlooked. Ms. Lee has been duped by Sir Thomas Moore (when he was still a lackey publicist for Henry VIII) who influenced Shakespeare into creating the pernicious lie that King Richard III of England murdered two young princes and stole the throne of England for himself. This is not true. Nor was Richard a hunch-back. Nor was he a particularly bad guy. He just happened to not be of the same family as Henry VII who needed to buttress his dubious claim to the throne.
But anyone can make a mistake.
Ms. Lee does have a message within this delightful romp through the mud, rain, sleet, and snow. "If all of this history and science has taught us anything it is this: We are neither the masters of the weather nor the servants of it--we are in a marriage with it."
We may not be masters of the weather, but Laura Lee is a master of the English language. Her writing is crisp, direct, and playful while at the same time powerful enough to bring to life some of the great horrors of human existence.Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History Overview

Want to learn more information about Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...