Man vs. Weather: Be Your Own Weatherman

by Dennis DiClaudio

A humorous and practical guide to the history and science of understanding the weather including how to build your own barometer! For as long as man has walked upon this earth, he has been forced to survive under the cruel tyranny of weather. Let's face there is no escape. Now, in Man vs. Weather, humorist Dennis DiClaudio offers up the knowledge to beat weather at its own game. Rooting through conventional wisdom, discovered gadgetry, and the advances of science, this book presents the geothermal mechanisms behind weather-related phenomena, the history of humanity's relationship with the climate, as well as the truth surrounding atmospheric aphorisms. Have no By the time you make your way through this book, you will be able to read, understand, and defend yourself against the elements!Is Red sky at night, sailor's delight a helpful saying or just the ramblings of idiotic drunkards who like to rhyme?What are these Santa Ana winds that blow out warmly from the desert, and who is this seductress for which they are named?What is this Gulf Stream that flows out from Mexico before crossing the Atlantic toward Africa and Europe, and how can a stream cut through the ocean anyway?

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2008

About the author

Dennis DiClaudio lives in Philadelphia, PA with one wife, one son, and two dogs. He is a former editor for Comedy Central's Indecision website and has contributed to The Onion and The AV Club. His plays have been staged in New York City, Philly, Atlanta, and Oxford, MS.

Reviews

[Cynda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.
The humor bothered me. I should have known from the title and cover that the humor would be a little over the top. The humor detracted me from the information. I had wanted to read this book as a GR friend had enjoyed this book. Just not for me.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a humourous book that teaches readers about the weather.

I am always interested in the weather and am particularly fascinated by storms and bad weather. I have occasionally thought it might be interesting to be a meteorologist. I mostly enjoyed this. There were a few parts where the science was just a little too much for me, despite my interest, but mostly the author was able to describe it in ways that made sense. There was humour thrown in, and some illustrations. I was particularly interested in the sections on storms and bad weather (no surprise to me), and at the end, I also enjoyed the section on the history of weather (and the Earth and humans, in general).

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dennis DiClaudio is a writer for Comedy Central and related groups. In Man vs. Weather he takes a detailed look at weather phenomena and ends with descriptions of equipment that will let you be a weather forecaster. He sprinkles the information with asides and comments, some of which are funny and others just gratuitous.

The information is mostly accurate, but there are a few gross errors, such as saying the speed of light is 300,000 miles per second (it's really 300,000 kilometers per second, or 186,000 miles per second), the Tropic of Cancer is around 30° north latitude (It's really 23.5° north), and the temperature of the sun's "surface" is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (actually about 11,000° F). I wasn't sure how many were typos, attempts at humor by exaggeration, or just sloppy research and editing.

Anyway, it's a pretty good read if you're, say, on a plane or in an airport and really need something to occupy your time.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man vs. Weather: Be Your Own Weather Man is the perfect book for any reader interested in knowing what goes on in the atmosphere. It goes piece by piece through various weather patterns that occur throughout the world in a language that is easily understood. Most of the information in this book is accurate, but a few of the nitty-gritty facts are inaccurate. Still a great read though. Dennis DiClaudio is able to take technical terms and elaborate on them in a way that even an elementary schooler could understand. DiClaudio also uses humor to make even the most intense weather patterns humorous. Dennis Diclaudio is also a writer for comedy central so the jokes aren't forced, they flow with the stories. Instead of just blatantly explaining the obvious, the author makes puns, jokes, and gives practical lifelong advice. This is not the average textbook description of weather that would bore non-meteorologists. This book is easy to read through in a few days but is a handy resource to look back on during a storm. With this book, the internet is not needed as an additional resource. It gives the reader everything they need to know about hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, and the atmosphere from how they're formed to how they die.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. Could have been a lot shorter without the cheesy jokes peppered in although a few of them are shareable funny moments. You'll get a good idea how weather works but don't think you're applying for a job at the Weather Channel. It's good for basic understanding only. I recommend it to anyone sailing or doing something outside for long periods of time.

[Jacob Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone that had no background in meteorology and weather this was a fun and silly book to give an introduction on the topics

[Holly Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who knows me personally can tell you that I am a bit of a weather enthusiast. I have been known to sit and watch the weather channel for hours on end. Yes I do realize that that is only acceptable behavior after the age of 80, but what can I say? My name is Holly, and I am a weather addict.

There is no doubt about the power of nature. When faced with some of mother natures biggest calamities you can forget trying to save yourself, and just kiss your butt goodbye. I find it all to be wildly exciting! Don't get me wrong, I have a very healthy fear of powerful weather. Just last fall we had a tornado warning and I heard the tell-tale freight train winds and grabbed the cats from under the bed and locked us all in the bathroom until the sirens stopped. You had better believe if a tornado is coming, I wont be standing around to see it.

While browsing the paperbacks in Barnes and Noble one evening, I saw this pip of a book. I grabbed it and ran for the checkout, knocking people over in my haste. I already know a lot about weather. I research weather events all the time on the Internet. I once was a Production Assistant on a Weather Channel commercial (talk about a dream come true!) and I grilled Mike Bettis the entire ride to and from the airport. I learned a lot about water spouts that day, I like to think that I impressed him with my knowledge as well. Naturally I wasn't sure if this book could teach me anything that I didn't already know.

Let me start out by saying that this book is quite funny. It approaches the mundane topic of weather from a really entertaining angle. At the same time it manages to teach about even complex topics in weather. I never cared about the jet stream until I read this book. Now I know exactly how it works and why. I have tried explaining my new found knowledge to others, yet fail miserably, as I cannot serve up the info with such finesse as the author does.

The book is broken up in to chapters, each building upon the last. The first chapter dissects the atmosphere. After reading about the tropopause you will know what you are looking down at every time you get on a plane and look out the window wondering why the clouds seem to be hitting their heads on an invisible ceiling. Feel free to blurt out "Wow! What a great view of the tropopause!" People will wonder if a genius is among them. Then in the end it covers our dysfunctional relationship with weather. Including, but not limited to, the weathers insatiable appetite for human destruction. Smart, funny, well-written and informative, this book is a must. Weather enthusiast or not.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today's forecast: Tongue-in-cheek with a chance of funny

DiClaudio is a writer and improve comic who is making (I suppose) a good living out of this kind pseudo-silly scientific self-help fulderol. And Man vs. weather is easy and enjoyable reading, with a few funny asides (best bit involving the meteorological phenomenon and 80's movie soundtrack pop hit that both go by the name St. Elmo's Fire.).

And there is a bit of real weather information here, at the level of a Wikipedia article or an after-school special (do they still have those?). His explanation of the scientific concept of chaos is one of the simplest I've ever read, even though he never uses the term chaos as he's describing it, perhaps to avoid confusing readers who associate the term with its usually unscientific usage. And he did make me want to build or buy my own backyard weather station, at least until I remembered my phone has The Weather Channel app integrated with its GPS chip that can give me current conditions and forecasts down to my street level, so what would I really learn?

Worth spending a lazy afternoon with for a laugh or a knowing nod.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

DiClaudio presents a humorous but informative look at Weather (yes, capital W). Learn about rare phenomena such as red sprites and more common phenomena such as "elite ninja assassins" (tornadoes for the uneducated). DiCladio's excellent sense of humor had me laughing out loud throughout the book! I feel like I could at least be a junior member of the American Meteorological Society after reading this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this humorous look at dissecting the weather. Argon is the most boring of gases and does nothing - "much like the British nobility?" Awesome. The troposphere is where "all the shit happens"? Great! This is how I need to learn about weather. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys learning about weather in terms that are easy to understand, although it is a tricky subject.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing look at the basic principles of weather. I particularly appreciate the concept of clouds as terroist cells. The humor was a little forced at times, though - sometimes restraint is the best option. I briefly understood the reasons why storms form, however, so I guess it did its job.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find meteorolgy wildly boring - but his book made it wildly fascinating...atleast for half of the book. I don't know if he got rushed for the second half - but his wittiness kind of dies mid-way through.

[David R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The often-sophomoric humor constantly gets in the way of what could have been an otherwise useful discussion on the mechanics of weather.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very wild sense of humor makes it interesting at first, but gets tiring after awhile. I learned a lot about weather, mainly that it's an extremely complicated topic.

[Bradley Pattrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious in the intro. Informative in the body.