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Treading on Thin Air: Atmospheric Physics, Forensic Meteorology, and Climate Change - How The Weather Shapes Our Everyday Lives
Weather, water, and climate. How we feel, how productive we are, even our sheer existence, depends on these three things. The United States economic activity varies annually by 1.7% due to weather—that is more than $500 billion dollars each year! Weather applications on mobile devices are the second most popular ‘apps’ – more popular than social networking, maps, music,and news.
In Treading on Thin Air, Dr. Elizabeth Austin, a world-renowned atmospheric physicist, reveals how the climate is intimately tied to our daily lives. The effects and impacts of weather on humans, society and the planet are changing with the times. Dr. Austin will demystify climate change, revealing what is really happening with our climate and why, whether it is El Nino, tornadoes, floods or hurricanes.
Weather and society are at its most fascinating at extremes, and as Dr. Austin is one of a handful of forensic meteorologists around the globe. She has been called upon to investigate plane crashes, murders, wildfires, avalanches, even bombing cases. Drawing upon her rich experiences, Austin’s Treading on Thin Air promises to be an enlightening and informative journey through the wild word of weather.
In Treading on Thin Air, Dr. Elizabeth Austin, a world-renowned atmospheric physicist, reveals how the climate is intimately tied to our daily lives. The effects and impacts of weather on humans, society and the planet are changing with the times. Dr. Austin will demystify climate change, revealing what is really happening with our climate and why, whether it is El Nino, tornadoes, floods or hurricanes.
Weather and society are at its most fascinating at extremes, and as Dr. Austin is one of a handful of forensic meteorologists around the globe. She has been called upon to investigate plane crashes, murders, wildfires, avalanches, even bombing cases. Drawing upon her rich experiences, Austin’s Treading on Thin Air promises to be an enlightening and informative journey through the wild word of weather.
- GenresScienceNonfictionNature
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2016
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568 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 12, 2018
This book is overwhelmingly about the author. The 19 chapter titles hint that some science could be in them. My view is that the science in each chapter would fit on the back of a cereal box. The remaining 10 - 20 pages per chapter were extremely narcissistic including such items as how long the author was in labor before her C-section, how she gets her blouses cleaned, names of her ancestors and so on ad nauseam.
I spent over 30 years working with pure and applied scientists and a small portion of my co-workers included narcissists, jerks and bigots. I remember only a few times when my co-workers let their narcissism so define their work that it became as big a waste of time as this book.
I spent over 30 years working with pure and applied scientists and a small portion of my co-workers included narcissists, jerks and bigots. I remember only a few times when my co-workers let their narcissism so define their work that it became as big a waste of time as this book.
June 16, 2016
The concept was fascinating, and when Dr. Austin actually writes about the topic, she's very clear and easy to understand. However, there were (for me!) far too many digressions/personal anecdotes about fascinating people in the field it has been her good fortune to meet. I gave up less than 100 pages into the book.
October 26, 2018
Read the other reviews. There were way too many personal anecdotes and too little science. I skipped much of the personal trivia eventually, as it became repetitive had little to nothing to do with meteorology and/or climatology. I can't say that I really learned an awful lot from this book, other than about the author's employment history and personal life.
August 29, 2019
This is a poorly written memoir, not a book about meteorological sciences.
August 13, 2016
Normally, I don't finish a 2-star book, but by the time I decided I was tired of the style, I decided to speed-read/skim the rest of it.
I'm a weather geek, and I found this when looking for new science books for Bruce. The title caught my eye (forensic meteorology??). Problem is, she couldn't figure out whether she was writing a memoir, a self-promotion of her expertise/business, or a science book. As a result, it was an unsatisfying amalgam of all three.
While I did learn something about weather/climate, the more "memoir-y" sections did nothing for me. (Example: I really don't care that she had toxic shock syndrome as a teen, and her attempt to make a bridge to the toxicity in the atmosphere was clunky and forced.)
It's really hard to make a readable book about the weather without diving into some arcane, science-heavy language. She did an OK job, but most of those parts were pretty dry. (In her defense, I don't see how *anyone* could make them any more readable.)
My favorite parts (other than the self-promotion) were the descriptions of her casework on plane crashes, crimes, etc., and how weather played a role (or not, as was sometimes the case).
I'm a weather geek, and I found this when looking for new science books for Bruce. The title caught my eye (forensic meteorology??). Problem is, she couldn't figure out whether she was writing a memoir, a self-promotion of her expertise/business, or a science book. As a result, it was an unsatisfying amalgam of all three.
While I did learn something about weather/climate, the more "memoir-y" sections did nothing for me. (Example: I really don't care that she had toxic shock syndrome as a teen, and her attempt to make a bridge to the toxicity in the atmosphere was clunky and forced.)
It's really hard to make a readable book about the weather without diving into some arcane, science-heavy language. She did an OK job, but most of those parts were pretty dry. (In her defense, I don't see how *anyone* could make them any more readable.)
My favorite parts (other than the self-promotion) were the descriptions of her casework on plane crashes, crimes, etc., and how weather played a role (or not, as was sometimes the case).
December 4, 2016
** I won a copy of this book from GoodReads **
Wow. I mean, wow. This is just my personal opinion and I know it's worth next to nothing, but here it is: This book is terrible - at least up to page 109. I forced myself to read that far and then relieved myself of the chore. There was too much self-congratulatory chatter, too many ego-boosting little side trips away from whatever the main point was supposed to be. The main points were a seemingly random selection of weather-related issues and phenomena, explained in a tediously dull way that evoked a badly written and badly organized textbook more than a non-fiction book intended for the general reader. I thought I might be interested in learning some of what the subtitle promised, but not anymore. The author is probably a very intelligent, capable, wonderful person, but she is the worst non-fiction writer I've ever encountered and I feel pangs of pity for whomever convinced her to write this book, and whomever helped publish it.
Wow. I mean, wow. This is just my personal opinion and I know it's worth next to nothing, but here it is: This book is terrible - at least up to page 109. I forced myself to read that far and then relieved myself of the chore. There was too much self-congratulatory chatter, too many ego-boosting little side trips away from whatever the main point was supposed to be. The main points were a seemingly random selection of weather-related issues and phenomena, explained in a tediously dull way that evoked a badly written and badly organized textbook more than a non-fiction book intended for the general reader. I thought I might be interested in learning some of what the subtitle promised, but not anymore. The author is probably a very intelligent, capable, wonderful person, but she is the worst non-fiction writer I've ever encountered and I feel pangs of pity for whomever convinced her to write this book, and whomever helped publish it.
June 11, 2016
When the author talked about weather and the atmosphere (especially when she was explaining how either of them effect the conditions of a crime or accident), she was very good. She made what might be dry material interesting often without the drama of TV show. At other times, she talked around the case she was trying to argue without explaining the crucial element. I did learn several facts about air, weather, and other parts of atmospheric physics that I didn't even know existed - Astronomical twilight, nautical twilight and civil twilight is an example. On whole, it was worth taking the time to check out the book.
February 6, 2017
An excellent book, but too technical for me to concentrate on right now.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews