Resumo de A Golden Guide Weather - Paul E. Lehr, R. Will Burnett and Herbert S. Zim, Ph.D. and Sc.D.

Weather A Golden Guide Air Masses-Clouds-Rainfall-Storms-Weather Maps-Climate. New York: Golden Books. Revised Edition 1987.

The work is 156 pages with 1 page suggested reading and a 3 page index. The work contains a foreward and table of contents. The book is full of simple drawn illustrations, some photos and descriptions of topics related to weather. Sections are brief. Topics in weather are introduced like fronts, creation of weather, maps, climate, motion of earth, and atmosphere.

The work is useful as a pocket reference to topics in weather. I do not know the whole literature of weather guides. For something for the pocket or coat pocket the resource can be helpful.

The guide was useful for me in particular on two occasions.After Hurricane Katrina, I used this resource to look up what hurricane seasons months were. Page 106 contains a chart that describes hurricanes occuring in January and December, March and May and June and not just in the traditional season. I used the resource to email and call several resources after Katrina that there still could be more hurricanes after November 31st in October of 2005. The frequency is less during non-hurricane season.

The guide was also useful to me as a brief understanding of the atmosphere. I described to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration last July that changes in the various levels of the atmosphere could affect aerospace re-entry and escape from earth's gravitation.

I would assume that some of the discussion in the work needs extensive updating. Terminology in every field is always changing. For example on page 110, it is described that hurricanes hit the US an average of twice a year. The average numbers have probably changed since 1987. Certainly, 2005 suffered more than 2 continental US strikes. On page 24, the various types of snow crystals are not made clear. There are a few photos in the weather satellite section.More recent satellite types are not included.

Ideas about atmospheric composition sampling are not discussed. Much information about higher atmosphere composition is without source of determination.

Concepts like the Ozone Hole go unmentioned. The work has a focus in the west. Hurricane formation patterns are given for the atlantic while typhoon patterns are not given. The work does not make clear the frequency of typhoons for China, Japan, and the Philippines.

A nice discussion of climate change is at the end of the book, but the current emphasis on global warming is not emphasized as much as currently. The study of trees, plants, animals and weather is not discussed in this book as well. Weather and body changes are not as much discussed as well.

Weather on other planets goes undiscussed as well.

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